{"id":3010,"date":"2010-03-18T07:00:27","date_gmt":"2010-03-18T11:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/?p=3010"},"modified":"2010-03-16T12:45:06","modified_gmt":"2010-03-16T16:45:06","slug":"captain-marvel-the-last-good-dead-superhero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/wordpress\/2010\/03\/18\/captain-marvel-the-last-good-dead-superhero\/","title":{"rendered":"Captain Marvel, The Last Good Dead Superhero"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DeadWhen I was growing up, there was a golden rule generally accepted by comic book readers.\u00a0 The rule was that Jean Grey could come back to life as often as Marvel wanted, but there were four characters that should forever remain dead.\u00a0 They were: Bucky Barnes, Flash (Barry Allen), Robin (Jason Todd), and Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell).\u00a0 Each died in a dramatic way that had a lasting impact on comic readers.\u00a0 Well… here we are in 2010 reading comics about Captain America (Bucky Barnes), Flash (Barry Allen), and Red Hood (Jason Todd).\u00a0 The only one that has remained deceased is Mar-Vell.\u00a0 For those thinking he came back during Civil War<\/em>\/Secret Invasion<\/em>, that turned out to be a very convincing Skrull.\u00a0 So let’s all give a tip of the hat and a heartfelt THANK YOU to Captain Marvel for staying dead.\u00a0 Thanks, Mar-Vell!<\/p>\n

Mar-Vell’s death in 1982 was written by Jim Starlin and appeared in the very first “graphic novel” Marvel published, The Death of Captain Marvel<\/em>.\u00a0 As this was slightly before I was reading comics regularly, I missed out on all of Captain Marvel’s adventures.\u00a0 I’ve read the occasional back issue that featured appearances by Mar-Vell, such as Marvel Team-up<\/em>, but never read a comic with him in the lead role.\u00a0 Therefore I didn’t really have any understanding of the character.\u00a0 I knew he was revered by many fans, but I always wondered if that was simply because he died or because his comics were great.<\/p>\n

I also followed Mar-Vell’s son, Genis-Vell, in Avengers Forever<\/em>, the early issues of Peter David’s Captain Marvel<\/em> run, and the New Thunderbolts<\/em>.\u00a0 I really liked the character and thought it was an interesting take on a legacy hero (no pun intended).\u00a0 I hope to go back and get the rest of David’s run someday.\u00a0 Reading about Mar-Vell’s son also contributed to my curiosity about Mar-Vell himself.<\/p>\n

Enough wondering already!\u00a0 I recently decided to find out for myself what Mar-Vell was all about.\u00a0 Why was he so loved?\u00a0 What was his personality?\u00a0 Why did he switch from the green & white costume to the blue & red costume?\u00a0 I picked up the Essential Captain Marvel<\/em> volume I which reprints his first appearance in Marvel Super-Heroes<\/em> #12-13 (1967-68), as well as Captain Marvel<\/em> #1-21 (1968-70).\u00a0 This 512 page tome contains stories by comic legends such as: Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin, Gene Colan, Dick Ayers, Don Heck, Gil Kane, John Buscema, and more!<\/p>\n

\"Essential<\/p>\n

I’m not going to recap each individual issue for you here, you can surf the net for that.\u00a0 Instead I’ll provide some of my thoughts and musings on these comics.\u00a0 Probably the most noteworthy thing about this collection is the ADHD nature of them.\u00a0 It seems every few issues the direction of the series changed completely and without warning.<\/p>\n