Captain Marvel #20: Uh…Captain Marvel Assemble?

The ACCUSER CORPS have arrived in Captain Marvel #20, a surprisingly enjoyable issue in the middle of one of Marvel’s (many) universe-shattering events, Empyre. This issue takes the fun premise and doubles down on Carol’s ancestral struggle to make it well worth checking out even if you aren’t following the main event.

So far, these tie-in issues have ultimately felt like obligatory stories to hold us over until the focus can return once more to Carol Danvers. However, in Captain Marvel #20, despite the presence of a new force aptly called the Accuser Corps and even Carol’s half-sister Lauri-Ell wandering about, this issue somehow finds a way to bring back the emotional connection to Carol and her origins to deliver a worthwhile story. It’s also absolutely packed with action as we see Hazmat, Spider-Woman and even Rhodey as War Machine wield their hammers and wild new abilities.

With both a foundation of Carol’s origins in Kree lore and plenty of spectacular action, Captain Marvel #20 certainly stands out as one of the better tie-in issues we’ve seen so far from the series. Lauri-Ell still feels a bit underdeveloped and mostly serves to distract from the main plot unfolding, but there is still potential for some very interesting storytelling to happen with her.

The artwork from everyone involved holds up well to the fast paced nature of the story and helps it to keep reader’s engaged. Cowles excels particularly well in the dynamics of this issue as we sometimes abruptly change from action to back and forths between characters. The letters are concise and help to navigate the chaotic scenes unfolding. With some particularly fun nods to the Marvel Team-Up series in bringing back Wastrel, the issue does enough to make for an enjoyable reading experience especially for those who have followed Carol in the greater Marvel Universe.

Captain Marvel #20 certainly isn’t the best book of the year, and considering the excellent quality of storytelling we’ve seen in the series, it’s likely not even among the best so far. However, it does remarkably well in taking a thin, but fun premise and bringing an element of heart to it that helps it to stand on it’s own, even outside of the Empyre event. We will likely be seeing ramifications of this story for some time with the reveal and rising prominence of Carol’s half-sister and it seems this is the issue you should read if you don’t want to fall behind. Hopefully it can maintain this momentum for the next issue!