Captain Marvel #43: Why You So Broody Tho?

It’s the tenth arc of Kelly Thompson’s run, and we’re getting the Brood, only this time we’ve got Rogue, a handful of X-Men, Spider-Woman, and Hazmat on the scene, in a story that looks to like it’s going to be out of this world (*groan. Bad pun). Meanwhile Sergio Davila returns to art duties, and I think this is the first issue we’ve seen Davila tackle any of the X-Men (don’t quote me). Can this team capture the same magic they had on the Last of the Marvels arc. 

The issue starts with Carol and Rhodey on their way to a day off, but as with all things Carol, they’re alerted to a distress signs coming in the Carol Cave (it’s legit called this in the comic lol), and it’s a message from Rogue, but the transmission is garbled, and unclear, so they (along with JDrew & JenMat) head to the X-Men’s Treehouse, and go from there. Kelly’s handling of Carol and the X-Men is a welcome break from the incessant…rivalry that’s been a constant since the end of House of M, and it’s something I’m hoping will get repaired in the near future. It’s a shame. So Carol shows the X-Men the transmission, when Carol receives one from Binary. Carol, Jessica, Polaris, Psylocke, and others jump in Gambit’s spaceship (Kelly dropped some continuity from her Mr. & Mrs. X title), off to save their friends. 

Okay, so that was a lot that was smashed into one issue, so I have little to complain about in regards to that. Kelly likes to use last continuity, but here she gets to use some of her own, and while the cast of X-Men isn’t exactly my cup of tea, I’m excited to see someone giving these characters voices that’s different since the beginning of the Krakoan era, which has become rather stale. Also there doesn’t seem to be any tension between the X-Men, and Carol, who were rather close after having her powers, and, for lack of a better term, soul drained by a young Rogue. After being captured, tortured, and experimented on by the Brood, Carol became Binary, who would become a close ally of the X-Men until Rogue joined the team. 

The biggest thing that confused me was Carol and Jean’s relationship. I’ve been reading these characters for thirty years, and have most of their appearances from the late ’70s, and seeing them together here, it just felt rather hollow, and inauthentic. Otherwise, the whole scene was rather fun to read. We also got a decent cliffhanger, although not very shocking, that looks to give the rest of the adventure some legs to finish. We’re also going to get more of Binary, who after the ending of the last arc, is reminiscent of Carol after her encounter with Rogue left her. 

Sergio Davila’s back, and he’s the first artist since Lee Garbett left the title, so I appreciate seeing Carol get an artist’s vision that’s consistent for more than an arc. I guess the revolving door of artists has been my biggest complaint for this run, but Davila’s giving us some bounce, and personality with the characters here. Even with his penchant to give as much volume to the women’s hair, it’s just a fun, and solid job. I can’t wait to see the rest of this story unfold.