Captain Marvel #49: I Was Wondering As A Waitress In A Cocktail Bar That Much Is True…

Welcome to Captain Marvel #49. the finale of what can be considered Carol’s biggest adventure of this run thus far, where she and a motley swath of allies of both Avengers and X-Men-related variety, where finally come face to face with the Brood Empress, who was just responsible for the death of Binary, as well as infecting all of Carol’s crew with Brood embryos of their own. This is the end of everything we’ve been working towards since the War of the Marvels arc where Binary was given a body and sentience of her own. So without further ado let’s get to it…

The biggest complaint with a bunch of current Marvel comics is the lack of action with these final battles. This event has been going on for six issues, and three points of the flagship X-Men title, and the fight between Carol and the Brood empress happens off panel, it’s just a big disappointment. Especially from a run consistently praised as one of the strongest Marvel ongoings we’ve had since the relaunch of several titles after Avengers: No Surrender finished in 2018. So this ending kind of hit differently because this is Kelly’s swan song, and one would expect to see the opus end all opuses.

Also, the lack of presence of the X-Men in this issue was a big disappointment. This is not due to the inclusion of the X-Men that ventured into space with Carol but from the main title. Readers were teased with a huge event that saw the two groups combine forces to eradicate the Brood once and for all, but what happened felt almost like an afterthought here.

One of the most significant tenets of Kelly Thompson’s run has been Carol’s consistent dedication to her friends and chosen family, and that’s been the most important asset Thompson has had during this run. She’s deeply flawed and incredibly damaged with what she’s had to endure over the last 50+ years, so it makes sense to the lengths she’s willing to go to to protect those who mean the most to her. Thompson had cultivated the best friendship between Carol and Jessica Drew seen in comics since the time of Chris Claremont, when he wrote the company between Kitty and Illyana in the pages of Uncanny X-Men and the New Mutants in the ’80s, and will probably be what I’m going to miss most when Kelly’s gone. 

This is the run that gave us Star, a compelling female villain who revels in being a villain. It’s not to say that everything else that she’s given Carol and her world hasn’t been impressive. We don’t get many of those anymore, and their absence from this run and the greater Marvel Universe has suffered from their absence. A vacuum has been created, but we haven’t had one of those female villains like Dr. Minerva, Moonstone, or Selene that have stood out, but Star, with enough development, could. 

Sergio Davila’s back, and outside of Carmen Carnero and Lee Garbett, is the only artist to do one arc on this book, and it’s been a pleasure watching him grow, although some scenes didn’t mesh as flawlessly as expected. Still, Davila is a strong workman, and watching him develop his style in this book has been a pleasure.