Brian Arbizo
I have written, back spaced, and got rid of a full page of writing at least 20 times. I want to convey what I learned in the past weekend the best way that I can. The movie Captain Marvel releases in a week. The media hype is at an all-time high. There are people against the movie and for the movie, but It seems there is no in-between. I love comic books; I love when a character is able to come to life. Until this weekend, I knew nothing about Captain Marvel. Scratch that, I knew she was Ms. Marvel and also that Rogue from the X-Men drained powers leaving her in a coma for a period of time.
After reading all the media coverage, I decided to read up on Captain Marvel. I read Kelly Sue DeConnick’s 2012 run, 2014 run, and Margaret Stohl’s mini-series Life of Captain Marvel. I never in a million years thought I would learn more than just the rich history of Captain Marvel but I found something else.
Carol Danvers; Daughter, Sister, Friend, Air Force Pilot, Hero, Avenger. There is one more adjective but that will come in a minute. I won’t review everything that I read. There were so many good stories. The first story was about an old plane that would randomly disappear and take her to different locations and time periods. For me, it felt an homage to Amelia Earhart. We meet Tracey who is battling cancer. Tracey is an older stubborn, cranky, ridged lady that you cannot help but fall in love with. Carol also has an alien cat that is pretty amazing (that also never knew it was an alien cat till years later). Kit is a child who wants to grow up and be like Captain Marvel. She is about 8 or 9. At one point in the series, Carol cannot fly because if she does her mind will be altered– she will lose the part of the brain that gives connection between feelings and memories. It will rebuild itself but also she would lose what she feels. Near the end of the run, Carol makes a choice to fly in order to save 8 million people. Kit comes by after she loses part of her brain. On Carol’s to-do list, her last note was Super-Hero lessons with Kit. Carol was under the impression that Carol was giving Kit superhero lessons. Kit made a comic book, to teach Carol about being Captain Marvel. After that, I had a tear in my eye because Captain Marvel inspires people. So yes Carol is an Avenger and a hero but she is also an inspiration. Other stories include Captain Marvel running through space to save her cat and letting her brother win at basketball. One of the more heartbreaking stories is Captain Marvel attending Tracey’s funeral. There is so much more but I do not want to ruin it because I want everyone to read it.
Most of my favorite superheroes have been women. I was not sure why, but then it clicked. It was because of my mother. My mother raised me, although she has fought her demons. The thing about demons… even when you win they leave scars. We were always poor and we went through a lot but she was strong and she never gave up. Maybe in a way she inspired me. In The Life of Captain Marvel, we learn that Carol’s father was abusive. Carol never wanted to go back home to visit due to the painful memories. She also never understood why her mother stayed. As I was reading the trade paperback, my fingers gripped the book, almost pulling the pages apart. My father was abusive. As an adult, I too hated going back to my hometown. I too never understood why my mother put up with it for so long, staying so strong. I felt connected to Carol. Although you know other people go through struggles, it was nice to read a heroe’s story that was similar to mine. I felt understood for the first time. My father was abusive and made horrible choices in life. The truth is, he had a different type of demon to fight. Sometimes you can only fight the demons until they win. My Father, like Carol’s, was not a bad man, They were troubled men that no one could save. Our moms put up with it not because they weren’t strong, but because they were trying to save the men they married. They were not just fighting their own demons; they were fighting their husbands as well. Carol found out that her mother was a strong hero, as did I.
I tell my story with tears in my eyes, not because memories hurt, but because Captain Marvel, for that hour of reading, felt connected to me. I understood something that I may have never understood before. Although I am putting my laundry out there for everyone to read, I feel it’s important. I stated earlier that I found something; I found a piece that I was missing in my family dynamic. Questions I always had but had never asked. I know it sounds silly, but reading a book about this character gave that to me. It’s important to say this; A person can find inspiration from anywhere, anybody, everyone deserves to be a hero, no matter who they find inspiration in. Captain Marvel is a hero, an Avenger, but most importantly, she truly is an Inspiration to ALL. That is why Captain Marvel is important to me and probably a lot of other people. I end this with the panel that truly captures the character of Captain Marvel.
