New to Comics is a segment where I look at various comic books, explaining their background, reviewing them, and breaking them down for readers unfamiliar to the medium. The title is a reference to a former university project that I carried on as its own site for several years before laying it to rest.
This week, after the release of Captain Marvel in cinemas, I’m looking at one of the comics that inspired the new movie (in terms of character – story, less so), namely In Pursuit of Flight by Kelly Sue DeConnick, wherein Carol Danvers drops the ‘Ms. Marvel’ name in favour of ‘Captain Marvel’.
Published by: Marvel Comics
Written by: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Art by: Dexter Soy & Emma Rios
Year: 2013
Pages: 138
SPOTLIGHT CHARACTER:
CAPTAIN MARVEL
Real Name: Carol Susan Jane Danvers
Affiliation: The Avengers
First Appearance: Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (March 1968)
A headstrong go-getter from a young age, Carol Danvers always dreamed of flying among the stars. Her drive compelled her to advance quickly, and despite the men around her putting her down, she went on to become a successful Air Force pilot, before transferring to work in Intelligence. After she accepted a promotion to Head of Security at NASA she became deeply immersed in the adventures of the alien Kree hero Captain Mar-Vell. During one of Mar-Vell’s battles with his nemesis Yon-Rogg, Carol was caught in the blast of an exploding ‘Kree Wishing Machine’ called the Psyche-Magnatron, which imbued her with explosive energy manipulating powers. With these new powers, she became Ms. Marvel, a powerhouse hero whose refusal to ever back down has taken her down a rough path that has brought her into conflict her fellow superheroes (such as Iron Man in the second Superhuman ‘Civil War’, and the X-Men), alcoholism and identity crises. But after becoming the new Captain Marvel, she takes it all in stride as she hopes to prove herself as ‘Earth’s Mightiest Hero’.
