Stephanie Kay
Oct 14, 2007, 11:17 pm
<a href=" http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/4images/details.php?image_id=10525" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/marvel/cwreturn1t.jpg" align=left alt="Civil War: The Return #1" hspace=10></a> Reviewer: Jason Grasso, Desperad07@aol.com
Story Title, Part 1: Captains Courageous
Story Title, Part 2: The Decision
A captain returns to the bridge
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Penciler: Tom Raney
Inker: Scott Hanna
Colorists: Gina Going (pages 1-13), SotoColor’s A. Crossley (pages 14-23)
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Production: Anthony Dial
Assistant Editors: Molly Lazer & Aubrey Sitterson
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published by: Marvel Comics (http://www.marvel.com)
SPOILER WARNING: Spoiler tags would render the review of Part 1 virtually unreadable so heed this as your warning!
The cover doesn’t exactly do a great job of hiding the surprise of who returns in this umpteenth Civil War tie-in. I barely knew of the character but assumed it would be him. Except, I assumed it would be the son, not the father.
Yep, that’s right. Captain Marvel is back!
Now Captain Marvel’s adventures were before my time so the impact of his return is a bit lost on me. I understand his death was a landmark event in the history of the Marvel Universe so his return is certainly a major moment. It’s a shame Marvel didn’t treat it like one.
The issue kicks off with the discovery that Captain Marvel is the warden of the maximum security penal facility in the Negative Zone. The facility is falling apart and a solider comes to warn Captain Marvel that they need to get out of there. Unfortunately, this means returning to Earth proper from the Negative Zone.
The story then flashes back to Captain Marvel’s return. While meditating in the Negative Zone, he follows a strange light, leading him to the jail that Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic and Co. set up in the Negative Zone to house all those who contested registration. (Seems that Mar-Vell not only crosses space but time.) The Sentry discovers him and fetches the aforementioned pro-reg leaders, who immediately offer him a chance to run the facility.
Captain Marvel immediately deduces that he’s dead and inquires about how he dies, as well as the status of his wife, Elysius. The Sentry won’t offer him answers to his question, only a plea for Mar-Vell’s help. Captain Marvel obviously took the gig and we flash forward again to see him take on the duty of fleeing the prison facility and presumably returning to Earth 616.
Credit to Marvel for not fully resurrecting Captain Marvel. Technically they’ve pulled him from the past and he’ll have to return at some point, which won’t rob readers of the impact of his death (like which was done with Bucky). This also prevents the threat of paradox (though nothing ever really prevents paradoxes when it comes to time travel). The impact of his return at all (and the nature of his upcoming series) will likely divide fans. (It will be interesting to see to what extent.)
<a href=" http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/4images/details.php?image_id=10526" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/marvel/cwreturn1vt.jpg" align=right alt="Civil War: The Return #1 (variant)" hspace=10></a>Jenkins isn’t able to avoid the pitfalls of characterization that have plagued the pro-registration side in other titles. There is an air of desperation for Iron Man and Co. that borders on the inane. If they’re so devoted to what they believe to be the good of the country, then why do they come off as scam artists shortly after seeing their presumed-dead friend for the first time in years? Shouldn’t they want their friend to understand what’s at stake and let him choose his path? Instead they seem to want to hurry him into helping them so they can win. Perhaps if given the full run of the issue, Jenkins would have had more time to flesh out the storyline but 14 issues isn’t enough to contain Iron Man’s ego, no less the cosmic importance of Captain Marvel’s return!
Sentry continues to be a bafflingly-inconsistent illustration in the Marvel Universe. Captain Marvel notes that Sentry looks older even though Raney is illustrating Sentry as if he was a 17-year-old cheerleader. There was something weirdly charming about David Finch’s version of the mad, imprisoned Sentry. He looked like a man who’d been around a long time. Subsequent renditions have been a bit detrimental to the character. Raney’s art is otherwise entertaining and colorful. The shots of Captain Marvel were clearly given more emphasis and execution than others.
The second story seems ill-fitted here. It robs Captain Marvel of a full story (and readers of a bit more exposition). There really isn’t a thematic connection other than the Sentry being the first to see Captain Marvel. (The theme of “The Return” doesn’t fit Sentry.) And the last page reveal wasn’t exactly news to me.
The Sentry spends most of his screen time fighting with Crusher Creel. The battle climaxes with another exhibition of the Sentry’s ridiculously heightened powers. Creel is done in…melted by the power of a million exploding suns. To add insult to injury, we are quickly reminded that he’ll be back. Based on the first story, Bucky, Phoenix, etc., of course we know he’ll be back. Admitting comes off as a failed attempt at in-joking.
The issue ends with The Sentry reporting to register his powers and identity with the authorities. Perhaps I missed something, but hasn’t Mr. Reynolds been on the pro-registration side all along? I’m not I understand what Marvel was thinking sequencing these stories like this. The Sentry would’ve made a better opening act for the bigger story, you know, the actual return.
I’m also not sure I understand why we needed this Sentry story and why they couldn’t devote the entire issue to Captain Marvel. Jenkins might have had more time to reveal the impact and the weight of Mar-Vell’s decision to warden the prison. Will we get to see his time there in his new series? If not, they dropped the ball by not showing what would have actually been a really interesting storyline. Too much is crammed into subtext and presumptions and leaves the readers wanting more.
After all, if you’re going to make a grand entrance, back from the dead, the least you can do is stay for more than 5 minutes.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mhalf.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mnone.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mnone.jpg
Buy Civil War: The Return online now at X-WORLD and SAVE! ( http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopexd.asp?id=21852)
Story Title, Part 1: Captains Courageous
Story Title, Part 2: The Decision
A captain returns to the bridge
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Penciler: Tom Raney
Inker: Scott Hanna
Colorists: Gina Going (pages 1-13), SotoColor’s A. Crossley (pages 14-23)
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Production: Anthony Dial
Assistant Editors: Molly Lazer & Aubrey Sitterson
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published by: Marvel Comics (http://www.marvel.com)
SPOILER WARNING: Spoiler tags would render the review of Part 1 virtually unreadable so heed this as your warning!
The cover doesn’t exactly do a great job of hiding the surprise of who returns in this umpteenth Civil War tie-in. I barely knew of the character but assumed it would be him. Except, I assumed it would be the son, not the father.
Yep, that’s right. Captain Marvel is back!
Now Captain Marvel’s adventures were before my time so the impact of his return is a bit lost on me. I understand his death was a landmark event in the history of the Marvel Universe so his return is certainly a major moment. It’s a shame Marvel didn’t treat it like one.
The issue kicks off with the discovery that Captain Marvel is the warden of the maximum security penal facility in the Negative Zone. The facility is falling apart and a solider comes to warn Captain Marvel that they need to get out of there. Unfortunately, this means returning to Earth proper from the Negative Zone.
The story then flashes back to Captain Marvel’s return. While meditating in the Negative Zone, he follows a strange light, leading him to the jail that Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic and Co. set up in the Negative Zone to house all those who contested registration. (Seems that Mar-Vell not only crosses space but time.) The Sentry discovers him and fetches the aforementioned pro-reg leaders, who immediately offer him a chance to run the facility.
Captain Marvel immediately deduces that he’s dead and inquires about how he dies, as well as the status of his wife, Elysius. The Sentry won’t offer him answers to his question, only a plea for Mar-Vell’s help. Captain Marvel obviously took the gig and we flash forward again to see him take on the duty of fleeing the prison facility and presumably returning to Earth 616.
Credit to Marvel for not fully resurrecting Captain Marvel. Technically they’ve pulled him from the past and he’ll have to return at some point, which won’t rob readers of the impact of his death (like which was done with Bucky). This also prevents the threat of paradox (though nothing ever really prevents paradoxes when it comes to time travel). The impact of his return at all (and the nature of his upcoming series) will likely divide fans. (It will be interesting to see to what extent.)
<a href=" http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/4images/details.php?image_id=10526" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/marvel/cwreturn1vt.jpg" align=right alt="Civil War: The Return #1 (variant)" hspace=10></a>Jenkins isn’t able to avoid the pitfalls of characterization that have plagued the pro-registration side in other titles. There is an air of desperation for Iron Man and Co. that borders on the inane. If they’re so devoted to what they believe to be the good of the country, then why do they come off as scam artists shortly after seeing their presumed-dead friend for the first time in years? Shouldn’t they want their friend to understand what’s at stake and let him choose his path? Instead they seem to want to hurry him into helping them so they can win. Perhaps if given the full run of the issue, Jenkins would have had more time to flesh out the storyline but 14 issues isn’t enough to contain Iron Man’s ego, no less the cosmic importance of Captain Marvel’s return!
Sentry continues to be a bafflingly-inconsistent illustration in the Marvel Universe. Captain Marvel notes that Sentry looks older even though Raney is illustrating Sentry as if he was a 17-year-old cheerleader. There was something weirdly charming about David Finch’s version of the mad, imprisoned Sentry. He looked like a man who’d been around a long time. Subsequent renditions have been a bit detrimental to the character. Raney’s art is otherwise entertaining and colorful. The shots of Captain Marvel were clearly given more emphasis and execution than others.
The second story seems ill-fitted here. It robs Captain Marvel of a full story (and readers of a bit more exposition). There really isn’t a thematic connection other than the Sentry being the first to see Captain Marvel. (The theme of “The Return” doesn’t fit Sentry.) And the last page reveal wasn’t exactly news to me.
The Sentry spends most of his screen time fighting with Crusher Creel. The battle climaxes with another exhibition of the Sentry’s ridiculously heightened powers. Creel is done in…melted by the power of a million exploding suns. To add insult to injury, we are quickly reminded that he’ll be back. Based on the first story, Bucky, Phoenix, etc., of course we know he’ll be back. Admitting comes off as a failed attempt at in-joking.
The issue ends with The Sentry reporting to register his powers and identity with the authorities. Perhaps I missed something, but hasn’t Mr. Reynolds been on the pro-registration side all along? I’m not I understand what Marvel was thinking sequencing these stories like this. The Sentry would’ve made a better opening act for the bigger story, you know, the actual return.
I’m also not sure I understand why we needed this Sentry story and why they couldn’t devote the entire issue to Captain Marvel. Jenkins might have had more time to reveal the impact and the weight of Mar-Vell’s decision to warden the prison. Will we get to see his time there in his new series? If not, they dropped the ball by not showing what would have actually been a really interesting storyline. Too much is crammed into subtext and presumptions and leaves the readers wanting more.
After all, if you’re going to make a grand entrance, back from the dead, the least you can do is stay for more than 5 minutes.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mhalf.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mnone.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mnone.jpg
Buy Civil War: The Return online now at X-WORLD and SAVE! ( http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopexd.asp?id=21852)