Someone is after Captain Marvel and is targeting her loved ones to get to her.  Not only that, but ever since the “Enemy Within” storyline, Carol and her allies in The Avengers, have found themselves squaring off against various threats from Carol’s past, the female wrestlers The Grapplers, the Shi’ar Deathbird, The Brood and in this issue the Kree Sentries.  Carol also discovered that the attack by Deathbird was simply a distraction so that someone (Yon-Rogg) could steal the last piece of the device that granted Carol her powers in the first place, The Psycho-Magnitron.  Carol and her closest allies attempt to get to the bottom of things with the help of Bruce Banner.

Meanwhile, an army of Sentries– ancient Kree robots intended to safeguard even more lethal Kree weaponry stashed on Earth– are reactivated and begin to rampage as Yon-Rogg orders them to converge in one location to carry out his master plan.  Captain Marvel, Banner (as The Hulk) and Spider-Woman split up to deal with the threats.

This really is a Carol story, although it’s split up with Avengers Assemble.  The sales on Marvel’s female-led books haven’t been great, so I assume this crossover is an attempt to bolster sales by having Captain America and the other movie cast members pop in and lend Carol a helping hand.

As such, though still somewhat stylized, the art this issue by Scott Hepburn with Gerardo Sandoval, is probably the most mainstream I’ve seen on this title.  It’s still slightly left of center, but not nearly as much so as most of the art on this series up until now.  That’s neither a complaint nor a compliment, just an observation.  The work is great, though.  It’s attractive and the storytelling is sound.

The “acting” in particular, is wonderful.  As Bruce Banner is discussing what’s going on at Carol’s apartment, he kicks up his feet and enjoys a slice of pizza.  Over the next couple of panels we see him nonchalantly wipe his fingers then his mouth with a paper napkin.  Later, Carol’s possible love interest, Frank Gianelli, is shown cleaning up after the super heroes have left, as Jarvis changes Carol’s apartment into a mobile command center, and Frank is shown standing amidst these high tech marvels, still clutching a black garbage bag.  I don’t know if these touches were in the original script, but they’re very subtle and add so much depth and life to the characters.

I love that this story is an ode to Carol’s history.  It’s something I wish a writer would do with Wonder Woman, but instead most of the writers who take her on feel the need to throw out everything about her and start from scratch.  Instead, here we get a celebration of everything that is Carol.  Of course, Yon-Rogg is technically her first villain, having created the Psycho-Magnitron, and it is he that is throwing all of her old foes at her at once.  You also get a rich supporting cast, cantankerous Tracy Burke, spunky new assistant Gwen Kawasaki, Frank Gianelli, Dakota North and even Spider-Woman give Carol a sense of history and depth.  You get a real sense of “family” with these characters, that helps pull you in.

I’m a real cheerleader for this series and this is another solid issue.  Of course, if you haven’t already, I suggest grabbing ‘Avengers: The Enemy Within’ #1 (one-shot) and ‘Avengers Assemble’ #16 first, otherwise, even with the recap on the first page, I doubt you’ll get this story.  But I definitely think it’s worth your effort!

 

CAPTAIN MARVEL #13
Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick
Art by Scott Hepburn with Gerardo Sandoval
Cover by Joe Quinones