Assisted by The Avengers, Carol wraps up “The Enemy Within” storyline and the ending lives up to the name as Carol realizes that her enemy, Yon-Rogg, has been using her as a weapon against herself and those close to her.  (This explains the attacks by The Grapplers, Deathbird and other threats from her past.)  From above, Abigail Brand realizes that Yon-Rogg’s attacks are in the formation of Captain Marvel’s starburst emblem.  The Avengers attempt a last ditch effort to disrupt Yon-Rogg’s energy field but Carol comes to the realization that the only thing that can stop his attempt to plop a simulated Kree city on top of New York is to sacrifice herself!

The art by Scott Hepburn is solid, but unremarkable.  It works well enough, but it gets a bit cartoony at times, which contrasts with the rougher, sketchy overall look.  Gerardo Sandoval contributes four fill-in pages, which are nice but don’t mesh well with Hepburn’s style.  So in general, the art is just okay.

It was nice to build an Avengers storyline around Carol.  I assume this was done to drum up better sales on her series.  I’m not sure if this will be the case, though.  The Avengers are strictly background players in this tale, so if you’re looking for The Hulk or Hawkeye to shine, look elsewhere.  As a longtime Carol fan, it was nice to see a story that highlighted her past and emphasized her existing rogue’s gallery.  And Carol really got to shine as the hero of this tale.

Writer Kelly Sue DeConnick really excels at characterization and that really showed in the earlier portions of this story, but even with the more action-oriented climax, that still stood out.

This was a solid issue, heavy in characterization… almost to the point of muting the action elements.  This book hasn’t quite hit the perfect balance just yet, but it’s solid and most other comic books could learn from the depth given to the main character and her supporting cast.  The art is above average, but didn’t knock my socks off.  Unfortunately, that’s as glowing as I can get about this issue.

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CAPTAIN MARVEL #14
Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick
Art by Scott Hepburn with Gerardo Sandoval
Cover by Joe Quinones