Deathbird’s claws finally clamp around Captain Marvel as they face-off. But with Carol grounded, can she fight off Deathbird without using her powers? Or will he condition only get worse?
Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Christopher Sebela
Illustrated by Filipe Andrade• The issue that will kick off a Major Captain Marvel and Avengers event!
• Still grounded from flying, Captain Marvel takes on a different and dangerous kind of bird—DEATHBIRD!
• Handicapped, but determined Carol risks her powers and her life!
• PLUS: The unstoppable evil that’s been pulling Deathbird’s strings!
First of all, the fact that this series has lasted 12 issues is nothing short of miraculous considering the lifespan of superhero comic books with female leads in recent times. And that miracle is entirely a testament to the creative team on this book and that shines through with this issue. The issue opens with the villain Deathbird confronting Captain Marvel after having stalked her and those close to her for the previous three issues. Even from page one, the art from Filipe Andrade just shines. We see Carol shoot an energy blast at Deathbird, who dodges, before she rams her flying motorbike (which I am determined to dub the Whizbang Mobile) into Deathbird for a massive blow. The panel flow of the fight this early in the book hits the ground running with momentum that doesn’t let up during the entire issue. And special mention should definitely go to Joride Bellaire’s wonderful, vibrant colours that bring life to Andrade’s art. Each panel is simply beautiful
It’s here that Carol narrates the extent of her condition: under no exception is she allowed to use her powers to fly, hence the flying motorbike. This gives even more weight to her confrontation with Deathbird; if she can’t fly, can she still hold her own in the fight? This leads to the book’s secondary narrative that focuses on Carol’s doctor and her consult examine Carol’s condition. The issue cuts between the fight and the doctors to give even more dire context to Carol’s condition. Carol’s fight continually brings her to the edge of her having to use her powers and knowing from the doctors’ narrative what will happen if she does keeps the tension of the fight up.
The fight with Deathbird takes up the majority of the book, but at no point does the momentum from the first page let up in the slightest. The fight is fast-paced and each blow is huge. It feels intense, but there’s always the constant and pressing danger of what will happen if Carol flies with the cuts back to the doctor’s examining the condition. Andrade really conveys the destruction caused by the fight between the two of them and the raw strength of each fighter; something that would have really harmed the book if he hadn’t. We finally see that taking down Deathbird causes Carol’s condition to heighten and she passes out, knowing she pushed herself too far. After spending much of the issue warning what would happen if she did, seeing her destructive tendencies push through to the fold just brings the issue together in a devastating way. This story is to lead into the “Enemy Within” crossover and seeing Carol broken and beaten because of her own rashness only leads to wondering how she could survive another encounter.
The issue comes to a head with a devastatingly heartbreaking page of Carol’s doctors visiting her where we see with a perfectly used beat panel that Andrade doesn’t just draw intense fights, he can also fill a simple panel with more emotion than most. Carol’s expression when she learns that her doctor’s consultant was the doctor of Carol’s mentor and that she might have the same condition as her is like that of a kicked puppy and manages to draw such concern for her after seeing her finally push herself past the edge. Then, with one final, page the mastermind behind Deathbird’s attacks is revealed to lead into next month’s “Enemy Within” crossover, an old face from Carol’s past who looks ready to completely ruin her life.
DeConnick, Sebela and Andrade have constructed and incredibly enjoyable issue that mixes genuinely tense action with emotional concern for the main character. If there’s one thing that brings the issue down it’s only that the supporting cast that has been built around Carol for the past three issues is rarely featured in this one. It doesn’t bring the issue down in any way as the driving force of the issue is still Carol, but those characters that relied on Carol were missed in this issue. Hopefully, with the crossover we’ll see that it becomes Carol who must rely on them instead.
Final Score: 9.1 – This continues to be a great series and is set to only get better with a crossover next month.
