Writers: Kelly Thompson, G. Willow Wilson / Artists: J. Molina, M. Milla / Marvel Comics
This issue starts to wrap up the “bringing the team together” part of the plot and move us towards the “we’re universal bad-asses” part — a task it completes very satisfactorily. My favorite character this time around is Captain “I’m taking the damn name” Marvel. She is an amazing leader, head of Alpha Flight, but in this team, she hangs back and lets Jennifer Walters steer, supporting and mentoring along the way.
Jennifer/She-Hulk continues to be hilarious as she balances intellect, brawn, and a very genuine humanity. After another unsuccessful attempt to rid themselves of Antimatter, the team gets to experience another of Singularity’s abilities as she swallows them all within her boundless self and then bamfs them all to safety. (Yes, bamf is a word and don’t even try to pretend you don’t know what it means.) Hidden away on the Alpha Flight station, there’s plenty of character development conversation to go around — the mid-issue exposition scenes are becoming predictable, but they remain purposeful and entertaining enough to not be annoying. During all the talky talky, I noticed this:
On the station, Captain Marvel has a fully integrated crew — among which are two lead scientists who are women of color. I was just having this conversation with a friend the other day, about the lack of women of color scientists in fiction and here are two WITH NAMES: Dr. Kawasaki and Dr. Bell. Dr. Tempest Bell, on the right in the image, is even a recurring character (and sports a super-cute afro). It is good to know that Captain Marvel is out here hiring on our STEM sisters. Thompson and Wilson keep the dialog sharp and timely, with every conversation bringing something to the overall feel:
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I’ve read some criticism of A-Force from people observing, correctly, that the comic so far isn’t keeping with BattleWorld and Arcadia. Not that it could be, considering how odd (even if it was fun) Arcadia really was. For some, the current direction feels too “villain of the month.” My response to that is a resounding shrug. I like the straight-forward hero work being done by a driven, complicated cast of female characters. What more do you want? Some days I want to sit down and read about women with incredible powers succeeding against implausible monsters with style and wit. On that score, A-Force delivers.
This issue ends with the set up for the showdown between Singularity and Antimatter. Let’s see what revelations remain, and what sacrifices are yet to be made, in this battle to get rid of Antimatter for good.
7 Captain Marvel Punches out of 10
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