Captain Marvel #8 Review: Carol Gets Back On Track

Writer: Kelly Thompson / Artists: Carmen Carnero, Tamra Bonvillain, Clayton Cowles / Marvel The War of the Realms cross-over event is over and we can return to our regularly scheduled show — Carol Danvers is back on her BS and the Captain Marvel comic is all the better for it. You may want to go back to review Captain Marvel #5 for how the first arc ended. The important parts: Carol is living in NYC, heroing away. She knows her mom was a Kree Warrior (the now in-comic reason for her powers), and she still has her friends, notably Jen Walters and Jessica Drew. This is important, because she’s gonna need her friends to get out of this one. Falling Star, Part 1 The comic opens with a framing page — it is six days in the future and Carol’s life has fallen apart. A week ago, she fought a giant kraken-like living ship. Halfway through that fight, another “new” hero showed up, Star. Star mysteriously has all of Carol’s powers, (this is foreshadowing at its finest) and proceeds to save more people, better than even Carol can. Carol also starts to experience weakness. She has nose bleeds and power failures. In this new physical state, Carol finds herself over the next few days assailed from all sides. Her loyalty is questioned as her Kree maternal relationship belatedly makes it into the news. And every time she goes to save someone, Star shows up and steals the show.

Returning to the frame, Carol retreats to Maine to sulk. But because she’s got real girlfriends, her solitude does…