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Thursday, June 26, 2014

Latest Rumors on the Internet

So it looks like after many months of inactivity, the rumors of Captain Marvel in the movies have been revived! But which Captain Marvel? Let's take a look at a roundup of the rumor mill on the InterWebs!

As we all recall, Thanos was revealed in the “Easter egg” in the middle of the end credits of Marvel's “Avengers” movie. Thanos was created by Jim Starlin for Marvel Comics back in the early 1970's and was instrumental in the most significant storyline of Captain Mar-Vell, Marvel Comics' first Captain Marvel,

On May 14, 2014, Comicbook.com (http://comicbook.com/blog/2014/05/14/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-who-are-skyes-parents/) repeated a speculation that a blue alien on the TV show “Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D” wa a Kree, a member of the race from which Mar-Vell came. It was a Kree device that gave Carol Danvers the powers that turned her into Ms. Marvel, and ultimately, Marvel Comics' latest Captain Marvel. So with Thanos and the Kree in town, can one or another Captain Marvel be far behind?

On May 19, the same website (http://comicbook.com/blog/2014/05/14/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-what-was-coulson-writing-on-the-wall/) brought forth more speculations about potential Kree-signs, thating with mysterious geometric symbols being written on a wall by Agent Coulson. It also pointed out that Ronan the Accuser, a Kree and a major character in Captain Mar-Vell's adventures, will be in the upcoming move “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Incidentally, Drax the Destroyer is a lead character in that movie as well, and Drax, a human who had been attacked by Thanos and resurrected as a vengeful, indestructible warrior, has been present in Captain Mar-Vell's adventures n almost as many stories as Thanos.

Also on May 19, MoviePilot.com (http://moviepilot.com/posts/2014/05/18/10-marvel-characters-who-need-their-own-phase-3-movie-1432607?lt_source=external,manual#!38wGG) posted a list by Joe Stinson of “10 Marvel Characters Who Need Their Own Phase 3 Movie.” #2 was Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) and #1 was Ms. Marvel. Hmmm...it looks like someone hasn't caught up with some recent happenings in the Marvel Universe...

In non-movie news, on May 29, Rich Johnson posted on BleedingCool.com (http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/05/29/what-if-you-bought-a-captain-marvel-comic-in-which-she-didnt-appear/) “What If You Bought A Captain Marvel Comic In Which She Didn’t Appear?” It seems that Carl Danvers appeared at the very end of one issue of Guardians of the Galaxy,and then on the cover of the very next issue of that same comic book, but was nowhere inside. Responding ot inquiries regarding this, Brian Bendis wrote:

“I wholeheartedly apologize to those that find this completely annoying…
what happened was was that I had a pretty fantastic entrance for Capt. Marvel but took it out because I kind of like the hopelessness of the issue. I like that many of you have no idea how the guardians are going to get out of all of this.
“I promise you she is in next issue and many issues to come and narrates the Guardian’s annual.
“there is a fine century long tradition of things being on the cover that aren’t in the book and I gladly hold that tradition :-)

On June 2, International Business times posted an article by Eric Brown that “It's Time For Marvel To Squash Ant-Man: Without Edgar Wright, It Won't Work” (http://www.ibtimes.com/its-time-marvel-squash-ant-man-without-edgar-wright-it-wont-work-1593473). In the article, the writer suggests several characters that might be better for a big screen treatment these days than Marvel Comics' shrinking scientist. He suggests that it's time for a female superhero to have her own movie, and if not Black Widow, who has played significant roles, in three Marvel movies already, then Carol Danvers' Captain Marvel would be the perfect choice.

That article also links to an article from March 15 on ComingSoon.net (http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=116057) in which Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is quoted as saying "We’ve talked a lot about [Captain Marvel]. I think that would be very cool." The comments section of that article then proceeds with a lengthy argument with many participants about whether they should use the name “Ms. Marvel” or “Captain Marvel" for the movie about Carol Danvers and her superhero alter-ego.

On June 5, Comicbook.com (http://comicbook.com/blog/2014/06/05/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-clark-gregg-wants-to-be-captain-marvel-hin/) reports that Clark Gregg, the actor who plays Agent Phil Coulson on “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and in the various Marvel movies, would have liked to be to be Captain Marvel, if he weren't already playing Agent Phil Coulson. This revelation came in a chat on Reddit.com (http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/27eaek/i_am_clark_gregg_you_probably_know_me_as_agent_of/). Thefans totally geeked out at this, taking the chat on it's own adventure, and drawing conspiracy theory conclusions. Could it be that Phil Caulson = Phillip Lawson, the Terran secret identity of Captain Mahr Vehl in Marvel's “Ultimates” universe? Then the discussion degraded into the subject of the “other” Captain Marvel and the lawsuit and Marvel's stranglehold on the trademark...

Who knows what could happen? But what about that “other” Captain Marvel (wose name is now the same as the magic word...)?

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

We're back!

Hi, everyone. I've been away for a while, fighting at international medieval combat tournaments, producing videos, working in the insurance industry, having a girlfriend, that sort of thing, but I am revving back up the Captain Marvel Culture project. With that in mind, I wanted to share some very recent Captain Marvel news.

As you should know by now, Marvel Comics has reprinted scads of Marvelman comics and is currently reprinting the Alan Moore series about the character under the name "Miracleman," it's title in the US.

Noh-Varr became The Protector and descended into obscurity, a dead Mar-Vell showed up in a miniseries, and Carol Danvers took on the mantle of Captain Marvel in a new series written by Kelly Sue DeConnick (who I interviewed at NY Comic Con. I'll post that interview in a later blog post).

Meanwhile, over at DC, the newest re-imagining of "Shazam" (now the name of the character carrying the franchise of the original Captain Marvel) has become a regular back-up character in Justice League comics. He had his own back-up series that established the new character's origin, which includes a half-dozen foster kids (including Billy Batson and Mary) who can all transform into variants of Shazam heroes.

Now let's see what's out there on the Interwebs...