"X" Marks the Mar-Vell! The Blog History of ALL the Captain Marvels, Part 18

"X" MARKS THE MAR-VELL
The largest and most extensive of the realizations of an Alex Ross idea, the "high-water mark," if you will, of these limited-series extrapolations of possible alternate futures of the superhero universe, was undoubtedly Earth X and its follow-ups, Universe X and Paradise X, and a Captain Marvel or two were right in the middle of it.

Captain Marvel appears in various forms on selected covers of Earth X, Universe X, and Paradise X.

This Captain Marvel's story was intimately intertwined with death (which may or may not have been ironically deliberate, being as, at this time in the regular Marvel Universe, Mar-Vell was still dead). However, the story was so big and complex and convoluted, with so many characters doing so many bizarre and universe-shattering things and changing in so many ways, told over massive numbers of pages in three 14-issue limited series in a combination of sequential art and prose, that I can't honestly say that I fully understood it the first three times I tried to read it.

Mar-Vell did appear in two distinctive guises: One of them was the dead Kree warrior in the afterlife, leading an army of dead Kree warriors into battle, inspiring them with a speech to convince them that they were actually dead, though their enemy told them otherwise; The other was a 5-year-old child battling the Supreme Intelligence and pining over his late lover, Una.

 

The child and dead versions of Mar-vell in Earth X

CAROL DANVERS/CAPTAIN MARVEL MOVIE REVEALS in ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY! (real news, part 1)

Work referenced in this post can be found here...

      

Once again, we interrupt the "Blog History of the many Captain Marvels" to cover some big Captain Marvel news that just dropped.

On September 4-5, there were some kernels of hints that there would be something major regarding Marvel's Captain Marvel (see how I did that? Kernel, major, captain?) released. Many people speculated that, after DC put out their SHAZAM! trailer, then for a Captain Marvel thing from Marvel we would see a big, glorious, exciting Captain Marvel trailer. And we all woke up the next day to find out that this big, glorious, exciting trailer...

...was NOT released! There was so much disappointment on the Interwebs that I could make a whole "clickbait roundup"(TM) about it. But I would rather not waste my valuable writing time on that.

Instead, let's talk about what was released:

First, EW hits us with a brief but juicy cover story

But even more interesting is this: ten photos from the movie

And ScreenRant listed all the "reveals."

I am so certain that the clickbait network has been working overtime on this. ScreenRant alone has over a half-dozen articles about the movie pop up just since the EW reveal, and I am not going to spend my time logging them all. Instead, here are my thoughts:

1. THE COSTUME
From the moment the movie was announced and "casting rumors" started flying fan art was showing interpretations of the current Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel outfit in faked pictures of potential actresses like Katie Sackoff, Emily Blunt,  and Ronda Rousey. Once Brie Larsen was announced, there were bunches of pictures of her in versions of the suit, some of which got repeated over and over in article and post after clickbait article and post whenever there was an announcement about the movie.

 That suit, in the comics, is blue and red. When the first set pictures of Brie Larsen in costume came out, she was wearing a suit of black and green. The location and design of the colors were pretty close to what we see in the comics (black for blue, green for red), but speculation abounded as to why this was what we were seeing.

"It's going to be colored in post!" was one cry. "That's the green of a greenscreen!" Others with more knowledge of the comics pointed out that Captain Mar-Vell, Marvel Comics' first Captain Marvel and the one through whom Carol Danvers got her powers, originally had a white and green suit with a similar color distribution. this may have been a tribute to that, some said. At least one person pointed out that the uniform of S.W.O.R.D., an international anti-alien threat defense organization, uses black, white, and green.

The truth is out now. This is the uniform of "Starforce," a Kree strike team, of which Carol Danvers is a leading member, as is the character played by Jude Law (more on that later). But Danvers will also be seen in a blue and red version of the costume. This may have something to do with something that happens in the story (more on that later, also). In any event, the green on the shoulders, gloves, boots, and belt are in keeping with Roy Thomas' color scheme of Gene Colan's original design. We may see a "battle helmet" also, if Samuel L. Jackson's T-shirt is to be believed.

It does seem, however, that they are dispensing with the rank-specific colors and insignia as established in the comics.

2. JUDE LAW'S CHARACTER
Well, everyone from IMDB on down was convinced that Jude Law would be playing Captain Mar-Vell/Walter Lawson. I even wrote a blog post about this. It turns  out that, according to this EW exclusive, what we know is that he will be a commander, and he and Carol Danvers will be working together in the Kree Starforce. The term "mentor" has been bandied about to describe his relationship with Danvers ever since the original "in talks with..." announcements were made regarding Law's casting in the movie. We see pictures of him both in what I presume is a Kree battlesuit or something (the black and green suit we have seen on Brie Larsen) and in a more casual, short-sleeved affair. We also see him with short black hair and his characteristic, pronounced, widow's peak.

In the comics, Mar-Vell did not work with Carol Danvers much after she became the superhero Ms. Marvel, and Danvers never, ever worked for the Kree. Mar-Vell started with white hair, which turned blonde later (when he gained "cosmic awareness"). His rank in the Kree military in the original Marvel Comics was "captain," not "commander. All these things are different from what we are seeing in the movie so far.

However...

We have been told that Carol Danvers' origin as Captain Marvel will be different from the comics (more on that later). Furthermore, in Marvel's "Ultimates" universe, the corresponding character to Mar-Vell - whose name is spelled Mahr Vehl - has black hair, and his rank in the Kree military is "Pluskommander," which he describes as equivalent to a captain. In addition, his human disguise/alter ego is named Phillip Lawson.

The Ultimates universe has been used as source for parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe already, most notably, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury). Bizarrely, Mahr Vehl/Philip Lawson was the Captain Marvel that appeared in the animated series Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, while Carol Danvers became Ms. Marvel with the 1970's red & blue costume and scarf, and Phyla-Vell (Mar-Vell's cloned daughter from the main Marvel universe, whose origin is tied in with the destruction and re-creation of the universe with the help of Genis-Vell, Mar-Vell's post-mortem cloned son) even makes an appearance, wearing quantum bands (I don't have time to explain all that).

So it is not impossible that Jude Law is portraying Mahr Vehl rather than Mar-Vell. Of course, we don't see any pictures of him disguised as an Earth person, so we don't know if Walter or Philip Lawson will be making an appearance.

Another theory about Jude Law's character is that he will be playing Colonel Yon-Rogg. This is an interesting idea.

Yon-Rogg was Captain Mar-Vell's superior. He was jealous of Mar-Vell's standing as a loyal, reliable soldier who had a great future ahead of him, and despised his kind-heartedness. He was also in  love with Medic Una, Mar-Vell's girlfriend (who does not yet seem to be appearing in this movie). So he sent Mar-Vell alone on the  highly dangerous mission of spying on humanity to determine if they should be wiped out. He would repeatedly put perils in front of Mar-Vell that he thought would either make the captain look bad or kill him, and hated him even more every time Mar-Vell came out smelling like a rose.

In the end Yon-Rogg's jealousy made him self-destructive. He destroyed his career and nearly killed himself in his single-mind pursuit of Mar-Vell's destruction. The climax of his pursuit was the explosion of the Kree psyche-magnitron machine which led to Carol Danvers getting superpowers (that emerged eight years later, real-time when she became Ms. Marvel. In a recent Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) comic he resurfaced and nearly succeeded in capturing the Earth to give it to the Kree Empire, but by this time the Kree had no more interest in Earth, and besides, Yon-Rogg's authorization had long since expired. He was cut off by the Kree and defeated by Danvers/Marvel and her superhero friends.

Yon-Rogg had been drawn several different ways by several different artists. Sometimes he had brown hair, sometimes black, and Gil Kane even gave him a little villain's mustache! Sometimes he had a widow's peak. This all makes Jude Law look  like he might be a fit for that role. Though -Rogg and Danvers  only interacted once in the comics, since we are already breaking away from the comic continuity with Danvers being part of Starforce, why can't Yon-Rogg be the commander that eventually turns against her?

  So is the hair the over/under on which character Jude Law is playing? Remember, there has been some "blackening " of characters in superhero movies and TV shows lately. Aquaman and the Flash, you may recall, each have black hair in the latest movies, but in the comics were notably, and vibrantly, blonde! Could this be the latest example of this dark trend?

There is a lot more to talk about of what Entertainment Weekly has shared with us. What do you think of what's been mentioned so far?

TO BE CONTINUED...

All characters and images are copyright their respective copyright holders.

Jude Law as Marvel's first Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell (real news!)!

It seems I am a little behind the news on this one, but to quote a very young Queen Elizabeth, "Dear me, I've been busy." With what Ihave been busy are subjects for my other blog, my other, other blog, my other, other, other blog, and my Facebook page.

So here is the news: JUDE LAW IS GONG TO PLAY CAPTAIN MARVEL (MAR-VELL...probably)!

The clickbait press was all over this one as soon as the sister publications Deadline and Variety announced that Jude Law was "in talks" and "negotiations" for the role. Headlines over the next couple of days were about 50-50 between "is" and "might be." That "in talks" status seems to be what is current, though the Net-o-shpere is pretty much taking it as a done deal

 .

Variety describes the role played by Law as "Doctor Walter Lawson, a.k.a. Mar-Vell, who becomes a mentor of sorts to Danvers as she tries to figure out her new powers."

I think this is an interesting choice. Physically, Jude Law is not as tall as Mar-Vell, nor does he have white or blonde hair and blue eyes, as Mar-Vell has had. He is lean and fit, though.

Mar-Vell has gone through several looks during his time. Initially, as drawn by Gene Colan, Don Heck, Dick Ayers, and others, he was a beefy, square-jawed hero, with short white hair and a frustratingly generic average handsome white man face. Gil Kane made him leaner and his face longer and more expressive. Jim Starlin continued that trend, also cueing off of Kane's had given him, and finally Pat Broderick gave him his version of a hero face, with a pompadour and sideburns growing through his mask.

 

The difference between the Colan and Broderick Mar-Vells were so great, it was almost laughable when, in a Broderick-drawn story, a character saw him without his mask and identified him as Walter Lawson (an alter ego he had not used for ten years, real-time)

This just goes to show that Jude Law's specific features and physique are not so important when casting the role, so we can just move on from that. Instead, let's consider the character and Law's previous body of work.

 Marvel Comics' first Captain Marvel was never a top-tier character in terms of popularity. His comic was always teetering on the precipice of cancellation, switched from monthly to bi-monthly, and even was cancelled a few times. The character went through some wild, shark-jumping escapades, being put through major changes at a dizzying rate, often in an attempt to boost sales. Through all these changes, the character, understandably, was confused. He was often "seeking his place in the universe." Having deserted the Kree, then driven from Earth, he was a man without a home for a while. During his lengthy period of sharing time in the Negative Zone with Rick Jones, neither he nor Jones were able to put down any kind of roots anywhere.When the two finally separated their time-sharing for good, he bounced around from place to place, never staying in one place for more than two issues, until he finally found the love of Elysius and settled down on Titan for a few brief years, until he died of cancer.

This rootless uncertainty made him a bit of a tortured soul. Even his "cosmic awareness," granted to him during Jim Starlin's run with the character, could not calm his uncertainty. It did, however, enable hi to handle challenges of a super-villain nature with a sense of yogi-like serenity.

Jude Law has shown himself to be very good at serious, sensitive roles in movies like Gattaca, Cold Mountain, and Enemy at the Gates. If that aspect of his character is explored in the movie, Jude should do well in the role. He has also played a hero mentoring an adventurous female in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. I could see some of that coming into play in his relationship with Carol Danvers.

Mar-Vell was an accomplished warrior for the Kree when he was first introduced in the comics, and his stocky build was perfect for that role. He was constantly battling giant monsters or hordes of enemy soldiers. Jude Law's smaller frame is not, at first glance, built for such a role. In Enemy at the Gates he was a sniper, so being smaller he was able to sneak and hide, and he did not have to engage in fisticuffs. He just had to serenely find his target and shoot.

This would serve the "cosmic awareness" aspect of the character better than the "alien warrior" aspect. When the cosmic entity Eon gave Mar-Vell the power of Cosmic Awareness and made him the "Protector of the Universe" With this new power, instead of having to engage in a slugfest with a powerful foe, he could sense his adversary's weak points and center of balance and defeat him with a minimum of effort in a minimum of time with a minimum of damage. With that ability, the hero does not have to have big, showy muscles.

In the "Someone is Wrong on the Internet" department, Cheat Sheet has posted a whole "What We Know About..." article by Brendan Morrow. However, despite most of the article being pretty darn accurate regarding the character of Mar-Vell, the author commits one unforgivable sin. He states "the first time we were ever introduced to someone called Captain Marvel, the character was a man who was referred to as Mar-Vell. He also used the pseudonym Walter Lawson."

As anyone who has watched my video of the history of the many Captain Marvels knows, the original Captain Marvel was Billy Batson's alter ego, into whom he transforms when he says "Shazam!" The fact of this error is compounded by the GIF that is posted in the article of Garret Craig as the Fawcett-DC hero in the 1979 TV special "Legends of the Superheroes: Superhero Roast."

And here is your clickbait roundup:
GeekTyrant brings attention to how Variety's article at first did not mention Mar-Vell, then updated itself to do so.
NY Daily News
 io9.gizmodo mentions that "Keanu Reeves was being considered for the role before passing."
WGME
BBC America
Channel24
CinemaBlend
DigitalSpy
Newsdotcom
NME
Nerdist actually shows a cover of Marvel's "Captain Marvel" comic book.
Uproxx
SyfyWire supposes that Ben Mendelsohn will play the leader of the Skrulls.
Vulture
Gamespot
ign
CBR
AVClub
Collider
Entertainment Week
comicbookdotcom
Slash/Film
Independent
sciencefictiodotcom
The Wrap
Hindustan Times
mashable
FilmJunk
EpicStream
HeroDaily
The Action Pixel
GeeksOut
MovieWeb
Screen Rant
moviesdotie
Comics-x-aminer
WQLZ
ImpulsoHQ
Geeks of Color
Por La Libre
Se Estrena
Screenweek

Brie Larsen's Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel costume revealed!

This is a story that is no doubt all over the Interwebs and has engendered enough clickbait to run the stream dry, but I have been out of tow for a week and a half since the news broke and I only havetime to post this one link from Cinema Blend:

What Brie Larson May Look Like As Captain Marvel

As you can see from the picture, most of the design is a direct copy from the comics. The most notable differences are the belt and the fact that it appears to be armored (which brings up the question: If she is supposed to be nigh-invulnerable, why does she need an armored costume?).

From announcements at San Diego Comic Con we know that the story will take place in the 1990's and that the Skrulls (a race of shape-shifting aliens who are the adversaries of the Kree) will be involved. This opens up the possibility that the story may be based, at least in part, on the Kree-Skrull War Saga (in which Captain Mar-Vel, the Kree warrior who was involved in the incident that gave Carol Danvers her superpowers, was deeply involved), or the Secret Invasion (in which Danvers did not play a leading role, but a time-displaced Mar-Vell seemed to appear and play a pivotal role).

It was also announced that Samuel L. Jackson would return as Nick Fury, but with two functional eyes. I guess this means that this Nick Fury did not lose his eye in WWII, as did the original white one in the comics.

Incidentally, for those keeping track of such things, lots of writers are calling this something that makes it sound like this will be the first movie about a female superhero. Pay close attention to the specific wording. There was a Supergirl movie starring Helen Slater and Faye Dunaway in the 1980's, but that was DC, not Marvel. There was also the Catwoman movie in the 1990's with Halle Berry, but it was neither Marvel, nor was it about a superhero. There was an Elektra movie in the 2000's, but that was not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was not a "blockbuster" hit, and the character was more of an anti-hero than a superhero. Then, of course, there was the recent Wonder Woman movie, still in theaters (last I checked).

So that makes Marvel's "Captain Marvel" the first MCU theatrical movie with a female superhero lead. There. I'm glad we got that settled.

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...)?

Don't Miss the Ms.

This Captain Marvel did engender a superhero spinoff that would become another Captain Marvel. Carol Danvers absorbed radiation from a Kree machine. This radiation had the effect of turning her into a superhero, the Kree Warrior known as Ms. Marvel.

Ms. Marvel made her first appearance in 1976, just a few years after the first issue of Ms. magazine. This was no coincidence. She was deliberately marketed as “the feminist superhero.” It does seem odd, then, some of the choices that were made for this character by writer Gerry Conway. Carol Danvers had been dismissed from NASA for her unsatisfactory handling of security issues involving the early adventures of Captain Mar-Vell, and now she was starting her new job as editor of Woman magazine, a publication mirroring Ms. She then would have blackouts, during which Ms. Marvel would appear. In other words, she was a schizo! What does this say about women and feminism?

This personality split was ultimately resolved, but she still was wearing a remarkably skimpy costume with one of the most impractical costume elements ever, a scarf! The costume was altered to stop showing her navel, and then completely redesigned to not have any resemblance to Captain Mar-Vell's.

Her series only lasted two years. She became a member of the Avengers, one of its most powerful However, her earliest appearances were punctuated by constant remarks, both in thought and out loud, as to how aggressive she was, as if not being a shy, retiring, submissive was the definition of feminism.

Then one day she turned out to be pregnant, but had not had any sex recently. The pregnancy ran its course in a matter of days. The offspring grew to adulthood even faster. He turned out to be Marcus, the son of Kang, an immortal time-traveling dictator and adversary of the Avengers. He had been trapped in Limbo and this was the only way he knew to get out. He had brought Danvers into Limbo, seduced her with the aid of scientific devices from the future, and impregnated her. Unfortunately, he was unable to survive on Earth, so he had to go back to Limbo, and Danvers volunteered to go with him, believing she was in love.

The truth is, she was raped, and her friends (the Avengers) seemed more concerned with the baby than her welfare. No one batted an eyelash when she left. When Marcus, who continued to age rapidly, died, the effects of the devices wore off, and Danvers found her way back to Earth. There she was almost immediately set upon by a new supervillain, Rogue, who stripped her of her powers and memory. In other words, she was raped again. Is this any way to treat the character that is supposed to be your feminist superhero?

Next: The Return of the Original!

Marvel's First Marvel

History is undecided on what happened next. In Les Daniels' official history of the Marvel Universe, Stan Lee says that he looked around, decided that it would be only right for Marvel Comics to have a Captain Marvel, and engaged in complex legal negotiations to get the name. Roy Thomas, who was assigned writing duties for the character after Stan Lee's first story, states both in articles in Alter Ego magazine and the Marvel Masterworks edition reprinting the first Marvel Comics Captain Marvel stories that it was Martin Goodman's idea, that he had to “protect his investment in the name”...Marvel. One thing is for sure, it was a perfectly reasonable business decision to grab a hold of the name Captain Marvel when your company is called Marvel Comics. There is no end of stories of people assuming that Captain Marvel was a product of Marvel Comics simply by word association alone. In any event, in 1967, Stan the Man created a new Captain Marvel. This one was an alien from the intergalactic Kree empire. He was a Captain in the military and his name was Mar-Vell. He was assigned to spy on Earth and determine if the human race was a threat to the Kree, and thus should be wiped out.

He took the guise of a mild-mannered yet mysterious rocket scientist named Walter Lawson and infiltrated the Cape, a US military space exploration base (they never actually called it Cape Kennedy, which was the name of the US space base at the time, but some years later, in flashbacks, it was referred to as Cape Canaveral). There he earned the suspicions of Carol Danvers, the beautiful female head of security. As he worked with and observed the humans, he began to feel sympathy for them and resisted opportunities to kill them, even fighting to defend them from various threats such as robots and monsters from various sources that seemed to make a habit of attacking the base (using the superior strength of his alien physiology and the superior technology and weaponry of his Kree space suit). In the course of saving the base from these threats, his name, Captain Mar-Vell, came to be pronounced by humans as “Captain Marvel.”

There was also a complex romantic polyhedron going on. Mar-Vell was in love with a medic, Una, on board the Kree ship that was orbiting Earth. She loved him too, but Colonel Yon-Rogg had lustful designs on her, and had a seething hatred for Mar-Vell as a result. Meanwhile on Earth, Carol Danvers was falling for Captain Marvel, who was beginning to develop affection for her, while she was ever suspicious of Walter Lawson, who kept on disappearing at remarkably convenient moments and around whom strange, unexplainable things happened.

Put all this together, and you had a character who was in many ways, more like Superman than the original Captain Marvel. An alien from outer space with powers and abilities beyond those of mortal men, who disguises himself as a mild-mannered person, then slips away to change into his heroic costume and save the world. He had a hyphenated name that ended with “el.” He even had a Lois Lane parallel in Carol Danvers, who incidentally has the same last name as Superman's cousin, Linda Danvers, Supergirl (Roy Thomas, who created her, insists was an accident).

Stan Lee likes to justifiably boast about the seemingly magical success about every one of his creations from the 1960's. However, in his autobiography, there is not a single mention of Captain Marvel. Whether he forgot, or was embarrassed, the fact is that his Captain Marvel did not sell as well as most everything else he created in the 1960's. Gene Colan, who designed the uniform and drew the first few issues, said it was the worst superhero costume ever.

Captain Mar-Vell first appeared in the pages of Marvel Comics' compendium book, Marvel Super-Heroes, and after two issues, he got his own book. However, after a year of repetitive stories, there began a series of plot devices and shark-jumping changes galore. Unfortunately, none of these changes really were able to grab a loyal audience.

Both his love-interest, Una, and rival, Yon-Rogg were killed, he was used as a pawn in Kree politics, got swept up in racial conflict within the Kree Empire, then ultimately was given new powers, a new costume, and then unceremoniously dumped into the Negative Zone. Then Rick Jones, Marvel Comics' official all-purpose sidekick (yes the kid who got Bruce Banner turned into the Hulk), found a pair of golden bracelets called “nega-bands,” and by banging them together, found he could trade places with Captain Mar-Vell in the Negative Zone. This was a new take on the Billy Batson/Captain Marvel transformation. This time, instead of it being a strict transformation, where the alter-ego was subsumed by the superhero and vice versa, the alter egos were actually able to communicate with each other, essentially living in each other's heads.

But the biggest change for Captain Mar-Vell was when, in 1973, Jim Starlin wrote and drew a storyline that had Mar-Vell being chosen by the cosmic entity Eon to be the Protector of the Universe and granted Cosmic Awareness (the ability to be aware of absolutely everything in the universe, past, present, and future. A handy ability, and one that can give great serenity to one who has the mental and emotional stability to handle it). This turned the alien warrior into a cosmic space hippie, very much a product of his times.

Despite this, and a very concerted effort by Marvel Comics to identify this Captain Marvel as one of the front-line heroes in its universe, the title was eventually canceled in 1979.

Next: Don't Miss the Ms.!