Review: Captain Marvel Earth’s Mightiest Hero Vol. 2
Quick Summary
Pros: The main storyline is filled with fun action and some thrilling battles. Captain Marvel continues to be a fascinating hero and an entertaining lead character. The Infinity tie-in issues provide a good look at Carol’s personal struggle and help enhance the event as a whole.
Cons: The team-up with Spider-Man is average at best. The artwork throughout the collection is lackluster overall.
Overall: This is an entertaining comic all by itself and an interesting continuation of Captain Marvel’s personal journey. The majority of the stories told here are fun and filled with cool action and epic confrontations. This action is then complemented by a wealth of character development and some well-written emotions. There are only a few places where the volume falters and these mistakes are overwhelmed by the volume’s successes. Anyone interested in Captain Marvel, or compelling heroes in general, should consider reading this book.
Story
Captain Marvel Earth’s Mightiest Hero Vol. 2, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, continues the grounded and character-focused storytelling of its predecessor while also adding in some epic and grandiose adventures. This is a collection that has Captain Marvel team up with the Avengers to take down a threat to the entire city of New York and then a threat to the entire universe. Paired with these epic adventures are ones that are more focused on individuals, giving readers a chance to see Captain Marvel interact with people who need her on an emotional level, rather than a heroic one. All of this makes for some great storytelling and continues to make this a series that is well worth reading.
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Captain Marvel Vol. 2 opens right where there previous volume left off, with Carol Danvers facing off against Yon-Rogg’s evil plan. This is an epic and action-packed adventure that features a number of great moments. The inclusion of the rest of the Avengers also adds even more substance and makes the fighting more diverse.
However, it is the conclusion and aftermath to this fight that ends up being the true highlight of the collection. Carol’s sacrifice shows how dedicated she is to doing all she can for the world. DeConnick shows that dedication, rather than powers, is what makes Captain Marvel a hero. The aftermath is also incredibly touching, as Carol’s interactions with her self-proclaimed sidekick are wonderfully heartwarming. All of this makes for a great reading experience and generates even more excitement for this series.
The second half of the book starts out by detailing Captain Marvel’s role in the Infinity (Review) event. Despite being a tie-in to an event separate from the rest of the book, these chapters end up doing a great job in furthering Captain Marvel’s personal journey. Here, DeConnick is able to surround Carol with friends and show how little Carol remembers about their adventures together. Seeing Carol devoid of emotion is rough but works perfectly with the larger narrative being told here.
These chapters are also great in providing additional context to the Infinity (Review) event as a whole. In Infinity (Review), the focus is on the overall outcome of the entire war in space and on the near destruction of the Avengers’ forces. In Captain Marvel Vol. 2, the focus is on the overall outcome of smaller skirmishes and the near deaths of individual Avengers. This makes the circumstances of this event more personal and further grounds it in personal sacrifice. This enhances the events as a whole and will be particularly enjoyable for those who have already read Infinity (Review).
The volume closes with a two chapter team-up featuring Spider-Man. Though this adventure is still fun and a bit exciting, it is definitely the weakest portion of the collection. It brings up a number of interesting concepts but fails to fully develop any of them, leaving the ultimate message of the story unclear. This is still a fun adventure but not quite as fun as the rest of the book.
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Art
The artwork in Captain Marvel Vol. 2 is one of the collection’s weakest points. Both Barry Kitson and Pat Olliffe’s pencils in the Infinity (Review) tie-in chapters looks static and unimaginative. This takes a lot of the wonder out of the space battles and makes these chapters feel a bit stale. In addition, Scott Hepburn’s work on the “Enemy Within” chapters seems a little too heavily stylized for the serious nature of this story. When viewed together, these chapters bring the collection’s quality level down.
On the plus side, Filipe Andrade’s work on the “Enemy Within” aftermath chapter looks great and is also a perfectly complement to the character-focused story being told within this chapter. Also, Terry Dodson’s work on the Spider-Man chapters looks gorgeous and matches the fun and carefree nature of this particular adventure.
Continuity
Captain Marvel: Earth’s Mightiest Hero Vol. 2 continues the story started in Captain Marvel: Earth’s Mightiest Hero Vol. 1 (Review).
The story here continues in Captain Marvel: Earth’s Mightiest Hero Vol. 3.
This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:
- The origin behind Carol Danvers’ powers is referenced a number of times throughout this collection. This origin was originally told in Captain Marvel #18, which is collected in Captain Marvel Masterworks Vol. 2.
- A reference is made to Wolverine’s past experience with the Brood. This reference alludes to Uncanny X-Men #161-162, now collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 8, and Uncanny X-Men #233-234, now collected in X-Men: Inferno Prologue.
- The last page of “Captain Marvel Seventeen” teases the appearances of the new Ms. Marvel, whose adventures begin in Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal (Review)
- A large portion of this book takes place during the Infinity (Review) event.
- Carol went by the name Binary when her powers were altered by alien experiments. She began using this name in Uncanny X-Men #164, now collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 8.
- Spider-Woman mentions her recent breakup with Hawkeye. This happened in Hawkeye #9, collected in Hawkeye Vol. 2: Little Hits.
- Spider-Woman has an aversion to Skrulls ever since the events of Secret Invasion.
- This collection contains a crossover with the Avenging Spider-Man series. This crossover takes place in the middle of Avenging Spider-Man: The Complete Collection.