Those first few appearances of Marvel’s Captain Marvel in 1967-68, by Stan Lee, Roy Thomas and Gene Colan, were dramatic and innovative.
The Kree invader Captain Mar-Vell was an alien spy and saboteur who, when accidentally compelled to pose as a superhero, found that he was gradually becoming one.
It’s a theme that has been reworked to good effect since, notably in Marvel’s Thunderbolts (when the Masters of Evil posed as a superhero team) and Superior Spider-Man (in which Dr. Octopus took over his archenemy’s identity).
But I’ve heard Stan Lee was unenthusiastic about Marvel Comics stealing the name and Shazam-born thunder of the famous Fawcett hero of the 1940s (it was his publisher’s idea). As the feature fell into other hands, it careened erratically into relative obscurity. What might have been, had Thomas and Colan stayed...
Paul Zuckerman wrote: Thomas left the book and then returned for a handful of issues in tandem with Gil Kane, revising the character to actually be more like the Fawcett Capt Marvel.
ReplyDeleteI only read those first couple of issues in Marvel Super-Heroes and then in Cap's own series before I went on hiatus from buying comics. While Colan was one of my favorite artists, I didn't warm to the feature. I wasn't sure where it was going to go even as Mar-Vell was evolving from being a bad guy to a good guy; so I missed all those issues initially under other hands but when I read them, I was not overly impressed by those stories. I did very much like the rebooted version with Kane and Thomas; by that point, I think Thomas had really hit his stride as a writer and there was nothing he was turning out at that point that I didn't like. And, of course, Kane had been one of my favorite artists but he seemed particularly unleashed in his explosive work on the feature. When Starlin came on board, he changed direction again as he began his endless cosmic fantasy epic!
Tom Chesek wrote: Agreed...I don’t know how long they could have sustained that vibe, but the whole dark undercurrent of subterfuge that courses through those earliest adventures was intriguing at the time (and a good fit for Gene Colan’s shadowy style), and not at all what you might have expected given the origins of the project and the legacy of the name...it wasn’t long before I lost interest in the character though, and the next time I checked in there was a definite Billy Batson thing going on with the inclusion of Rick Jones...
ReplyDeleteMatthew Grossman wrote: I own a lot of this series in reprint.
ReplyDeleteI kind of wish they stuck with the original concept, honestly ; the endless reworking of the character gets a bit much. (Although Starlin’s cosmic-psychedelic run is of course exceptional.)
Charles W. Fouquette wrote; It was like Christmas for this 14 year old fan in the Spring of 1968! My allowance was strained but I supplemented my personal income with bringing soda bottles to the grocery store for the 5 cent refunds! I skipped Dr. Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of Shield for a while though. I did get all the back issues eventually
ReplyDeleteSalvatore Marlow wrote: Captain Marv-Vell was a great concept, like you say, just look at the Thunderbolts. Super Spies were big time in the 60s and to make the Captain from outer space should had been a double winner. The name and the costume color killed it. There were far too many fans of the Fawcett Captain, proof of this may have been the publisher wanting to steal something that would give guarantee sales. Might had been better if the Kree outright stole the concept in the story. A “we are going to send you to Earth as one of their superheroes.” concept. The later add of Rick Jones just added insult to injury, pulling the Kree Captain closer to the Fawcett Captain. On the subject of costume...who puts a dynamic hero in Earth tone green and white, that never sells.
ReplyDeleteFrank Haddock wrote: I loved the first few issues of Captain Marvel. I thought the idea of hime being a Kree agent investigating earth was fine. The love triangle with the Kree commander. The complications Carol Danvers created with her affections for Mar-vell. They should have made it into a mini series. Instead we got another hero with wild superpowers.
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ReplyDeleteBart J. Mixon wrote: With the 1968 expansion Marvel was suddenly obligated to produce more product that their creatives could support. Captain Marvel was not the only book that floundered at this time - Nick Fury, Dr. Strange and the Silver Surfer were equally short-lived.
Orson Welk wrote: So much seems to depend on when you meet a character. I met Mar-vell at the start of Starlin's run, but liked the character enough to collect his back issues. I loved Colan's work on the title (and most of the others he drew in the 60s). Roy was able to make good use of Mar-Vell in the Kree/Skrull storyline in The Avengers.
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