Review: 'Captain Marvel' #1 Proves Carol's Star Has Never Been Brighter

Captain Marvel enters a brand-new era, and she's off to a simply marvelous start.

Spoilers incoming for Captain Marvel #1, so if you haven't read the issue yet you've been warned.

To get you up to speed, Captain Marvel #1 kicks off a brand-new series with writer Kelly Thompson and artist Carmen Carnero at the helm. This picks up after The Life of Captain Marvel miniseries, but Thompson does a fantastic job of getting you up to speed if you happened to miss it, so the issue is relatively new-reader friendly.

Marvel characters are known for being relatable, but Carol Danvers takes that trait to heart. Over the course of 34 pages, Thompson reminds fans why they fell in love with the character in the first place. The sarcastic and daredevil aspects of Carol's personality are fully embraced and are only maximized when Jessica Drew is involved.

The back-and-forth between Danvers and Drew is easily one of the book's high points, and Drew brings out a side of Danvers' personality that no one else has managed to unearth. There's a rhythm when these two occupy the same space, turning an ordinary fight in the city (though guess you can't call a fight with a giant kraken ordinary) into a buffet of comedic riches.

It's not just Jess that shines. Thompson pulls from Carol's longtime allies (Drew and Rhodes) but keeps things fresh with some new blood (Hazmat and Ripley), and a most enjoyable (and thankfully lighthearted) Tony Stark forms the cherry on the sundae. Each of them reveals a different aspect of Carol, but the most promising by far is Hazmat. Carol looks to take Hazmat under her wing, but she will be just as important to Carol's future growth. There's a vulnerability in Carol when she talks about her history, especially in relation to her struggles with powers over the years, and mentoring Hazmat should provide plenty of opportunities to explore that in new and rewarding ways, all the while using that exploration to build up Hazmat simultaneously.

On the visual side of things, Carnero and colorist Tamra Bonvillain knock it out of the park from cover to final page. The duo has no issue bringing a destructive kraken to life in the middle of New York, but there's also a gracefulness to their characters and how they move, punctuated with moments of sheer power at the right time. They even make Nuclear Man look cool for heaven's sake. Tony doesn't think so, but whatever, you can't please everyone.

Carol has won fans over the years because underneath the impressive set of powers and cool costume is someone simply trying not to screw up and be the best hero she can be. She's grown past her Ms. Marvel days and into an icon and powerhouse in the upper echelon of Marvel heroes, but the same normal human being is at the center, and this couldn't be a better reminder of why we fell in love with her in the first place.

Thompson and company's Captain Marvel brings all the elements you loved about Carol and adds a few new wrinkles of her own. That would be enough to win us over, but then she goes and turns the book on its head by issue's end, paving a new path that holds even more compelling possibilities for our favorite hero. This is the best of the old and the new, and while you might come for the Carol you used to know, you'll end up staying for the revolutionary who's yet to come.

Published by Marvel Comics

On January 9, 2019

Written by Kelly Thompson

Art by Carmen Carnero

Colors by Tamra Bonvillain

Letters by VC's Clayton Cowles