Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps 1 review

One thing I don’t like about Marvel’s Secret Wars event is that it’s interrupting almost every series they’re releasing. All the X-Men team books have ended, replaced by books based on major X-Men events from the past. Most of their solo titles are interrupted. Sure, we’re getting creative books like A-Force, but I already miss comics like All New X-Men and Captain Marvel. Thankfully, some titles are replaced by very similar books that mix Secret Wars with the title characters. This week saw the first issue of two such books, 1602 Witch Hunter Angela and Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps. It was a struggle to pick which one I’d review since they’re both great, but since I often review Captain Marvel, I picked this one. For the rest of the review, I’ll refer to this issue as Carol Corps 1.

Carol Corps 1 takes place in a realm of Battleworld called Hala Field, a relatively normal realm protected by Captain Marvel and her military squad known as the Carol Corps. Several of her squad members (and Hala’s Baron) are recognizable versions of the supporting cast in Carol’s main series, and others are new characters. The squad’s varied personalities are introduced in this issue, with some blindly following the rules of Doom’s world, and others questioning its very nature. The crew eventually take out a ship that’s moving into their territory by the Baron’s orders, but it turns out the ship isn’t exactly as described. This leads to Carol, against what could be her better judgement, questioning the very nature of Battleworld.

The dialogue is always well-written, which is standard for Kelly Sue DeConnick’s writing. The interviews I’ve read suggest that co-writer Kelly Thompson did the bulk of the writing however. The comic strikes a good balance between expanding on Battleworld, its own individual story and introducing Hala Field. There’s fun and mystery, whether it’s Kit showing up as one of the Thors, the Baron’s complete loyalty toward Doom or the debate within the Carol Corps about how much they should question the world.

The art by David Lopez is good. Each member of the Carol Corps has a different look. Although she’s older, Kit is instantly recognizable thanks to her childlike grin. The page where the Thor Corps decimate a Hydra invasion force is a highlight, with a large view of the surrounding desert, the clouds rising from the chaos and the Carol Corps flying around in the foreground, watching the battle.

Although this feels like a Captain Marvel comic, it’s also a story about questioning the nature of the universe no matter how dangerous that is. For that, it’s a fascinating comic. Captain Marvel fans should enjoy this, as should anyone who finds the story concept interesting. It’s not as good as the main Captain Marvel series yet, but it could very well reach that point.