Broken Frontier

A long absent hero returned in Civil War: The Return. Has Marvel pulled off a major coup or will fandom be united in a group wailing and gnashing of teeth?

Note: This review discusses significant plot SPOILERS so please read no further if you have not yet read the issue.

While Civil War has already had its fair share of controversy, this tie-in issue is the one that many longer-term fans of the Marvel Universe were anticipating with a growing sense of dread. For some months it’s been hyped as featuring the return of a long absent fan-favorite character and, given the logo on the front cover, it’s been pretty obvious to all concerned just who that character was. Three pages into Civil War: The Return and any lingering doubts, any musings that it may all have been a clever piece of misdirection, are put to rest. The previously deceased Captain Marvel (the Kree warrior Mar-Vell) is back.

For those wondering just what the fuss is all about, and let’s face it twenty-five years have passed since Captain Marvel died, it’s worth mentioning that this 1960s-originated hero had a reasonably successful solo career in his own book that lasted through much of the 1970s. While never an A-list hero he certainly made the B-lists, was an honorary Avenger and died, in Marvel’s first graphic novel The Death of Captain Marvel, in a truly memorable story. What made the demise of this super-powered soldier all the more poignant was that he didn’t go out in a blaze of glory in battle but, rather, died quietly in bed, surrounded by loved ones after contracting cancer.

Unfortunately it’s impossible to discuss the merits of this issue without giving away the salient plot points behind his return, so if you’ve been spoiled enough already then here’s your second warning to read no further! Surprise twist number one is that the Marvel Universe’s original Captain Marvel has been acting as the warden of the Negative Zone prison for unregistered super-heroes. Surprise twist number two (and you can almost hear that collective sigh of relief in comics shops up and down the country) is that no resurrection has taken place. This is Captain Marvel from years before his death, accidentally brought forward in time in as a fluke result of the pro-Registration forces’ creation of a portal into the Negative Zone.

Firstly let’s give Marvel some credit for once for not invalidating anything that’s gone before and for not cheapening a classic and touching story by rendering death even more meaningless in the Marvel Universe (if that’s actually possible…). The way Mar-Vell returns is hardly original but there were far worse alternative ways to bring him back.

Furthermore, with the hero being aware of his fate, and knowing that eventually he will have to return to his correct timeline, there’s certainly a plethora of character-driven storylines that could be explored. How will friends and family react to his return? What will he make of a darker Marvel Universe? Should he try to cheat his destiny? How will he deal with finding out about the recently-departed son he never knew? Will he come face to face with Nitro? And, if so, how do you confront the man who gave you the cancer that killed/will kill you? With all these questions it’s hardly surprising to learn that a new Captain Marvel series is imminent.

Despite these possibilities The Return seems strangely low-key. It’s a brief setup for an ongoing series that lacks the emotional punch it should have. Paul Jenkins’ story has to cram far too much into its brief page count to give the revelations the time they deserve. Mar-Vell also feels rather awkwardly shoehorned into the Civil War scenario with no real explanation as to why he would accept the dubious position of governor of Tony Stark’s internment camp.

It would be remiss not to mention that the issue is rounded out with a Sentry story dealing with his decision whether to register as a superhuman or not. It’s a fairly pedestrian ten-pager that holds few surprises.

Art throughout the issue is by Tom Raney and Scott Hanna. They shine on the Captain Marvel pages, particularly the dramatic last full-page shot of the character, and their recreations of past key points in Marvel history are effective. The Sentry pages are less memorable but by that stage the reader is still far too distracted by the events surrounding Mar-Vell anyway.

And so to the big question… should Marvel have brought the former Kree captain back? For what it’s worth it still feels like a bit of a cheat to me. Part of the point of saying goodbye to a favorite character, after all, is that we won’t be seeing them again (apart from maybe in flashback). It also feels suspiciously similar to Marv Wolfman’s “out” for Barry Allen in the wake of Crisis On Infinite Earths.

Love it or loathe it, Marvel have found a way to return their original “space-born super-hero”. Regardless of the potential for engaging future tales, I suspect they still have a lot of work to do to convince many fans this was the right decision.