Freshly escaped from the heaving belly of a space menace, a terrier in a fetching vest and matching bow vomits a cotton-candy-pink goop. Iron Man makes a cameo and runs his smart, smarmy mouth. James Rhodes — also known as the monochromatic armor-clad War Machine — shows up with every bit of his charm.
And then the fighting starts.
By the end, Carol Danvers — the titular hero of “Captain Marvel” and the newest titan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — is charging into a portal to save a life without knowing what awaits her on the other side. She is brave. She is powerful. She is fearless.
But she’s not doing this in the “Captain Marvel” film that has set box office records on the way to its March 8 release. Rather, this is from the first issue of the new “Captain Marvel” comic book series, starring the latest iteration of a hero now shepherded by Portland writer Kelly Thompson.
“I was so excited to get a shot at the character, and to do it at a time when she’s poised to be more popular than ever, to be in the hearts of more people on the planet, even people who don’t read comics,” Thompson said. “It seemed like an incredible opportunity but also a terrifying responsibility.”
Thompson’s series is not a direct tie-in to the film. But as a fast-paced, zippy book with heart and humor, it is every bit a match for what the Marvel Cinematic Universe hopes to accomplish.
Thompson said the key to her first issue was to “establish Carol’s big, bright superhero world” as a jumping-on point for new Captain Marvel fans without talking down to longtime readers – the character dates back to 1967. Thompson had her first chance to work with the character in 2015, by co-writing the “Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps” miniseries with fellow Portland writer Kelly Sue DeConnick. It was “a big, high-profile way to fall on my face if I couldn’t figure it out,” Thompson said.
Now, Thompson said, the chance to fly solo has been even scarier.
The new series represents a getting-back-to-basics with the Carol Danvers character, with Iron Man as her “frenemy” and Rhodes as her love interest. That also involves emphasizing her relatable qualities, especially her proclivity for mistakes, Thompson said.
A spread from the first issue of the new Captain Marvel comic book series.
“She’s big and bold and heroic, but she’s also a real screw-up,” Thompson said. “One of the things one of the (film) trailers picked up on that is very much from the book, and especially Kelly Sue’s run, is that … always-get-up thing: If you fall down 1,000 times, you get up 1,001 times, and that’s how you win. That’s how you win the day. And it’s something I definitely picked up on in our book. It’s there on page two of our first issue.”
Part of the Captain Marvel essence also involves a certain roughness, Thompson said, which contrasts with smoother characters like Captain America.
“I think there are times when Carol can get too tied up in leadership, and it can sometimes make her seem like a less compelling, less funny character with the edges filed down. And I don’t see her that way, and I think a lot of creators and readers don’t. So I’m hoping to infuse some of that saltiness into what I’m doing.
“But I think she’s a big damn hero, and she deserves to be standing up there with all the rest, and I hope I can just reinforce that through our story.”
Thompson may be writing this series herself, but that doesn’t mean she’s alone. “I think it takes a village to make a great comic,” said Thompson, referring to artist Carmen Carnero and colorist Tamra Bonvillain. “It takes a village to make a bad one too, but I’m very lucky to have those great partners, so I think we’re making a good one.”
Thompson also has the gift of DeConnick’s contributions to the character, which include the film’s prominent “Higher, further, faster” tagline. Thompson said she had “chills” thinking about how important DeConnick has been to the story of Carol Danvers.
“I’m still baby steps with Carol,” Thompson said, laughing. “I’m getting her at a really important time, and I hope to shepherd her through that, and I don’t know if I can ever bring as much as Kelly Sue did to it. So far, my ‘Higher, further, faster’ is having Carol say, ‘I’m the boss of space.’ Which did get put in a video game, so let’s not undercut that.”
“Captain Marvel” and other Marvel superhero films would not be possible without comics as “story leaders,” leaving a legacy for anyone who enjoys the movie, Thompson said.
“If they love what they saw on film, they can get more of those stories, more than they ever dreamed,” Thompson said. “Those stories are the building blocks that made the movie they saw. And so if they love the movie and they have even a passing interest in comics, the ride doesn’t have to end.”
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