The latest reboot for the character comes up short yet again.
Carol Danvers hasn't been having a very fun decade. At some point, Marvel and Disney brass decided that the publisher needed its own Wonder Woman-esque figure in the Marvel Universe. But who could fill such a role? Apparently, none of the beloved X-Men characters were worthy, nor any of the other prominent female heroes throughout the history of the Avengers. So Marvel decided to take Carol Danvers, then Ms. Marvel, and reboot her as Captain Marvel in 2016.
Written by Kelly Sue Deconnick, Captain Marvel marked a new direction for the character, where she would become a figure placed in the same tier of importance and impact as Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. Except, instead of organically building Carol into Captain Marvel and positioning her to be a true leader, Marvel took the easy route and opted to tell fans she was important instead of showing fans she was. After all, the Captain Marvel MCU film was just a couple of years away, so it was important to begin the rebrand sooner, rather than later.
Ten years later, Marvel is still trying to achieve this goal. Sadly, a character that fans fell in love with for her time with the X-Men, and later in the '90s when I discovered her by reading Kurt Busiek's Avengers run (Warbird was a terrible name, by the way), was totally altered and reworked for the fabled modern audience and hasn't been the same since. Worse, with each subsequent relaunch, sales continued to slip, along with fan interest. Fan interest that was, frankly, never all that big to begin with. From altering Carol's origin to mindlessly powering up the character to the point of being ludicrous, Marvel has done everything it can to, again, tell fans Captain Marvel is great, without actually putting in the work to truly make her great.
Such it is not with much surprise that we report the latest iteration of Captain Marvel by Alyssa Wong is already over. Canceled with issue 10, the door has closed once more on the solo adventures of Carol Danvers. The reveal was made in the letters page of the final issue. You can read it for yourself right here:
Marvel is promising that the book will be gone for "a short time," as "her solo series needs a brief hiatus." With this eleventh volume of Captain Marvel now done, it might be wise to let Carol take a breather for a while until a proper, interesting direction for the character can be conceived. It's worth noting that Alyssa Wong has gone from an unsuccessful Deadpool run to an unsuccessful Captain Marvel run, with a Psylocke solo series now on her horizon come November. Fans perpetually wonder why creators like Wong, who pen misfire after misfire, continue to be courted by publishers for more work. Perhaps Psylocke will break Wong from the losing streak she's in, but it's quite the gamble for a company with so many struggling books on the stands.
In any event, what the future for Captain Marvel will be is anyone's guess. With the catastrophic failure of The Marvel's at the box office in 2023, one would hope that Marvel and Disney will start to realize that this take on Captain Marvel is not the one fans want. The character needs a complete overhaul, and meaningful, challenging stories that will cement her as one of the greats in the Marvel Universe. Just a casual flip through the last issue of this run reveals a bland cast of characters and an unremarkable enemy—is it any wonder no one is tuning in? Instead of manufacturing hype and interest in Captain Marvel, try actually producing it, and believe me, the fans will come. Until then, we'll be seeing you, Carol.
Source: Captain Marvel #10 (2024)
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