Fandom Files Reading List: Captain Marvel
All throughout November, guest writers will be weighing in on fandom, specifically guest writers who identify strongly with characters, teams, or franchises online. Each piece will feature a personal look at why a writer gravitates to a character, what keeps their interest, and — most importantly — a set of reading recommendations for folks looking to better understand that character.
Today, Brent Fisher of the @carolcollector Twitter account writes about their favorite character, Captain Marvel…
Why do I love Captain Marvel/what does Captain Marvel mean to me…
One of the reasons I call myself Carol Collector as a bit of a tongue-in-cheek moniker is that rather than being a purely Captain Marvel fan - though that is the majority of my collection due to her rise to prominence since taking on the mantel in 2012 - I’m a fan of Carol Danvers herself.
Ever since I was young, women have been my heroes. I think like a lot of children, it starts with their mother, or other female authority figure that is involved in their upbringing. Then I just latched on to feminine leaders, role-models, and heroes throughout the course of my life. I suspect it has something to do with my gender identity too. I am non-binary and prefer they/them pronouns.
But that is just a superficial tether. Moreover, I like Carol because she is a representation of how I approach challenges and difficulties in my life: with stalwart defiance and determination. I have an inherent pragmatism when it comes to approaching problems that I was not born with. It was chiseled out of me due to some hard knocks, and I think Carol as a character resonates strongly with that motif. Further, I have a strong egalitarian streak in me, and I respond strongly to what I feel is injustice or inequality with an admittedly self-righteous flair. (Another “Carolism” in my personal view.)
Her desire to go good and ensure good is nigh-instinctual, but that doesn’t always mean her decisions are correct. Her brashness and impulsiveness is key to her ability to make tough decisions - an extension of personality, perhaps inspired by her military background - but that doesn’t always mean they’re the best decisions. In that vein, she also takes ownership for her mistakes as part of knowing she has the phenomenal power, and the responsibility to go with it.
I do not like “perfect” heroes. I appreciate the frailty of the human condition in that at our best, we work together and try hard to make life better for everyone. But as part of that condition, we are imperfect creatures with desires, regrets, successes and failures.
Carol has always, when under the auspices of authors that respect that complexity, exhibited that humanity. It’s what gives context and contours to her character. She has been through a lot, and has experienced profound trauma throughout the years that would take far longer than we have here to encapsulate. Particularly during her extended role as Ms. Marvel.
She’s processed that trauma in very human ways, some very unhealthy - from internalizing feelings to finding solace at the bottom of a liquor bottle. But these are foes she has also defeated, and she has defeated them in ways normal people can relate to: by admitting it exists, opening herself up to her own demons, and finding help with the friends and family she has made for herself across decades. Relationships that almost deserve their own tangient of discussion.
Captain Marvel is a form of light incarnate. She is the concept of will-to-power given form. She’s arguably one of the most powerful heroes in conventional publication for Marvel, and I consider her the equivalent of Superman. But at the end of the day, when the veneer of cosmic drama fades away, and the latest evil is vanquished, we have a person that loves her “cat,” has complex feelings about her youth, is joyous at discovering a sister she never knew she had, has best friends she can count on and would do anything for, is haunted by past mistakes, and that simply wants to do the right thing because she knows she has the power to help.
If that isn’t someone worth caring for, or a hero unworthy of emulation and admiration, then I simply don’t know who else could be.
Captain Marvel is the job. Carol Danvers is the hero.
2. What drew me to Captain Marvel in the first place…
My mother was a bit of a tomboy and had comic books as a kid, along with baseball cards, among a few other toys and elements of popular culture from the silver and early bronze era. It was what got me into comics and reading early, which eventually led to me meeting Carol Danvers very early on. I always felt drawn to her as a hero, and while there was a middling period in college when I fell out of the hobby, I rediscovered it a few years ago and began collecting in earnest.
Ultimately, when the movie was announced and Carol as Captain Marvel started picking up steam, I noticed her popularity was swelling. A lot of people liked collecting Carol memorabilia and knick-knacks, but not a lot of folks seemed able to fully devote to a consolidated collection of her life. I admired her for years, and I felt it would be fun to collect as many key issues and items of note as I could.
I’m far from a completionist, but I like to think I do a decent job.
Captain Marvel Comics Recommendations
Now is an excellent time to get into reading about Carol. A lot of new collections and omnibuses have come out recently. Here’s a few recommendations to help someone without making them go out and buy dozens of individual issues.
I’m going to be honest: I’m not the biggest fan of her early Avengers time (feel free to look up the drama of Avengers #200 under the auspices of Jim Shooter) or her tenure as Ms. Marvel during the late 90s/early 2000s. That being said, I do recommend doing some independent reading of select issues of this period by Brian Reed. I just wouldn’t blow money on these volumes first. So this will be more of a broad brush familiarity pass of getting to know Carol early on, as well as important moments of her life, and her time as Captain Marvel.
And again, this is far from a comprehensive list.
Early Carol - Ms. Marvel Years
Captain Marvel: Ms. Marvel - A Hero is Born Hardcover
Before she became Captain Marvel, NASA Security Chief Carol Danvers' life had been intertwined with the alien Kree's interventions on Earth. This collection is essential for reading all of Carol’s early adventures, mostly written under the legendary Chris Claremont.
I cannot recommend this collection more if you want a complete examination of early Carol.
Collecting MS. MARVEL (1977) #1-23, MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) #61-62 and #76-77, DEFENDERS (1972) #57, MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) #51, AVENGERS (1963) #200 and ANNUAL #10, and material from AVENGERS (1963) #197-199, MARVEL SUPER-HEROES (1990) #10-11 and MARVEL FANFARE (1982) #24.Captain Marvel: The Many Lives of Carol Danvers
A collection of key issue essentials, this is a great “quick glance” primer at some of the important moments in Carol’s life: when she got her powers, when she became Binary with the X-men after being assaulted by the Brood, her early years working in the CIA with Logan, when she becomes Captain Marvel, and more.
COLLECTING: MARVEL SUPER-HEROES (1967) 13; MS. MARVEL (1977) 1, 19; AVENGERS (1963) 183-184; UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) 164; LOGAN: SHADOW SOCIETY (1996) 1; AVENGERS (1998) 4; IRON MAN (1998) 85; MS. MARVEL (2006) 32-33; CAPTAIN MARVEL (2012) 1
Carol as Captain Marvel
Want to jump into just Captain Marvel? Completely understand. Here’s how you can make that happen…
Captain Marvel: Earth's Mightiest Hero Vol. 1
This is where it all starts. Carol, with a little bit of prodding from Captain America, decides to take on the mantle of Captain Marvel that has been left vacant since Mar-Vell’s death. I will say that reading the earlier collections above will help contextualize some of these stories. The artwork is done by a series of different artists, and frankly it’s amazing. I would have to say Emma Rios steals the show though, but she often does.
COLLECTING: CAPTAIN MARVEL (2012) 1-12The Life of Captain Marvel
A miniseries by Margaret Stohl that does an amazing job retconning Carol’s origin in a way that changes nothing, yet changes everything. It goes into her personal life and background, and It gives her a lot of agency and narrative power. I personally think this is the point where things really get moving for Carol in the broader sense of being an ongoing part of contemporaneous Marvel lorebuilding. COLLECTING: THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN MARVEL 1-5
There are a lot more collections and volumes of work that take you further into Carol’s life from here (I didn’t even get to her brief stint with Alpha Flight, which is referenced slightly in the latest Empyre world event), but the items I mentioned are all that I would consider essential as either background research or starting points to read more. -Brent Fisher
Check out the full Fandom Files Reading List!
Check our our past reading lists: The Quarantine Reading List and The Extra Eisners Reading List!
