Post by Van Plexico on Apr 16, 2006 14:26:28 GMT -5
Joe Quesada has an interview up on Newsarama, in which he addresses Marvel's original Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell:
www.newsarama.com/JoeFridays/JoeFridays46.html
Here are a couple of his comments from that interview, about my second-favorite character (at least, before he died), and my responses.
I couldn't agree more. That was what first drew me in, and convinced me to buy that first issue (#58, with Drax), back in the day. My favorite version of Genis' costume was the one a couple of years ago, that was a direct play on the classic Mar-Vell outfit.
I somewhat agree with this.
I thought what really set him apart was (and I do appreciate the irony in this) that he represented aspects of a number of other classic heroes, combined into one. He had a touch of Superman (human-looking alien with super powers, who chooses to stay and protect Earth and behave in noble fashion rather than in a selfish manner), the Silver Surfer (loner granted cosmic powers and living an outsider's life on Earth and elsewhere, not fitting in anywhere-- but not nearly as whiny as Norrin), Green Lantern and (later) Nova (part of an alien army corps that went against orders), and others. Part of the problem, indeed, may have been that he was so scattershot-- he represented lots of "little" things, but never seemed focused upon one big thing.
I thought Moench and company did a pretty decent job of giving him a bit more of a raison d'etre, toward the end. He was sort of a man of three worlds, at that point-- though the Kree aspect was fading into the background. He divided his time between Earth and Titan, protected both while truly feeling at home and accepted on neither, and generally hung out with one of the coolest supporting casts in comics (Drax, Eros, Elysius, Mentor, Isaac, Rick Jones and whatever hot girlfriend he had that month, plus Warlock and Ms. Marvel in other books).
Having the fallout from the defeat of Thanos impact him so much, in the form of Drax pursuing him on the one hand, and Thanos's former minions on the other, was terrific. And then the Blue-Red-Blue setup seemed to have such promise. I was hoping that would be the story that set up his continued relevance and made him interesting for years to come.
Really, Mar-Vell was a great big canvas upon which someone could have created a masterpiece of a character and a saga. He was just begging for that kind of treatment. Unfortunately, no one stepped forward and did it, so it ended up being Jim Starlin, with the Death. And, let me just add, I've never appreciated the "Death of" story as much as most people seem to. I read it when it came out, and I thought it was very good, yeah, but not any kind of masterpiece. Maybe that's because it came on the heels of two much better (IMO) Marv stories-- AA #7 / MTIO A #2 and the Doug Moench/Pat Broderick war with Isaac. I'm certainly glad that, if one of my favorite characters "had" to die, at least it's considered one of the classic death stories of comics history. But me, personally-- I don't so much get it.
I wanted him to come back for years, and have tons of ideas for how he could be used and be interesting and exciting. But now I think too much water's passed under the bridge. He's dead. I had hopes for Genis, only to once more see a Vell squander his gifts and his potential and end up in the next plot over (literally).
And now we'll have a third.
Cross your fingers.
www.newsarama.com/JoeFridays/JoeFridays46.html
Here are a couple of his comments from that interview, about my second-favorite character (at least, before he died), and my responses.
>>He still to this day has one of the coolest costumes in comics. <<
I couldn't agree more. That was what first drew me in, and convinced me to buy that first issue (#58, with Drax), back in the day. My favorite version of Genis' costume was the one a couple of years ago, that was a direct play on the classic Mar-Vell outfit.
>>The problem with Captain Marvel is that there was nothing really intrinsically different about him as a character, no real traits that you can point a finger to and say, that’s what makes CM different than every hero. The thing he’s most famous for is dying a great death in an incredible classic storyline. Sure, he was attached to Rick Jones, but the Captain himself was dull as all hell. [He needs] A character hook, something that sets him apart. <<
I somewhat agree with this.
I thought what really set him apart was (and I do appreciate the irony in this) that he represented aspects of a number of other classic heroes, combined into one. He had a touch of Superman (human-looking alien with super powers, who chooses to stay and protect Earth and behave in noble fashion rather than in a selfish manner), the Silver Surfer (loner granted cosmic powers and living an outsider's life on Earth and elsewhere, not fitting in anywhere-- but not nearly as whiny as Norrin), Green Lantern and (later) Nova (part of an alien army corps that went against orders), and others. Part of the problem, indeed, may have been that he was so scattershot-- he represented lots of "little" things, but never seemed focused upon one big thing.
I thought Moench and company did a pretty decent job of giving him a bit more of a raison d'etre, toward the end. He was sort of a man of three worlds, at that point-- though the Kree aspect was fading into the background. He divided his time between Earth and Titan, protected both while truly feeling at home and accepted on neither, and generally hung out with one of the coolest supporting casts in comics (Drax, Eros, Elysius, Mentor, Isaac, Rick Jones and whatever hot girlfriend he had that month, plus Warlock and Ms. Marvel in other books).
Having the fallout from the defeat of Thanos impact him so much, in the form of Drax pursuing him on the one hand, and Thanos's former minions on the other, was terrific. And then the Blue-Red-Blue setup seemed to have such promise. I was hoping that would be the story that set up his continued relevance and made him interesting for years to come.
Really, Mar-Vell was a great big canvas upon which someone could have created a masterpiece of a character and a saga. He was just begging for that kind of treatment. Unfortunately, no one stepped forward and did it, so it ended up being Jim Starlin, with the Death. And, let me just add, I've never appreciated the "Death of" story as much as most people seem to. I read it when it came out, and I thought it was very good, yeah, but not any kind of masterpiece. Maybe that's because it came on the heels of two much better (IMO) Marv stories-- AA #7 / MTIO A #2 and the Doug Moench/Pat Broderick war with Isaac. I'm certainly glad that, if one of my favorite characters "had" to die, at least it's considered one of the classic death stories of comics history. But me, personally-- I don't so much get it.
I wanted him to come back for years, and have tons of ideas for how he could be used and be interesting and exciting. But now I think too much water's passed under the bridge. He's dead. I had hopes for Genis, only to once more see a Vell squander his gifts and his potential and end up in the next plot over (literally).
And now we'll have a third.
Cross your fingers.
