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Post by codystarbuck on May 2, 2018 15:19:27 GMT -5
So, everyone's talking about Avengers: Infinity War and Thanos. The MCU converges into a big, epic movie. My own reactions are a bit mixed (like the character stuff, so-so on the action and battle stuff); but, it has had me thinking about the classic Jim Starlin (and friends) stories of Thanos, Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock. This was where Starlin built his rep, while also exercising his inner Kirby. Kirby carved the stone tablets that defined epic storytelling (in comics) and others, like Roy Thomas, picked up on the ideas and started playing with them. Jim Starlin was the next writer to really play with them and do so in a more unique, if not wholly original fashion. So, in this thread, I intend to look at how Starlin told his story of the Mad Titan Thanos and his love of Death, his battle for the Cosmic Cube, the Soul Gem and the Infinity Stones. This will get a bit free-wheeling, as I will first cover Thanos' introduction and movements through Captain Marvel; then, go back to the debut of Adam Walock, through the Roy Thomas and Gil Kane series, to the point where Starlin took over and continued the story of Thanos, in conflict with Warlock. From there, we look at the aftermath (the Thanos Legacy/ISAAC stories, from the revived Marvel Spotlight (which finished the interrupted storyline from Captain Marvel)) and the Death of Captain Marvel, the return of Thanos, in the 90s revival of Silver Surfer, Thanos' Quest, and the Infinity Gauntlet (and subsequent minis). I am stopping short of later material, as these were the comics I read and enjoyed. I wasn't reading much Marvel after Infinity Gauntlet; but, have read War and Crusade; so that will be my stopping point. So, let's start with Thanos' debut....  Creative Team: Jim Starlin plots & pencils, Mike Friedrich scripts, Mike Esposito inks, John Costanza letters and Roy Thomas edits. Synopsis: Our story is told in flashback, as Iron Man battles the alien Blood Brothers. The monster tag-team beats the ferros Avenger and take his unconcious form, via hovercraft, to a hidden base, somewhere in the American Southwest, where the illegal aliens face Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Oh, wait; that's later. Anyway, we learn how the imprisoned Drax the Destroyer contacted Tony Stark, via telepathy (interrupting a report to Stark's board of Directors, about their progress from munitions manufacture to ecological research). Stark begs off, due to a real migraine (by-product of the telepathic contact) and dons his armor. Drax makes contact again and sends Iron man images of his past and his captor. We shift to the dead moon of Titan, orbiting the planet Saturn. We see inside the crust of the planet and find a hidden paradise, ruled by the benevolent Mentor. We also meet Mentor's two sons, Eros and Thanos. Thanos defies his father and builds weaponry, causing his father to banish him from Titan. He wanders the starways and collects and army of misfits and malcontents, turning their rage against Titan. His forces are strong and Titan is ravaged. In desperation, Mentor turns to the entity that was his father, Kronos, who then raises a body from the ground, presenting us with Drax, in all his green-skinned, purple-suited glory. Drax pursues Thanos and his minions and they battle on a distant world, where Drax is defeated and the world destroyed. Thanos took Drax as his prisoner and brought him to his hidden war camp, on Earth. It was from here that Drax contacted Iron Man and Thanos sent the Blood Brothers to capture Iron Man. Meanwhile, ISAAC, Titan's living computer has informed Mentor that Drax has made contact with Iron Man. Back on Earth, Iron Man shows he was playing possum and makes a come back against the Blood Brothers He battles his way to Drax, only to be stopped by Thanos. Mentor makes his move and ISAAC fires an energy beam that connects with Iron Man's Uni-Beam projector, unleashing a massively powerful burst. The energy frees Drax and he and Iron Man go after the Blood Brothers like the Rock N Roll Express battling the Midnight Express, with Thanos acting as Jim Cornette. The whoop their rocky hides and attack Thanos, smashing his head .....revealing him to be a robot imposter! The pair part and Drax goes to search for Thanos. Thoughts: Interesting, though a bit anti-climactic start to the saga of Thanos. Thing was, it was never really intended to be the start of Thanos' path to power and destruction. Jim Starlin had created Thanos some time before, while in college. Starlin had conceived of a group of gods, with psychological underpinnings, which evolved into Thanos, Drax and the Titans. Thanos was originally more like Metron, of the New Gods, travelling in a floating chair and much slighter in build. Roy Thomas asked Starlin if he wanted to do an issue of Iron Man and Starlin thought it might be his only chance to use Thanos. Thomas told him to beef him up and that if he was going to steal from the New Gods, steal the best, Darkseid. However, Thanos here is not quite the Thanos we would come to know...  He's a bit more purple (or magenta) than later and the costume is a bit different. The confidence in the writing is not there yet, and he speaks like a stereotypical villain. His skin color isn't unique, here, as we see the other Titans are also purple...  ISAAC isn't yet fully realized, though he is established as the giant computer that controls the environmental elements of Titan. We also establish Thanos' legions, a theme carried through to the new film. Eros is seen, though not involved and his outfit is not far from what we will see later. Mentor is a bit more alien, with a big head and thicker brow line. The white hair is there and the basic style of his costume (as is Eros') is there, though not the color scheme. The whole thing reads very much like the New Gods, with the alien despot having secret bases on Earth, a legion of monstrous soldiers, a peaceful utopian world and generational conflict. Granted, that is mostly from mythology; so, you can't say it is a complete swipe from Kirby. Drax is a cross between a superhero, a pro wrestler and a pirate...  He doesn't change much, as things develop, though his origin gets a bit of a make-over, when covered in Captain Marvel. Here, he appears formed from the rock of Titan, by Kronos. There is no mention of Arthur Douglas, yet. Not a bad beginning; but, not exactly a classic. Had Starlin not gotten the chance to take over Captain Marvel and pretty much do as he pleased, it's conceivable that this might have been it for Thanos and the gang, until much later (if at all). However, as luck would have it, Roy Thomas would hand Captain Marvel to Starlin and Thanos would become center to his storylines. |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 2, 2018 15:33:51 GMT -5
Well now, this seems like a review thread I might weigh in on from time to time. :-) Personal note: Some years back (my memory sucks) it was my wife that actually bought me a FN copy of Iron Man #55 for my birthday. Up until that I had this for reference. ThanosIBe was the internet handle I met my wife as. After that I usually use this moniker.  |
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Post by codystarbuck on May 2, 2018 16:28:35 GMT -5
Captain Marvel was Jim Starlin's next stop. Now, I know what you are thinking, "Didn't Starlin go to DC later, in the 80s, after the whole Thanos Saga?" Wrong Captain Marvel. This is not the original and most glorious Big Red Cheese; this was the space guy thrown out there to secure a trademark, in one of Marvel's earliest spiteful moves (from a certain point of view). The Fawcett Captain Marvel was put to rest in 1954, after Fawcett reached a settlement of the lawsuit from DC (after winning an initial victory, only to see things drag on, in an appeal). In the meantime, Myron Fass had tossed off his low-end Captain Marvel, he of the splitting body parts. Marvel made threats to MF Enterprises about the use of the word Marvel, in the title (they were on pretty shaky legal ground; but, Fass was a cheap schlock merchant) and Marvel and Fass came to a settlement, where they paid him $5400 and they got uncontested rights to the trademark for Captain Marvel, for a comic book title. They immediately knocked of a first appearance of a new Captain Marvel, in Marvel Super Heroes #12 (picking up the numbering of the reprint series, Fantasy Masterpieces).  It is here we meet the Big Green and White Cheese (probably time to throw it out, if it is green), Mar-Vell, a captain in the Kree Imperial Militia (get it, Captain Mar-Vell? How Clev-er!) He is a spy, sent on a mission to spy on Earth, after previous Kree dealings with them (Fantastic Four). he adopts the identity of the deceased Dr Walter Lawson and soon meets up with an Air Force security officer, Carol Danvers. Mar-Vell finds himself at odds with his superior, Yon-Rogg and his love interest, Una, a medic on the mission. Mar-Vell is eventually tried for treason, but escapes. He undergoes changes, as he ends up a prisoner of the Negative Zone and shares a psychic link with Rick Jones. They are able to switch places by clanging together Nega-Bands, metallic bracelets which they discover later. Captain Marvel became an important figure in the Kree-Skrull War, aiding the Avengers in blocking the war from spilling over onto Earth. The climax of this finds Rick Jones unleashing tremendous psychic ability (triggered by the Kree Supreme Intelligence). Prior to the start of the Avengers involvement of the war, Rick Jones had succeeded in releasing Mar-Vell from the Negative Zone, by using the projector in the Baxter Building (which set off alarms, bring the Avengers in contact with Rick and Mar-Vell) Mar-Vell was forced to reunite his spirit with Rick, to save him, and is again a prisoner of the Negative Zone, until Rick clashes his Nega-Bands, to release him. The irony of all this is that Roy Thomas, who took over Captain Marvel, a character created solely to secure a trademark, turned him into more of a pastiche of the original, than when the new version debuted. The switch with a younger person, a Dr Savannah and a Mister Mynde; there were all kinds of in-jokes in the series. However, Starlin was about to take the character into new territory.  Creative Team: pencils and plots by Jim Starlin, script by Mike Friedrich, inks by Chic Stone, lettering by Duffy (John Duffy), and Roy Thomas editing. Synopsis: Marvel is in the midst of a battle with some alien robots, who disappear after he cleans their clocks. Mar-Vell wanders what is up, as he is fresh off defeating Mr Mynde and expected a bit of peace. An unseen observer launches "Operation: Kree Crusher." A policeman knocks on the door of Dr Savannah and then shoots him dead. Meanwhile, Captain Marvel is nearing the end of his 3-hour time limit (when he will automatically shift places with Rick), while in flight; so, he lands to switch places. They have gone to see Dr Savannah about Mar-Vell's power loss, which he experienced during the fight. Rick goes into the building and finds the dead doctor and is soon arrested by the police, for murder, based on input from Savannah's niece, Lou Ann. The cop who arrests him is the agent, S-1, serving the unseen master. he is taken to a run-down police precinct, where he is denied his phone call to a lawyer. Rick is able to switch places with Mar-Vell, who breaks the cuffs that bind him (after switching with the handcuffed Rick) and is about to investigate when he is attacked by Ronan the Accuser, last seen frozen, at the end of the Kree-Skrull War. he then disappears, leaving Mar-Vell stunned, only to be immediately attacked by Megaton, another foe, who also disappears. Mar-Vell is even more puzzled, as Megaton is dead and he is soon attacked by the equally dead Yon-Rogg, who, again, disappears. Mar-Vell is then attacked, in succession, by The Hulk, Zarek (another blue-skinned Kree enemy), Metazoid, an Aakon (another enemy race) and Namor, in a parade of past Captain Marvel adventures. The insanity of things stresses Marvel's mind and he passes out, causing the switch with Rick, who is subjugated with some kind of mind helmet. We then see a duplicate Rick and Mar-Vell together, who are revealed to be the Super-Skrull and Skragg (another Skrull soldier. They are the agents of the unseen hand, who acted to destroy Mar-Vell's mind and force the change with the weaker Rick. We get the full details of what happened, which fills the faking Rick in, who switches to Mar-Vell and whoops some Skrull bootie. However, the master pulls the Skrull pair out, before they are captured. Mar-Vell switches back to Rick, who heads off for answers, while ticked off about the "warm, loving chick" that shafted him! Thoughts: Not a bad start to Starlin's run, as we are hit with a mystery, about who is attacking Mar-Vell and why. The unseen observer is obviously Thanos; but, he has had only one appearance, prior to this, and that wasn't really Thanos. So, for readers at the time, the identity is probably unknown. What we do get is a trip down memory lane, as we meet old CM foes, some of whom are dead, which will become a hot topic in this series and the central theme of Thanos. The dialogue is hoky, at times (especially at the end) and there are some ham-fisted social commentaries (police brutality, denial of civil rights, economic crises, etc...) that were topical; but not exactly eloquent. The inking is an improvement, as Starlin's art looks better than in the Iron Man story, though not to where it will be, in even a few issues. At this point, it is still hard to tell where things are going; but, there is a definite feeling of severing the past and launching a new direction (right down to editorial type on the splash page). |
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Post by codystarbuck on May 2, 2018 17:05:25 GMT -5
 Creative Team: Jim Starlin plot and pencils, Mike Friedrich script, Dave Cockrum inks, John Costanza lettering, Roy Thomas editing Synopsis: Mar-Vell smashes his way into Lou-Ann's apartment, confronting her about her betrayal of Rick. She confesses the story and tells a tale of Titan and a mad god, working through intermediaries, including the Controller, whose mind-control discs have certain key figures under his control, including Lou-Ann, who attacks Mar-vell with a ray gun. Mar-Vell defeats her and switches places with Rick. Meanwhile, the shadowy overlord (with a more defined silhouette) sends the Super Skrull to attack the Thing. The attack manipulates Ben Grimm into chasing after the Skrull, leading him to an ambush, where he is zapped by some kind of ray which eliminates his power of speech. Rick goes to investigate the place where Lou-Ann was first placed under the Controller's.....um....control. There, Rick finds the Thing; but, believes it is the Super Skrull, in disguise. he switches places and Mar-Vell attacks the mute Ben. They start a-feudin' an' a-fussin', smashing up the place and Mar-Vell goes for a killing strike; but, deliberately misses, not wanting to take life. Ben gets his voice back, conveniently, and reveals the truth. Skragg, the other Skrull, gets blasted by the boss and turned to stone..... Thing and Mar-Vell rush into the hidden lair and find the boss, himself...  We aren't told who the hooded figure is, though Thanos sort of gives us a clue, in his dialogue. Thanos forces Mar-Vell to switch with Rick, somehow, then whisks him away, along with the hooded figure and the Super Skrull, to Titan, which we are told that Thanos has conquered. ben is left alone to puzzle over the events. Thoughts: Well, we are starting to get more into classic mode, though the plot is a fairly standard Marvel mistaken enemy trope, as CM and Ben are manipulated into fighting. We learn that the Controller (from the pages of Iron Man) is a dupe of Thanos, as is the Super Skrull and the now immobile Skragg. We also learn that Thanos has since conquered titan, making us want to return, to learn more, since there is an editorial note about the changes since Thanos' last appearance. Thanos is more in classic mode, as the skin tone is more muted and he has a decent pair of pants. We also have the proper costume color accents and stylings (the face will undergo further changes, over time). This Thanos looks a bit meaner and everyone's fear of him ads to his aura of power an malevolence just like a certain dude from Apokolips). The scripting is still a bit goofy; but, the plot is starting to kick in. You can see why this still isn't a hot title; but, you can also see how it is shaping into a cult favorite. The shared existence of Rick and Mar-Vell is a bit of a stumbling block, if you ask me, and never really worked as well, in the comics. I was more than happy when that problem is finally solved, after they meet up with the Super Adaptoid (CM #50). After that, Rick is more of a companion to Marvel, travelling across space, before their later parting. For now, we deal with it and Mar-Vell talking to himself (later swiped for Firestorm). Acutally, you get more of that kind of hing than you would expect, in the 70s: Marv-Vell and Rick, Deathlok and his 'puter, Firestorm and Prof. Stein, etc.. It wasn't anything new, as Quality Comics' Captain Triumph communicated with the spirit of his dead brother (from whom he also derived his power). Not quite in classic territory, yet; but, there is something on the horizon. |
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Post by codystarbuck on May 2, 2018 17:09:09 GMT -5
Well now, this seems like a review thread I might weigh in on from time to time. :-) Personal note: Some years back (my memory sucks) it was my wife that actually bought me a FN copy of Iron Man #55 for my birthday. Up until that I had this for reference. ThanosIBe was the internet handle I met my wife as. After that I usually use this moniker. If your wife's screen name was Grim Reaper, the universe is in trouble! |
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Post by EdoBosnar on May 2, 2018 18:01:37 GMT -5
[...] It is here we meet the Big Green and White Cheese (probably time to throw it out, if it is green) [...] ...not if it's gorgonzola! |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 2, 2018 20:21:45 GMT -5
Well now, this seems like a review thread I might weigh in on from time to time. :-) Personal note: Some years back (my memory sucks) it was my wife that actually bought me a FN copy of Iron Man #55 for my birthday. Up until that I had this for reference. ThanosIBe was the internet handle I met my wife as. After that I usually use this moniker. If your wife's screen name was Grim Reaper, the universe is in trouble! It was angeleyes. She helped curb my nihilism. :-) |
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Post by codystarbuck on May 3, 2018 0:14:32 GMT -5
If your wife's screen name was Grim Reaper, the universe is in trouble! It was angeleyes. She helped curb my nihilism. :-) Angeleyes?  |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 3, 2018 8:28:18 GMT -5
^Thankfully she's much prettier than that. ;-)
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 3, 2018 8:36:37 GMT -5
Captain Marvel was Jim Starlin's next stop. Now, I know what you are thinking, "Didn't Starlin go to DC later, in the 80s, after the whole Thanos Saga?" Wrong Captain Marvel. This is not the original and most glorious Big Red Cheese; this was the space guy thrown out there to secure a trademark, in one of Marvel's earliest spiteful moves (from a certain point of view). The Fawcett Captain Marvel was put to rest in 1954, after Fawcett reached a settlement of the lawsuit from DC (after winning an initial victory, only to see things drag on, in an appeal). In the meantime, Myron Fass had tossed off his low-end Captain Marvel, he of the splitting body parts. Marvel made threats to MF Enterprises about the use of the word Marvel, in the title (they were on pretty shaky legal ground; but, Fass was a cheap schlock merchant) and Marvel and Fass came to a settlement, where they paid him $5400 and they got uncontested rights to the trademark for Captain Marvel, for a comic book title. They immediately knocked of a first appearance of a new Captain Marvel, in Marvel Super Heroes #12 (picking up the numbering of the reprint series, Fantasy Masterpieces). It is here we meet the Big Green and White Cheese (probably time to throw it out, if it is green), Mar-Vell, a captain in the Kree Imperial Militia (get it, Captain Mar-Vell? How Clev-er!) He is a spy, sent on a mission to spy on Earth, after previous Kree dealings with them (Fantastic Four). he adopts the identity of the deceased Dr Walter Lawson and soon meets up with an Air Force security officer, Carol Danvers. Mar-Vell finds himself at odds with his superior, Yon-Rogg and his love interest, Una, a medic on the mission. Mar-Vell is eventually tried for treason, but escapes. He undergoes changes, as he ends up a prisoner of the Negative Zone and shares a psychic link with Rick Jones. They are able to switch places by clanging together Nega-Bands, metallic bracelets which they discover later. Captain Marvel became an important figure in the Kree-Skrull War, aiding the Avengers in blocking the war from spilling over onto Earth. The climax of this finds Rick Jones unleashing tremendous psychic ability (triggered by the Kree Supreme Intelligence). Prior to the start of the Avengers involvement of the war, Rick Jones had succeeded in releasing Mar-Vell from the Negative Zone, by using the projector in the Baxter Building (which set off alarms, bring the Avengers in contact with Rick and Mar-Vell) Mar-Vell was forced to reunite his spirit with Rick, to save him, and is again a prisoner of the Negative Zone, until Rick clashes his Nega-Bands, to release him. The irony of all this is that Roy Thomas, who took over Captain Marvel, a character created solely to secure a trademark, turned him into more of a pastiche of the original, than when the new version debuted. The switch with a younger person, a Dr Savannah and a Mister Mynde; there were all kinds of in-jokes in the series. However, Starlin was about to take the character into new territory. As much as I like Starlin, and even Starlin's take on Marvel, Thomas' Marvel remains my favorite. I still don't have the entire run before Starlin took over, yet, but I thoroughly enjoyed them. I guess because in the end, everyone (that I have read any of) that wrote Marvel after Starlin, was just a take on Starlin's Marvel. It's kind of like Warlock. Starlin took two characters and forever changed them. And I wouldn't even say for the better, with either character because they were both strong characters before Starlin's take on them. Though I think his Warlock is better than his Marvel. But I get probably why they went this way with Marvel. They needed a cosmic hero for a cosmic threat. And his work on this (just speculation, I'm no comics history buff) title is probably why he was given Warlock? All in all, while I know the Thanos Saga is quite revered, even outside of Starlin and/or Marvel cosmic fanboys, I don't think it Starlin's or Marvel's best cosmic tale. Also, Rick Jones .....  |
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Post by brutalis on May 3, 2018 9:06:32 GMT -5
I was lucky enough to find Starlin's 1st issue of Captain Marvel and I was hooked instantly. I had always enjoyed the early 1950's style of alien invades/infiltrates earth to become traitor to his own world as he finds Earth not being the enemy they say we are. Then along comes Starlin and he takes Mar-Vell far out into new space opera and makes his series the 1st ever comic book spanning the cosmos (sorry surfer: you were stranded on earth, so not so universal/cosmic) in adventures both physical and meta-physical. Outer space would never be the same again.
And who can't understand the warrior turned protector with emotional and religious questions? Starlin in doing this is following historical and religious steps that other's have pondered for centuries. Thanos slowly becomes the biggest theoretical threat which motivates a struggle and change within us all. The villainy of Thanos is that he is meant to be the polar opposite of us and what we consider to be right and good and yet he is and can be what we truly think or feel at times and therefore reflects more truly humanity than we might wish...
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 3, 2018 10:20:00 GMT -5
I was lucky enough to find Starlin's 1st issue of Captain Marvel and I was hooked instantly. I had always enjoyed the early 1950's style of alien invades/infiltrates earth to become traitor to his own world as he finds Earth not being the enemy they say we are. Then along comes Starlin and he takes Mar-Vell far out into new space opera and makes his series the 1st ever comic book spanning the cosmos ( sorry surfer: you were stranded on earth, so not so universal/cosmic) in adventures both physical and meta-physical. Outer space would never be the same again. And who can't understand the warrior turned protector with emotional and religious questions? Starlin in doing this is following historical and religious steps that other's have pondered for centuries. Thanos slowly becomes the biggest theoretical threat which motivates a struggle and change within us all. The villainy of Thanos is that he is meant to be the polar opposite of us and what we consider to be right and good and yet he is and can be what we truly think or feel at times and therefore reflects more truly humanity than we might wish... This made me smile. It is quite evident in almost everything he writes; death and religion are an intricate part of Starlin's writing. To me, what I liked about Starlin's use of Thanos (though more so after the Thanos Saga) is Thanos unlike the Universal Church, doesn't always per say have evil intentions. I know I am getting ahead of myself, but like with Thanos' return (specifically in Silver Surfer #34) he attempts to, as we are suppose to see him as evil, explain to SS the need for an event to cull some of the universe's population. There is a functional, at least in his mind, reason for his motivations, even if they are fueled by his adoration of Death. While SS attempts to grasp his reasoning, unable to devoid his emotion, we see Thanos as an evil person because SS's reaction is all too familiar. But is he? Was he wrong in any of the examples that he showed SS on various planets? Is it that we as humans are unable to devoid ourselves of emotion? I've always looked at Thanos as an equalizer among the Marvel cosmos. His ambitions and lust for power seem on the surface to be all that he is. But his schemes rarely come to fruition, and in that, is he acting out of his true self, or his he failing for the reasons presented to him, mostly by Adam Warlock. It's almost as if at some level, he's not quite a hero and not quite a villian. But somewhere in the middle is where he has evolved to now. (And I say now as in the last time I read his exploits with DnA's GotG. Can say any on anything newer.) |
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Post by codystarbuck on May 3, 2018 11:36:29 GMT -5
Captain Marvel was Jim Starlin's next stop. Now, I know what you are thinking, "Didn't Starlin go to DC later, in the 80s, after the whole Thanos Saga?" Wrong Captain Marvel. This is not the original and most glorious Big Red Cheese; this was the space guy thrown out there to secure a trademark, in one of Marvel's earliest spiteful moves (from a certain point of view). The Fawcett Captain Marvel was put to rest in 1954, after Fawcett reached a settlement of the lawsuit from DC (after winning an initial victory, only to see things drag on, in an appeal). In the meantime, Myron Fass had tossed off his low-end Captain Marvel, he of the splitting body parts. Marvel made threats to MF Enterprises about the use of the word Marvel, in the title (they were on pretty shaky legal ground; but, Fass was a cheap schlock merchant) and Marvel and Fass came to a settlement, where they paid him $5400 and they got uncontested rights to the trademark for Captain Marvel, for a comic book title. They immediately knocked of a first appearance of a new Captain Marvel, in Marvel Super Heroes #12 (picking up the numbering of the reprint series, Fantasy Masterpieces). It is here we meet the Big Green and White Cheese (probably time to throw it out, if it is green), Mar-Vell, a captain in the Kree Imperial Militia (get it, Captain Mar-Vell? How Clev-er!) He is a spy, sent on a mission to spy on Earth, after previous Kree dealings with them (Fantastic Four). he adopts the identity of the deceased Dr Walter Lawson and soon meets up with an Air Force security officer, Carol Danvers. Mar-Vell finds himself at odds with his superior, Yon-Rogg and his love interest, Una, a medic on the mission. Mar-Vell is eventually tried for treason, but escapes. He undergoes changes, as he ends up a prisoner of the Negative Zone and shares a psychic link with Rick Jones. They are able to switch places by clanging together Nega-Bands, metallic bracelets which they discover later. Captain Marvel became an important figure in the Kree-Skrull War, aiding the Avengers in blocking the war from spilling over onto Earth. The climax of this finds Rick Jones unleashing tremendous psychic ability (triggered by the Kree Supreme Intelligence). Prior to the start of the Avengers involvement of the war, Rick Jones had succeeded in releasing Mar-Vell from the Negative Zone, by using the projector in the Baxter Building (which set off alarms, bring the Avengers in contact with Rick and Mar-Vell) Mar-Vell was forced to reunite his spirit with Rick, to save him, and is again a prisoner of the Negative Zone, until Rick clashes his Nega-Bands, to release him. The irony of all this is that Roy Thomas, who took over Captain Marvel, a character created solely to secure a trademark, turned him into more of a pastiche of the original, than when the new version debuted. The switch with a younger person, a Dr Savannah and a Mister Mynde; there were all kinds of in-jokes in the series. However, Starlin was about to take the character into new territory. As much as I like Starlin, and even Starlin's take on Marvel, Thomas' Marvel remains my favorite. I still don't have the entire run before Starlin took over, yet, but I thoroughly enjoyed them. I guess because in the end, everyone (that I have read any of) that wrote Marvel after Starlin, was just a take on Starlin's Marvel. It's kind of like Warlock. Starlin took two characters and forever changed them. And I wouldn't even say for the better, with either character because they were both strong characters before Starlin's take on them. Though I think his Warlock is better than his Marvel. But I get probably why they went this way with Marvel. They needed a cosmic hero for a cosmic threat. And his work on this (just speculation, I'm no comics history buff) title is probably why he was given Warlock? All in all, while I know the Thanos Saga is quite revered, even outside of Starlin and/or Marvel cosmic fanboys, I don't think it Starlin's or Marvel's best cosmic tale. Also, Rick Jones ..... I enjoy the early stuff, mostly for Gene Colan's art. Ironically, he apparently hated the character. I haven't read as much of Roy's tenure. I came to the character with Jim Starlin and ten some of the later stuff, at the tail end of things. I quite enjoyed the Thanos Legacy stuff, with ISAAC, which I will get to later. Aw, Rick's okay, though he often got some of the silliest dialogue. I think Peter David was the writer who finally got a handle on him and made him interesting, in the Hulk, as the guy who had seen it all and wasn't phased by much. I recall one of his stories has Rick saved by an unseen parachute; because, of course he would have a parachute handy, since he had been through "this kind of thing" before. Also, the Future Imperfect idea of Rick as keeper of the history of the heroes. |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 3, 2018 13:35:32 GMT -5
Not to derail this being about Thanos and Cap Marvel, but Rick was only tolerable in David's Hulk because (do I need to spoiler this?) he became a Hulk. Then we, the reader, didn't have to hear his whining.
Future Imperfect was about the only time I liked Rick.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 3, 2018 15:02:26 GMT -5
 Creative Team: Jim Starlin plot and pencils, Mike Friedrich script, Pablo Marcos inks, John Costanza lettering and Roy Thomas editing. Starlin did his own coloring on his work. Synopsis: Rick Jones arrives at his destination, on Titan, the moon of Saturn. He immediately starts in by "poking the bear"....  Thanos engages in time-honored villain banter, using words like "thralls" and "mind-cyclone." Rick is hooked up to a funky motorcycle helmet and his mind is uploaded into ISAAC, in a trippy sequence. he is then hauled away while Thanos examines a recap of the past couple of issues. Then, as the hooded figure watches from the background, Thanos reveals why he has brought Rick to Titan: his subconscious carries the location of the Cosmic Cube. ISAAC spits out the co-ordinates and Thanos leaves the Super Skrull in charge, while he retrieves it. he gives him a green glass sphere to aid him, should Drax come a-callin'. Skrull is a bit nervous at the mention of Drax and questions whether a crystal ball can help and Thaos tells him to stifle. Rick is in his celle, where manacles keep his wrists apart, so he can't summon Mar-Vell. However, a hand reaches out and crushes the shackles, freeing Rick. It is Eros, brother of Thanos, and his father, Mentor. They fill Rick in on what Thanos has done to their world and Rick gets mad and summons Mar-Vell, who wa, apparently, in the middle of a limbo contest, 'cause he is leaning waaaay back, shoving his junk at the reader!. Meanwhile, Thanos and his robed buddy arrive at the Isles Dernies, off the coast of Louisiana. There, in a cave, they will find the Cosmic Cube. Except, Drax stands in their way! It's slobberknocker time! Back on Titan, Mar-Vell is filled in by Mentor and the Free Army of Titan now numbers three. They go to destroy Thanos' tapes of Rick's miond, to prevent Thanos from using the info to anticipate his every move. Mentor, in a fit of anger, after being called a traitor by Thanos' goons, blasts them into cinders. All Tartarus breaks loose and Mar-Vell is about to destroy the tapes when he is stopped by a voice, with a fuzzy image in his mind, of something that looks like a face, stuck on a planet. Instead, Mar-Vell attacks the Super Skrull and hets knocked into a silly pose...  During all of this we get a recap of the Kree-Skrull war and how the Supreme Intelligence saved Rick, while also planting the location of the Cube in his subconscious. On Earth, Lou-Ann turns up at Avengers mansion and faints, holding Rick's ID pass. Mar-Vell cleans the Skrulls clock and he discovers that the glass orb is nothing but an ornament. The rest of Thanos army use that well-established military tradition... The battle over, Mentor suddenly transports Mar-Vell to Earth; to Avengers Mansion, where he is led to the comatose Lou-Ann. Thoughts: Now we are getting somewhere! Thanos is after the Cosmic Cube and Rick has the location buried in his mind, for some reason. We meet Highfather, I mean Mentor, and Eros and the battle begins. One thing that is abundantly clear in all of this is that Starlin has some pretty wonky ideas about combat poses. His characters do a lot of leaning back and to the side! Mar-Vell also tucks hus arms into his sides, a lot, while puffing out his chest. It suggests power; but, Starlin's characters often seem to be suffering from Meniere's Disease (which grounded Alan Shepherd, after the Mercury mission), as they seem to be falling backwards or off to the side. Nothing major, just a weird idiosyncrasy in his art. Mike Friedrich's dialogue is getting annoying, especially Rick. "War is a drag..." He sounds like a bad episode of Room 222. The plot is good; but, Starlin doesn't yet have the confidence to do his own scripting and Friedrich isn't exactly enhancing the material. Starlin's art is really progressing and starting to look like what we think of, when we imagine his work. It would help if he had a consistent inker in all of this. Thanos still sounds like a stereotypical villain; but, his treachery against his own lackey's is pretty cool, though there is a lot of Darkseid there. The difference is that Darkseid never directly sets up his goons for failure; he just leaves them to their fate, as punishment. He also tends to act honorably, as long as the other guy does the same. Also, his goons tend to overplay their hand. Super Skrull actually nearly wets himself at the thought of facing Drax, though his cultural hatred of the Kree makes him under-estimate Mar-Vell's power. We definitely are Jonesin' (sorry...) for the next issue, to see what happens when Drax and Thanos go at it and to see what will happen to Lou-Ann. That's how you structure these kinds of things. |
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