There are three films based on I Am Legend:  Last Man on Earth (with Vincent Price), Omega Man (with Charlton Heston) and I Am Legend (with Will Smith).  The Price one treats it more as a horror story, Omega Man is more of a social commentary, and the most recent was basically a zombie movie, with Will Smith.  Each has their own merits, though none have really captured Matheson's original.  Smith's was closer to the text; but had changes to fit him.  The Heston one mostly used the premise, then did its own thing.

There are several books out there about sci-fi films; some cursory, some really good.  I'm sure plenty would be available via a good library system.  A lot of sci-fi film books tend to focus on specific films or sub-genres.

ps One of the things that helped draw me to DC's Captain Atom was Broderick's art. His Captain Atom even had the same hairstyle as Captain Marvel, which was pretty un-military, for an Air Force officer!

Captain Marvel #60



Creative Team: Doug Moench-high falutin' prose, Broderick and Patterson-fancy pictures, Annette Kawecki-neat printing, George Roussos-coloring between the lines, Roger Stern-pleading, cajoling and threatening; Jim Shooter-mostly threatening.

Synopsis: Gaea is gloating at Drax and Mar...



and tells them that ISAAC is now alive and they are in deep doo-doo. They have to dsable ISAAC's higher unctions, without destroying the parts that control Titan's artificial environment. Gee, that sounds vaguely familiar.



The duo head off, turning their backs on Gaea, when he raises his hand, only to be beaten to the punch by Drax, who blasts him, burying him under rubble.

Meanwhile, on Earth, we see Stellarax's ship arrive, setting off a wave of UFO sightings, leading to police converging on corn fields, in Kentucky (probably should have made that Iowa, but, whatever). Mar and Drax emerge from a tunnel, wary of the many traps Gaea said were laying around, as ISAAC has turned Titan into a giant death-trap. They hear music and smell wine, but first have to get past a few boobytraps. They come across Dionysus, a satyr. He offers them wine, but Mar makes him drink first. He's fine and Drax asks for a drink. He ends up out cold, Mar attacks, and gets bashed over the head with a jar (after getting hit with some kind of weird pellets). A group of sprites carry them off, under Dionysus' orders, in defiance of ISAAC's orders. Dio wants to drink and can't be bothered. ISAAC is ticked off and rants about this betrayal to Elysius and mentions the signals have been cut off from Stellarax, who ISAAC knows is also rebelling. Elysius isn't listening, as she is pawing Eros. ISAAC gets her attention and sends her to the life baths to supervise the birth of another goon.

Back on Earth, Moench engages in some rural stereotyping, as some hillbillies (backwoods, as he calls them) run into aliens and start blasting with shotguns, until Stellarax blasts a pick-up truck. Dang; I jest washed that thang! The cops show up late and Stellarax is gone. Back on Titan, Elysius checks on the baths, then heads for Paradise, to find Mar and Drax. They wake up with a hangover, then are attacked by snakes. Unfortunately for them, it isn't the DTs. They fight off the giant serpents, only to face Elysius and a pair of griffins. (Merv and Melanie)

Thoughts: The Kentucky stuff is all cliched bumbling and somewhat offensive; but typical. This was the era of Sheriff JD Pepper, in the Bond films and Buford T Justice, in Smokey and the Bandit; not to mention similar fare, like White line Fever and other moonshine movies (including Moonrunners, which inspired The Dukes of Hazard). The Titan stuff is more interesting, as we get all kinds of bizarre traps and rebellious underlings of ISAAC. This wouldn't happen to Thanos! The whole thing reminds me a great deal of Mordillo and Brynocki, in Master of Kung Fu #33-35 (Excellent story; must-read!).

Next time, it is Elysius' turn.

Captain Marvel #62



Creative Team: Moench, Broderick, Patterson, Costanza (letters), Yomtov (colors), Stern, with Shooter bring up the rear.

Synopsis: Stellarax and his goons face Rick & Gertie...



Stellarax tells them his plans, because they asked so nicely and Rick tries to run away, when he is distracted; but, hgets caught and wammied. The pair are taken aboard the ship, which heads into space, as Stellarax flies to Washington. There he tells the people they have 24 hours to surrender or else it's death-ray time! He stands there, patiently waiting and Mar-vell and Drax arrive on Earth, split up, with Drax taking the ship and Mar going after Stellarax. Stellarax and Mar-Vell cut promos on each other then get it on.

Meanwhile, Drax blasts the ship, breaching the hull, letting all of the air out, as he recognizes Rick Jones. He seals the hull with an energy blasts and releases the kids. they then smoosh some aliens.

Down below, Stellarax and Mar-Vell are smooshing each other; and, on Titan, mentor, Elysius and Eros work to bypass ISAAC's controls and restore the life support functions to the dead world. They don't have a lot of time. Mar-Vell whups Stellarax, after he tries his secret weapon. On the ship Drax and Rick are at the bridge, where the goons have itchy trigger fingers and go to hit the death-ray switch. Rick lunges and hits the steering controls, sending the beam off course, sparing Washington (narrowly missing a jet airliner). Washington is saved, Stellarax is beaten, the goons are wet stains on the floor and Rick and Gertie are safe. They all turn the ship towards Titan, to rescue the people.

Thoughts: More action, more smooshing, more monologues. A little Day the Earth Stood Still for good measure. Stellarax is a big child, throwing a tantrum, like certain other residents of Washington DC. He gets a-paddlin' and we come to the end of the Captain Marvel comic book series. This will stay the end for quite some time, as we will not have a regular Captain Marvel series until 1995 (a short-lived one at that!).

What follows next is the completion of this story, as promised on the letters page, in the revived Marvel Spotlight. Our team will wrap things up there, before turning the book over to other features (including Star-Lord).

Come on back for some more of Thanos' Legacy, as we head over to Marvel Spotlight.

Marvel Spotlight (V2) #2



Creative Team: The usual bunch, with Diana Albers-letters, and Ben Sean-colors.

Synopsis: Mar-Vell, Drax, Rick and Gertie are facing ISAAC and his lieutenants, who materialized out of nowhere.



ISAAC sends his troops into battle and Mar-Vell and Drax are getting their asteroids handed to them. Rick and Gertie watch, helplessly, from the Tree of Eternity, where their oxygen supply is quickly running out (much as Titan's is). ISAAC's forces are too much and Mar-Vell and Drax on on the verge of defeat. ISAAC stops the battle and transports everyone to the control room, for all to witness their destruction. They are reunited with Mentor, Eros and Elysius and Elysius asks Mar to touch her, one last time. All looks to be the end and ISAAC orders Stellarax to destroy Drax. Mar-vell launches himself into the beam, taking the hit. Drax, in rage, blasts Stellarax and finds the strength to destroy him. Then, the roles are reversed as Gaea and Chaos attack Drax and Mar-Vell returns the favor. Then Mar-Vell and ISAAC face off.

Mar-Vell strides forward through ISAAC's energy blasts and propels the pair into the bowels of his network. There ISAAC multiplies his form and launches his final attack on Mar-Vel. Mar-Vell fights with his very lifeforce...



ISAAC is hit with the Cosmic Awareness and experience of Mar-Vell. he sees and feels all of life, from the heat of the sun, to anger and hatred. He experiences the suffering of war and dying and is affected. He weeps as he sees what life truly is and what he has become and he breaks down. He transfers his energy back into his computer circuitry and turns back on the life support functions. The Titans and the humans begin to recover. Mar-Vell emerges, exhausted and wounded, from ISAAC's smashed monitor.

A celebration is held under the Tree of Eternity, with Dionysus providing the wine. All are rejoicing, except Mar-Vell, who looks worried. Rick asks Mar if it is about Drax and his vow and he nods, just as Drax appears. he tells Mar-Vell he needn't worry. He is done destroying. Mar-Vell has shown him life and love and Drax will leave him to that, while he seeks to find a purpose in creation, rather than destruction. Mar-Vell can now rejoice and he and Elysius speak of love. Mar-Vell tells her that they will speak of Una, the next day, and he tells her it is another name for love.

Thoughts: Terrific ending to the storyline and a fitting one, too. This was about Thanos' Legacy, that of death and destruction. Thanos worshipped Death and sought to end the universe. Captain Marvel is a protector of the universe and his power comes from life. Thanos altered ISAAC's program to be the ultimate booby-trap, gaining vengeance on those who opposed Thanos. However, in his narrow vision, he didn't account for the power of life. ISAAC found that his lieutenants could not be controlled, once they were given life and they rebelled against him. he tried to destroy all life on Titan and the residents hung on with every breath. In the end, it wasn't power that defeated ISAAC; but, the experiences of life that he did not know. Mar-Vell transferred those experiences into him, giving ISAAC true self awareness. He saw what he had become and what Thanos was and reacted to the truth, restoring life to Titan. It is all grand and glorious, and philosophical. It is also achieved without massive bloddletting something other cosmic sagas didn't achieve. It kind of reflects the peace movement mindset of the Vietnam Era, which Moench was a part of, that love and life triumph over death and war and hatred. It's still a very timely message.

Broderick's art is tremendous, full of vibrant energy, both in the figures and in the effects. ISAAC has a cold robotic face; but, Broderick makes his body language convey the affect of his new awareness, until wee see the form weep, then sadly fade back into the computer circuitry of Titan.

The story is essentially over; but, there is a sort of coda and transition for the next story and I want to cover it, too, for some closure on this chapter.

The Death of Captain Marvel



Creative Team: art and story by Jim Starlin, letters by Jim Novak, colors by Steve Oliff, edited by Al Milgrom

Synopsis: Aboard a starship, Mar-Vell is recording his adventures. he recounts how he came to Earth, how his love Una was killed, thanks to the scheming of his rival, Yon-Rogg. He speaks of defying the Kree and abandoning his uniform, as a member of the Kree Space Militia. He became the protector of the universe, as Eon bestowed Cosmic Awareness on him. He recounts defeating the mad god Thanos, and how Adam Warlock brought the final end to his dreams of Stellar Genocide. Eros interrupts him and they arrive near Pluto, where Thanos' ark is in permanent orbit. They board the ship and find Thanos, frozen in a stone form, forever.



Mentor and Eros are there to bring the stone form of Thanos back to Titan. Mar-Vell notices a new platform and reaches out with his Cosmic Awareness. He locates followers of Thanos, who attack. The trio fight them off and defeat them, but Mar-Vell is winded by the battle. he blames it on easy life, after his semi-retirement on Titan. Mentor and Eros question one of Thanos' followers, who say they are waiting on his resurrection. They realize they are worshipping Thanos as a god. Mentor explodes and berates them, before kicking them off the ship. Mar-Vell falls to his knees, coughing heavily. Mentor wants him checked out by ISAAC, the massive computer that controls all functions on Titan. Mar-Vell agrees; but, says it will only confirm what he believes. An examination reveals what Mar-Vell expects, that he has cancer. ISAAC gives him 3 months. Mar-Vell explains to a stunned Mentor about his battle with Nitro and his belief that the M-13 nerve gas was the source. His nega-bands held off the cancer; but, it has grown more aggressive.

Mentor says they will search for a cure and will call in help from the best minds of Earth, as well as ISAAC's own banks. Mar-Vell isn't hopeful and Mentor asks about Elysius. Mar-Vell goes off to tell her.



Afterward, Mar-Vell continues his audio-journal, recounting his time sharing an existence with Rick Jones and their adventures, especially against Thanos. He then heads off to earth to inform Rick, and alert him to get checked out, to see if he was affected by their shared time. Rick is angered by Mar-Vell's acceptance of the situation and storms off. He goes to the Avengers to gain their aid; but, they aren't hopeful and Rick storms off, in disgust. He doesn't know that Mentor has already contacted them and they are working on the problem, though they secretly chastise themselves for never trying before it affected one of their own.

Mar-Vell spends time with Elysius and word spreads across the cosmos. The Kree will not help, as Mar-Vell is considered a traitor. Treatment recommendations come in; but none work in Mar-Vell's instance. he has gained a little more time; but, no more. His uniform doesn't even fit anymore. He speaks to Eros, who had loved Elysius, and asks him to be a friend to her, in the griving that will come. Eros is stunned and tears stream from his eyes. Mar-Vell records his history with Elysius and is wracked by pain and grows angry at how this disease is robbing him of the love he found, after grieving for Una so long. Mentor witnesses some of this and returns to spur on the best minds of Earth, as we see Dr Strange, reed Richards, Thor and Beast. They relate where the problem lies: the photonic energy of the nega-bands that held back the cancer also inhibits any attempts at treatment. The very thing that kept him alive this long is part of what is killing him now. There appears no hope. Eros rushes in with news that Mar-Vell has collapsed.

The word goes out to Mar-Vell's friends and the begin to assemble on Titan...



Elysius is sharing her love with Mar-Vell, saying goodbye. Eros enters and tells Mar-Vell that he has visitors. Spider-Man is unable to stay in the room, as Thing recounts a shared adventure with Captain Marvel. He meets Beast in the hallway and says he feels shook up, that heroes don't die from something mundane as cancer. beast replies that they are all still human, made of flesh and blood.

Rick arrives and goes in to see Mar-Vell. He drops to his knees and begs for Mar-Vell's forgiveness, for yelling at him, before. Mar-Vell says there is nothing to forgive and everyone leaves them alone.



Drax and Moondragon arrive and Drax tells Mar-Vell of death, though he says it is indescribable. he also says it isn't that bad. They are then interrupted by a new visitor, as an emissary from the Skrull Empire arrives to pay tribute to a valiant foe, presenting him with the Skrull Medal of Valor. Rick is angered that Mar-Vell's enemies have more respect for them than his own kind; but, Mar-Vell quiets him. He tells Rick that he has friends and the love of a good woman and that is all he needs.

Word comes that Mar-Vell has slipped into a coma and his friends and loved ones await the end.



As Mentor speaks of the unfairness of it, we see the statue of Thanos come to life and the mad god bursts into Mar-Vell's room, finding him alone. he bids him to rise, don his uniform and find a more spectacular end. he leads him to a giant beating heart, which he says is the heart of the universe. he intends to destroy it and Mar-Vell fights him. He is attacked by all manner of phantoms, including old and dead foes, before finally striking Thanos, who shatters, like a statue. Thanos reappears and tells him that is all he is now and brings in his love, Death to take Mar-Vell beyond. Mar-Vell removes the illusion of her as a beautiful woamn, revealing the skull underneath. he receives a kiss from Death, then the trio depart into a bright light, as the beating of the universe's heart slows and stops...



The book closes with our final farewell to Mar-Vell, Captain of the Kree Space Militia, defender of Earth and Protector of the Universe.



Thoughts: What is there to say but that this was Jim Starlin's masterpiece. He succeeded in presenting a truly mature tale of heroes and endings. The graphic novel was motivated by the death of his own father and he fills it with the stages of grief that people go through, when facing terminal illness, as well as what others go through, as they see a friend or love one die. It is powerful and by far the best of Marvel's graphic novel line that it spawned. It is not a standard story expanded to extra and bigger pages. It is a novel, in and of itself. Death in comics was too often either a plot device or a grand, glorious fall in battle. Real death is just the end of life. For many, it comes slowly, quietly and it does so for Mar-Vell. This story had great power when I first read it, not long after it came out. It has even more power now, some years after my own father's death. He was also failed by his own body, though not with a cancer; just an inability to draw breath into his lungs (Pulmonary Fibrosis). The things that characters go through in this story are the things I and my family went through. I experienced it again, with the death of a good friend, via cancer, at far too young of an age. One minute he has a numbness in his arm and the next his body is riddled with renal cancer and lesions in several areas of the body. Both experiences taught me the same message in the book: life ends, no matter what your plans, no matter how great your health was, no matter how glorious or boring your life. Neil Gaiman said it succinctly in the Sandman series, as Death spoke her truth: "You got what everyone gets; you got a lifetime." That's all we have, a lifetime. There is no set duration, there just is, until there isn't.

Starlin's art is his finest (though Metamorphosis Odyssey was darn close) and you can tell he was wholly invested in this. It is a fitting end to the character who made his career. It seemed to affirm the end of Thanos. However, a decade later, Starlin would return to Thanos and he would be reborn, to present a renewed threat to the universe.

Next time, we begin our look at Thanos' return, in the pages of The Silver Surfer and the beginning of the march towards the Infinity Gauntlet.