{"id":21805,"date":"2020-03-16T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T08:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=21805"},"modified":"2020-03-15T13:20:23","modified_gmt":"2020-03-15T13:20:23","slug":"ms-marvel-epic-collection-volume-2-1978-1981-the-woman-who-fell-to-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2020\/03\/16\/ms-marvel-epic-collection-volume-2-1978-1981-the-woman-who-fell-to-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Ms. Marvel Epic collection volume 2 1978-1981: The Woman Who Fell to Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy Chris Claremont<\/strong>, <\/strong>Peter B. Gillis<\/strong>, <\/strong>David Michelinie<\/strong>, <\/strong>Jim Shooter<\/strong>, <\/strong>George P\u00c3\u00a9rez<\/strong>, <\/strong>Bob<\/strong> Layton<\/strong>, <\/strong>Simon Furman<\/strong>, <\/strong>Jim Mooney<\/strong>, Mike Vosburg<\/strong>, <\/strong>Dave Cockrum<\/strong>, <\/strong>Michael Golden<\/strong>, <\/strong>Carmine Infantino<\/strong>, Frank Miller<\/strong>, Howard Chaykin<\/strong>,Jeff Aclin<\/strong>, Mike Gustovich<\/strong>, Dave Ross <\/strong>& various (Marvel)
\nISBN: 978-1-3029-1802-6 (TPB)<\/p>\n

For a very long time, American comics and especially Marvel had very little in the way of positive female role models and almost no viable solo stars. Although there was a woman starring in the very first comic of the Marvel Age, Invisible Girl<\/em> Susan Storm<\/em> took years to become a potent and independent character in her own right. It was more than 30 years before she became Invisible Woman<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

We’ve come a long way since then\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Ms. Marvel<\/strong> launched in her own title, cover-dated January 1977. She was followed by the similarly copyright-protecting Spider-Woman<\/strong> in Marvel Spotlight<\/strong> #32 (February 1977, and securing her own title 15 months later) and Savage She-Hulk <\/strong>(#1, February 1980). Then came the music-biz sponsored Dazzler <\/strong>who premiered in Uncanny X-Men <\/strong>#130 the same month, before inevitably graduating to her own book.<\/p>\n

Once upon a time Ms. Marvel<\/strong> was United States Air Force security officer Carol Danvers<\/em>. She was first seen in Marvel Super-Heroes<\/strong> #13 (March 1968): the second episode of the saga of Kree warrior Mar-Vell <\/em>– AKA Captain Marvel<\/strong> – who had been dispatched to Earth as a spy after the Fantastic Four<\/strong> repulsed the alien Kree twice in two months\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

That series was written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Gene Colan with the immensely competent Carol perpetually investigating Mar-Vell’s assumed and tenuous cover-identity of Walter Lawson<\/em> for many months.<\/p>\n

This was until Danvers was collateral damage in a devastating battle between the now-defecting alien and his nemesis Yon-Rogg <\/em>in Captain Marvel <\/strong>#18 (November 1969).<\/p>\n

Caught in a climactic explosion of alien technology, she pretty much vanished from sight until revived as and in Ms. Marvel <\/strong>#1 (January 1977), heralding a new chapter for the company and the industry\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

This sturdy trade paperback volume (or enthralling eBook if you prefer), brings a close to the first career of Carol Danvers, via Ms. Marvel<\/strong> #1-23, and includes guest appearances from Marvel Team-Up<\/strong> #76-77, Marvel Two-in-One<\/strong>#51, Marvel Super-Heroes<\/strong> #10-11, material from Avengers<\/strong> #197-200, Avengers Annual<\/strong> #19 and Marvel Fanfare<\/strong> #24, cumulatively cover-dated from March 1978 to January 1986, and dives straight in to the ongoing mystery and drama\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Never having fully recovered from her near-death experience, Danvers had left the military and drifted into writing, slowly growing in confidence before relocating to New York City to work for publisher J. Jonah Jameson<\/em> on his new project Woman Magazine.<\/p>\n

During this time Carol learned that she had gained Kree-based abilities, psychic powers and partial amnesia: creating the role of Ms. Marvel without her own knowledge. Eventually her personality split was healed and she became a fully conscious and ferociously competent costumed champion\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

With Chris Claremont scripting and Jim Mooney & Tony DeZu\u00c3\u00b1iga providing the art, ‘The Shark is a Very Deadly Beast!’ <\/em>opens this edition as the two-fisted titan clashes with undersea villain Tiger Shark<\/em>. The action begins after Carol stumbles over him abducting the Sub-Mariner<\/strong>‘s teenaged cousin Namorita<\/em>. Despite a brief side trip to Avengers Mansion, only Ms. Marvel is on hand to provide succour in cataclysmic concluding ‘The Deep Deadly Silence!’ <\/em>(inked by Frank Springer).<\/p>\n

‘Shadow of the Gun!’ <\/em>(Mooney & DeZu\u00c3\u00b1iga) then enhances the X-Men<\/strong> connection by introducing shape-shifting mutant Mystique <\/em>in a raid on S.H.I.E.L.D. to purloin a new super-weapon which then sees impressive service in #18’s ‘The St. Valentine’s Day\/Avengers Massacre!’<\/em> (inked by Ricardo Villamonte): a blockbuster battle featuring the beginnings of a deadly plot originating at the heart of the distant Kree Imperium\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

The scheme culminates in ‘Mirror, Mirror!’<\/em> (illustrated by Carmine Infantino & Bob McLeod) as the Kree Supreme Intelligence<\/em> attempts to reinvigorate his race’s stalled evolutionary path by kidnapping Earth\/Kree hybrid Carol Danvers. However, with both her and Kree warrior Captain Marvel hitting hard against his emissary Ronan the Accuser<\/em>, eventually the Supremor and his plotters take the hint and go home empty-handed\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Ms. Marvel<\/strong> #20 highlights a huge and abrupt makeover as Danvers dumps her Mar-Vell-inspired uniform and finally finds her own look and identity in ‘The All-New Ms. Marvel’<\/em>, courtesy of Claremont, Dave Cockrum & Bob Wiacek. Here our utterly re-purposed hero tackles a hidden kingdom of predatory, intelligent, post-atomic dinosaurs infesting the American deserts, leading to a catastrophic clash with ‘The Devil in the Dark!’<\/em> (inked by Al Milgrom) in the following issue.<\/p>\n

Danvers was a key component in an extended adventure in in Marvel Team-Up<\/strong> #76-77 (December 1978 and January 1979). Crafted by Claremont, Howard Chaykin, Jeff Aclin & Juan Ortiz ‘If Not for Love\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6’<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0 sees Doctor Strange<\/strong>attacked by old enemy Silver Dagger<\/em>: a grudge rematch that draws in Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man<\/strong> as well as deadly Marie Laveau<\/em>. The \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Witch-Queen of New Orleans\u00e2\u20ac\u009d naturally has her own agenda which comes into play as ‘If I’m to Live\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 My Love Must Die!’<\/em>, finds the non-magical comrades battling the deranged exorcist, whilst Strange struggles with his own demonically-altered paramour Clea<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Now one of the most hands-on, bombastic battlers in the Marvel pantheon, Ms. M is more than ready for a return match with Death-Bird<\/em> in her own comic book. Issue #22 offers a ‘Second Chance!’<\/em> (art by Mikes Vosburg & Zeck) but sees Danvers thrown for a total loop in her personal life after being fired from Woman Magazine. All these bold changes came too late as the series’ dwindling sales had earmarked it for cancellation.<\/p>\n

Inked by Bruce D. Patterson, ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’<\/em> resolves a long-running plot thread involving the disappearance of old friend Salia Petrie<\/em> in a tale guest-starring the time-travelling Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em>, just in time for the end of the road.<\/p>\n

The series stopped there but two more stories were in various stages of preparation. They eventually saw print in 1992 (the Summer and Fall issues of oversized anthology publication Marvel Super-Heroes Magazine<\/strong> #10-11). Before them, though, comes a minor classic from Marvel Two-in-One<\/strong> #51.<\/p>\n

Scripted by Peter B. Gillis, up-&-coming artist Frank Miller & Bob McLeod, ‘Full House\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Dragons High!’<\/em> details how a weekly poker session at Avengers Mansion is interrupted by rogue US General Pollock<\/em>, who again tries to conquer America with stolen technology. Happily, Ben<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the Thing<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Grimm<\/em> and Nick Fury<\/em> round up Ms. Marvel, Wonder Man<\/em> and the Beast<\/em>, who prove to be better combat comrades than poker opponents\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Complete with the cover of unreleased Ms. Marvel<\/strong> #24, Marvel Super-Heroes Magazine<\/strong> #10 presents originally untitled yarn ‘Sabretooth Stalks the Subway’<\/em>: a ferocious fight against the feral mutant maniac by Claremont & Vosburg. It’s followed by ‘Cry, Vengeance!’ <\/em>(Claremont, Simon Furman, Vosburg & Mike Gustovich) as Ms. Marvel, now a card-carrying Avenger, faces off against Mystique and her Brotherhood of Evil Mutants<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This tale incorporates an additional section explaining how Carol is later attacked by young mutant Rogue<\/em>, permanently loses her powers and memory and is eventually reborn as the cosmic-powered adventurer Binary<\/em>: which is all well and good but somewhat takes the punch out of the later tales in this collection\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Relegated to an ensemble role in the World’s Mightiest Heroes, Danvers’ life took a strange and disturbing turn in Avengers<\/strong> 197-199 (July to September 1980 and represented here by pertinent extracts from those issues). Written by David Michelinie with art from Infantino & Brett Breeding and George P\u00c3\u00a9rez & Dan Green, the snippets follow a strange and terrifyingly rapid transformation as Carol finds herself impossibly pregnant and bringing an unknown baby to term in a matter of days\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

The mystery is solved in ‘The Child is Father To\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6?’<\/em> (Avengers<\/strong> #200, October 1980 by plotters, Jim Shooter, P\u00c3\u00a9rez & Bob Layton and scripter Michelinie, illustrated by P\u00c3\u00a9rez & Green). The mystery baby is born and hyper-rapidly matures as time goes wild, with different eras overwriting the present. The unearthly boy begins building a machine to stabilise the chaos but the heroes misunderstand his motives.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Marcus\u00e2\u20ac\u009d claims to be the son of time-master Immortus<\/em>, trying to escape eternal isolation in other-dimensional Limbo by implanting his essence in a mortal tough enough to survive the energy required for the transfer. Literally reborn on Earth, his attempts to complete the process are foiled by the World’s Most Confused Heroes and he is drawn back to his timeless realm. Carol, declaring her love for Marcus, unexpectedly goes with him\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Ms. Marvel only plays a peripheral role in ‘By Friends\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Betrayed!’<\/em> (Avengers Annual<\/strong> #10 (1981, by Claremont, Michael Golden & Armando Gil), as powerless, amnesiac Carol is rescued from drowning by Spider-Woman<\/strong>, prior to Mystique launching an all-out attack on the Avengers whilst attempting to free her Brotherhood from custody. In the melee, Danvers’ mind and abilities were taken by power-leaching Rogue<\/em>, seemingly ending her adventuring life, and in the aftermath, the Avengers learn the horrific truth of her relationship with Marcus and their part in his doom\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

One final sentimental moment comes with Claremont, David Ross & Wiacek’s ‘Elegy’<\/em> (Marvel Fanfare<\/strong> #24, January 1986) as Carol – now stellar-energy warrior Binary – returns to Earth to catch up with old friends and learns of the tragic death of Captain Mar-Vell\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Extras in this stellar compendium include a full cover gallery, a Ross alternative cover; ‘The RE-Making of Ms. Marvel’<\/em>promo article from F.O.O.M.<\/strong> #22, house ads for her 1978 makeover relaunch and original art.<\/p>\n

Always entertaining, often groundbreaking and painfully patronising (occasionally at the same time), the early Ms. Marvel<\/strong>, against all odds, grew into the modern Marvel icon of affirmative womanhood we see today.<\/p>\n

In both comics and on-screen, Carol Danvers is Marvel’s paramount female symbol. These adventures are a valuable grounding of the contemporary champion but also still stand on their own as intriguing examples of the inevitable fall of even the staunchest of male bastions – superhero sagas\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6
\n\u00c2\u00a9 2019 MARVEL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Chris Claremont, Peter B. Gillis, David Michelinie, Jim Shooter, George P\u00c3\u00a9rez, Bob Layton, Simon Furman, Jim Mooney, Mike Vosburg, Dave Cockrum, Michael Golden, Carmine Infantino, Frank Miller, Howard Chaykin,Jeff Aclin, Mike Gustovich, Dave Ross & various (Marvel) ISBN: 978-1-3029-1802-6 (TPB) For a very long time, American comics and especially Marvel had very little in … <\/p>\n

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