Comic review: Captain Marvel #4
The time-travel storyline kicks into high-gear in Captain Marvel #4. This issue picks up where we last left off, opening in an aerial battle between Carol and the Banshee Squadron, aided by squad leader Jerri in their hijacked Prowler, and the monstrous alien ship. After a brief skirmish, Carol stops Jerri from killing herself by flying the Prowler into the ship, instead flying inside of it herself to destroy it from within. Carol’s narration of the battle serves to ground in the reader, something writer Kelly Sue DeConnick does very well, reminding us that Carol’s history as an Avenger gives her a unique perspective on this craziness. While the women of the Banshee Squadron are making the best of this situation, with their limited training and experience, Carol takes control easily, leading them to victory against the Japanese military camp. The opposing side surrenders peacefully, but can tell them little about how the Banshees ended up stranded there.
As Carol and Jerri try to figure out how they wound up in this predicament, the book switches gears to tell the Banshee Squadron’s backstory. Civilian pilots, the women of the squad were originally civil service ferry pilots, highly skilled but unable to fly for the armed forces. On a flight from California to Hawaii to deliver newly manufactured planes, the Banshees suffered the same instrument malfunction that befell Carol’s T6, plunging them into a tail spin before they crashed. Realizing they were brought there under the same circumstances, Carol soon sees her own plane flying overhead. She follows it back through the portal where she arrives in the 1950s, and the story closes as Carol meets a young Helen Cobb. Something is bringing all of these women together through space-time, and we still have to find out how Cobb is their connection.
A solid issue with consistent writing from DeConnick and great pencils from artist Dexter Soy, it does throw a few curve balls at the reader. The origin of the Kree technology being used by the Japanese soldiers hasn’t yet been clearly addressed, and the time-jumping might be a little difficult to get one’s head around. That said, there are some nice bonding moments between Carol and Jerri in this issue, and it continues to keep the fun, exciting tone the book has set.
Worth a read: For those following the book, absolutely. If you’re new here, I’d definitely go back to #1 or #2 first, as this one gets confusing.
