Cap's Comics - What If ...? Minnie Became Captain Marvel

Regular Giada Perissinotto Cover

Sigh…this is for me not marvelous!

It makes me sad to say it about an all-ages comic, but here we are!

Peach Momoko Cover

“What if…? Minnie Became Captain Marvel” gives us a Disney/Marvel What If tale that seems like a natural. We have the female icon of the Disney Fab Five transformed into Marvel’s most powerful heroine. The story with plot by Steven Behling, who has taken up this adaptation assignment before, script by Luca Barbieri, and art by Giada Perissonota, another returning creator to this line, adapts not Captain Marvel’s origins by a early stories found in 1977’s Ms. Marvel series. The story follows Minnie fresh to a new job as a reporter. Publisher, I think, Scrooge McDuck charges her to discover who is the newest hero saving the city Captain Marvel! Minnie can find nothing, but she also has gaps in her memory. She comes to learn that she is Captain Marvel, spoilers but you read the cover, and recounts her magical origin story. Can Minnie balance her newfound discovery with a new job? 

 

Phil Noto Cover

First, I struggled. I know of Carol Danver’s origins in the old Captain Marvel stories, even before she was a hero. And the past contributions in these comics seem to adapt those stories. No, here we get adaptations of the first issues of the first Ms. Marvel series. That threw me off as the amnesia felt very Thor. But hey, Marvel has been known to reuse a gag, and the summaries I read make it clear that much of the plot can be found in the 70’s pages. But I also found that in those pages we had Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, Kree, A.I.M., and the US Air Force. Those Gerry Conway stories seem to be both fully immersed in the Marvel Universe and the Carol Danvers origin story which is very cosmic…I’ll get back to that point. But the mashing just didn’t work well for me. Scrooge McDuck is really taking the role of J. Jonah Jameson in personality and role. Meanwhile, a new creation, J. Jonah Duck, is taking the role of Robbie Robinson supporting the chief. And yes, Duck does have the distinctive Jameson hair! But I had to view the after matter to confirm his identity as I struggled to find it on the page. I like the idea of Scrooge as Jameson, but I found two versions of J. Jonah on the page confusing. 

 

Skottie Young Cover

Alright, here’s why this really did not work for me. The purpose of this comic is to get more comics readers. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is clear, that Captain Marvel is a cosmic hero. Also if you read the current Captain Marvel comics, she is all cosmic all the time, with her origin getting even more cosmic recently if possible. But for this story, Minnie Marvel’s origin is magic, using a character that did show up in some later Ms. Marvel issues but also not found in those being adapted. So, if a kid or an adult picked up a Danvers comic today they are going to be really confused by her origin in the regular comics which has nothing to do with what’s found here. I mean, who’s Mar-Vell and why should we care? I get that the team saw a chance to use a Duck that could be translated into a C-level Ms. Marvel villain (as I don’t believe she’s ever been found in an issue labeled Captain Marvel). But do the Ducks never meet aliens that can be used? 

Elena Casagrande Cover

Clearly, I have thought more about this than I should! It’s a comic for kids. But I want “What If…? Minnie Became Captain Marvel” to bring more readers to comics. I just question if this new Danver’s origin will cause confusion as it differs a lot from the big screen and the comic heritage. It just fell flat for me.


But hey, what’s next? “What If…? The Mandalorian and Friends Becasme the Fantastic Four?” I mean What If Mickey and his pals did that! Next month, Disney’s first family becomes Marvel’s first family! And despite this issue, I am here for it!

Between Books - Avengers vs. Thanos

To provide a minor spoiler, I was saddened that the Iron Man 3 did not provide an overt reference to the villain Thanos. Since we were teased that Thanos was involved in the events of The Avengers I have assumed that he would return to the Avenger Initiative sometime in the near future. In fact I assumed that we will find that the movies of Phase 2 were all linked to Thanos, even if we are not shown the obvious clue in the first viewing of these offerings. The number of Marvel Thanos related projects, such as Avengers vs. Thanos, helps reinforce to me that Thanos is coming and I want to know as much about this super villain as I can.

Avengers vs. Thanos collects Thanos’ early appearances in the Marvel universe starting with Iron Man #55 in 1968 into appearances in the last 1970s. The stories frame Thanos as the conqueror of the moon Titan who seeks to expand his reach onto Earth. Amongst the tools that Thanos uses to implement his schemes are the Cosmic Cube. Readers also see a reoccurring pattern where Thanos uses people as puppets. Many of these stories go beyond Earth and have galactic settings as the scope of Thanos’ ambition grows. Throughout these stories Thanos fights the Kree Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Adam Warlock and the Avengers. Along with the introduction of Thanos the volume also introduces Drax the Destroyer and Gamora.

My first thought is where are the Avengers? I think readers should safely assume, by the title, that Thanos will be fighting the Avengers team throughout the volume. This is largely wrong. For the bulk of this volume Thanos’ major opponents are either Captain Marvel solo or Adam Warlock. The inclusion of the Avengers of a team is rare, though Avengers like Iron Man may have solo adventures against the Mad Titan. Honestly, I think a better title would just be Thanos! But honestly that title probably would not get casual comic readers to grab it off the shelf in a bookstore, where a link to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Avengers would.

I think one of the biggest revelations for me was that Drax the Destroyer was created solely to fight Thanos. And despite his non-human appearance, he is in fact a deceased human. This helps me understand why Star-Lord Peter Quill is able to get him to rejoin the Guardians of the Galaxy when he clearly does not trust Quill. He still has an attachment to his home. Also, in this volume we see the origin of another Guardian Gamora, who was raised by Thanos. However, her discovery of plans for a global genocide turned her away from her master. So to me this book supports The Guardians of the Galaxy film much better than it does Avengers 2.

The stories themselves are products of their times. But I feel that they are good quality when compared against other stories of that era. The art also varies, but overall what is presented is good stuff. I would not call the book one of the greatest trades I have ever read. But I did think it was good. But I am glad that I borrowed and did not buy this volume since I am likely not to pick it up again.

Thanos is coming to the Marvel Cinematic universe. While that Thanos will likely differ from the one in comics, Avengers vs. Thanos recounts the source material of Thanos’ early appearances including first instances of key Guardians of the Galaxy. The volume is definitely an interesting read from those wanting to prepare themselves for Thanos and his future confrontation with whatever Avengers are in the hero stable in the future.



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