Writer: Kelly Thompson

Artist: Lee Garbett

Color Artist: Tamra Bonvillain

Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles

The Last Avenger – part two –

Last issue was a blitzkrieg. We had Captain Marvel in a new uniform swoop in and battle Thor…to the death! It was a really good first issue to an arc and a good jumping on point since no one has any idea what is going on because the whole issue is a cold open. Lee Garbett’s art with Bonvillain’s colors seems to be a match made in heaven. The only downside to issue 12 was it may have been the quickest read ever! With the rest of the Avengers set in the sights of an evil, murderous Captain Marvel who knows who will be next? I just hope we will get a moments respite this issue to get some back story to this servitude with attitude. Maybe, Vox will be the cure to my HoX, PoX, and DoX malady? (in X minor)

We open with soon to be victim number 2, Tony Stark. He is in his bathroom getting ready to go to work and appears to be running late. When all of a sudden proximity alarms sound and Captain Marvel comes plowing through Tony’s building giving the reader a cool multi-panel/multi-page sequence of Tony getting drilled through the building as his armor gathers itself around him.

This is what Lee Garbett did so well with last issue. The fight scenes are well thought out so your eye smoothly follows the characters in the battle. Here he uses the panel walls as actual walls for the character to be plowed through and it locks great.

In both this issue and the last you get a lot of internal monologue. Carol barely says anything. In this issue we get answers. In this beginning fight sequence we get Tony demanding them also. But first comes the realization that this is Carol. She is counting on this to cause distraction. Carol needs to defeat all the Avengers with in 24 hrs. Time, for her, is precious.

In a quick succession Carol absorbs a blast from Iron Man, knocks him into space and breaks his wind pipe before he can activate a protocol. Next she strips him of his armor in space!

She then tosses him in what appears to be oblivion. At least that is what your supposed to think until Carol looks back and puts her finger up to her limps as if to say Shhh…and then we see it wasn’t deep space that Tony got tossed into but Singularity.

Inside Singularity we see a none to happy Thor and a possibly crushed wind pipe Tony. Thor is demanding answers and Tony is not talking so make your own assumptions. Carol explains herself, she must be brief because Vox Supreme is always watching. Carol believes inside Singularity is the only place she can talk to someone with out him hearing. He is also always keeping track of her through the suit so he knows when she disapears so she must be quick.

Twenty-two hours ago Carol visited a Kree refugee camp on Earth. She comes to find out that there are 9 camps around the world all together, since Hala was destroyed refugee population has exploded. Carol after meeting some camp reps. she offers to help in anyway. She then flies off into space and seems to have a moment of despair. In this moment something seems to come out of her. It looks like black ink coming out her mouth and eyes. She blacks out literally and then comes to at the feet of Vox Supreme (the editors box tells us this is The Vox from Death of the Inhumans Somehow merged with The Kree Supreme Intelligence). Vague but very interesting Carol’s story continues, apparently this suit that is now on Captain Marvel is part of her and a communicating apparatus for Vox Supreme to monitor her destruction of the Avengers. Which Vox is going to force her to do by threating the lives of all the 9 refugee camps. In defiance Carol says No!

Vox destoys the first camp, the one she visited, with already planted explosives, and he warns the rest will face the same fate if she doesn’t comply.

Which brings us to the present situation.

Final Thoughts:

I am really enjoying this current arc of Captain Marvel. It’s New. It’s Fresh. It’s just good comics at its core. A smash ’em up brawl with an illusion of stakes sprinkled with mystery and intrigue. Lee Garbett’s art just comes alive inflight.

9/10