Genis-Vell: Captain Marvel #5 Review

Written by: Peter David
Art by: Juanan Ramírez
Colors by: Federico Blee
Letters by: VC’s Ariana Maher
Cover art by: Mike McKone, Antonio Fabela
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: November 23, 2022

Genis-Vell: Captain Marvel #5 ends the limited series with a final confrontation that pits Genis-Vell against Shatterax while Life and Death hang in the balance… literally.

Is It Good?

Meh. Genis-Vell: Captain Marvel #5 is fine. Rather than end the end with a big spectacle and fist-pumping moments, Peter David opted to take a meta path, resulting in a subdued ending that isn’t as profound as David seems to have intended. This isn’t a terrible comic by any stretch, but the ending leaves you with an inescapable “That’s it?” feeling.

In issue #4, we learned Ren-Varr was holding Marlo (Rick Jones’s wife and the current host body for Death) as a hostage for elicit experiments. Now, Genis-Vell is in a battle against an upgraded Shatterax to stop Ren-Varr and set Marlo free while Rick races to New Hala with the Nega-Bands that will help keep Genis-Vell’s powers in check.

Wheesh! That’s a mouthful of plot threads for a 5-parter, and perhaps too much stuff and not enough substance because it feels like this issue is throwing everything and the kitchen sink at you. In fairness, David keeps the plot threads distinct enough to follow, but none of the threads has enough page space to breathe and develop weight.

When it’s all done, Genis-Vell gets the bands in the nick of time to stop him from exploding. Genis and Rick have re-merged. Marlo is free. And the identity of the mysterious stranger helping Genis is revealed (hint: she’s a new character whose existence doesn’t quite make sense).

In effect, David took a meandering, wobbly road to bring Genis-Vell and Rick Jones back to life and their previous status quo. It’s nice to see Genis-Vall back as a permanent part of the Marvel universe, so we’ll see what comes of him in the future.

Also, Marlo is free but not quite back to her previous status quo, namely dead. Marlo and Rick are forced to part ways for a reasonably good reason, but again, we’ll see what comes of her return in the future.

There’s the rub, despite a promising start and some excellent art by Ramírez, this mini ultimately comes off as a convoluted excuse to get certain characters back into active status. Are there respective returns worth five issues at a $3.99 cover price per each issue? Probably not, but at least the future potential is there.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Genis-Vell: Captain Marvel #5 ends the five-part run with something between a whimper and a bang. Ramírez’s art is excellent, and all the threads wrap up (too) neatly, but it’s hard not to look at this run as a rushed, convoluted excuse to bring a handful of characters back to life.