CAPTAIN MARVEL #30

By Arnold T. Blumberg     April 05, 2002

This is one of those cases when a pop culture event or story is superceded by the real world soap opera controversy that surrounds it. By now most of you know about or followed diligently the unfolding drama as CAPTAIN MARVEL creator Peter David sparred with Marvel President Bill Jemas and Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada about the impending cover price hike on this title (among others). I won't bore you with the details, since most of them were probably engineered as a publicity stunt to begin with, but I will say this: if this is the sort of sweeping epic upon which David was trying to build an argument concerning the reader-friendly quality of the series, then something is seriously wrong. For this is an inbred storyline if ever there was one, satisfying to only the most dedicated insiders who think that the most obscure backwaters of Marvel's multiverse are worth continual plundering.

In the final chapter of "Time Flies," we now know that the evil Thanatos is just another name for Rick Jones - an alternate future version of Rick, but Rick nonetheless. Fortunately, good old Rick from FUTURE IMPERFECT is also on hand with another Rick or two. While fans are recovering from the notion of being inundated with this many versions of an insufferable would-be rock star superhero sidekick, David hits you with the appearance of both FUTURE IMPERFECT's evil future Hulk, the Maestro, and Spider-Man 2099! Did anyone tell David that no one liked the 2099 universe in the first place? Evidently not. The plot? A mish-mash of machinations and last-minute maneuvers, and you know everything will be OK in the end...more or less. This ain't Shakespeare, you know.

While I've always thrilled to the many time travel related plots that weave in and out of the Marvel multiverse, this one just leaves me cold. Perhaps it's David's infuriating inconsistency as a writer these days - how he can script the superb SUPERGIRL and this at the same time is beyond me - or perhaps it's the lackluster artwork. Maybe it's the way David plays the poignant character of old Rick from his near-masterpiece FUTURE IMPERFECT as a joke just this side of SOUTH PARK's version of Rod Stewart that has me boiling.

Basically, if you like Peter David's style and this latest saga, you'll probably be satisfied by this concluding installment. If, however, the thought of a creator spinning his wheels for months on a threadbare plot with a bunch of characters no one cared about when they were originally introduced doesn't float your boat, then it won't make any difference to you if CAPTAIN MARVEL goes up a quarter or a hundred quarters in cover price - you won't be buying it.