Captain Marvel No. 2 review: The fury road of Nuclear Man
By Alex Widen
It’s a man’s world — a Nuclear Man’s world! Can Captain Marvel and her friends lead a revolution?
Captain Marvel No. 2
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Carmen Carnero
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Cover Artists: Amanda Conner & Paul Mounts
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It’s been an eventful time for Carol Danvers. She’s finally taken on the mantle of Captain Marvel, having long since outlasted her male counterpart, the Kree alien Mar-Vell. She’s been an Avenger, founded A-Force, and been “the boss of space” with Alpha Flight and the Ultimates. Yet after some personal business back home, Carol’s decided to go back to more Earth-based super-heroism. To this end she’s reconnected to her best friend (Jessica Drew), her sort of ex-boyfriend (James Rhodes), and fought a monster. Yet another villain, Mahkizmo the Nuclear Man, has laid her low!
Image by Marvel Comics
Appearing out of nowhere, the Nuclear Man from a parallel, future based dimension picked a fight with Carol. After being repelled by both her and the Avengers, he kidnapped magazine journalist Ripley Ryan (who’d been sent to interview Carol). Captain Marvel selflessly followed after, leaving the rest of the Avengers behind an invisible barrier. It seems all of Roosevelt Island has been surrounded by this barrier, and the Avengers have no means of breaching it. This leaves her on Nuclear Man’s turf, fighting the towering radioactive chauvinist pig all alone!
Image by Marvel Comics
It’s the End of the World, and She’s Not Feeling Fine!
Fortunately for Carol, she’s more than capable of taking Mahkizmo on. As she comments, he’s drastically changed his look since his old days of fighting the Thing and Thundra. He’s traded his 1980s biker look to dress like “a Russian pimp,” fur coat and all. And while Mahkizmo is strong enough for Carol to compare him to the Hulk, he’s nothing that she can’t handle — at least in a fair fight. Unfortunately, the Nuclear Man continues to feign defeat in order to land sucker-punches!
Image by Marvel Comics
Captain Marvel and Ripley learn that they aren’t the only women transported to Nuclear Man’s desolate reality. They quickly find themselves surrounded by Carol’s heroic allies — Spider-Woman, Hazmat, and Echo! All of them are sporting different costumes, and are acting as if they’d been here a lot longer. Despite employing cheating tactics himself, the Nuclear Man accuses the women of dishonor for outnumbering him, and promptly departs. Now’s the time for exposition!
Image by Marvel Comics
Many of the concerns raised at the end of the previous issue are addressed here. While this is an alternate reality, Carol isn’t meeting parallel versions of her friends, nor is defending some fanciful realm. It seems that Nuclear Man has trapped everyone on Roosevelt Island into an energy bubble which has transported them all to his own hellish reality. Time moves differently here, with days passing in mere hours on the outside. Carol’s friends have all been here almost a month, or longer.
Image by Marvel Comics
Enter: A Mysterious Stranger!
Echo had actually been living on Roosevelt Island since her near death experience with Count Nefaria in California. Both Jessica Drew and Hazmat (Jennifer Takeda) had the misfortune of visiting at the wrong time. As if finding themselves in a parallel dimension wasn’t bad enough, their powers are often in flux, and unreliable. This means they’re forced to defend all of the women of the island with little more than their wits, and a stockpile of military weaponry!
Image by Marvel Comics
But, as many a Tumblr or Twitter feed might ask, what about all the men? It seems that ever since Mahkizmo did whatever he did to the island, all of the men have disappeared — vanished to his headquarters, “the Citadel.” No men have been able to breach the invisible barrier between dimensions, but it used to allow free access for women — so Nuclear Man could build his harem. This also explains why the Avengers couldn’t break through and aid in the fight.
Image by Marvel Comics
In fact, only one man has managed to escape that citadel — a young man with a mohawk named Som. He’s been involved in the feminine resistance as long as Spider-Woman has, and they’ve relied on his intelligence and weapons too much to really question him. Is he a mole, or a spy? Or is he as genuine as he seems, and might the heroines undermine their own rebellion being too suspicious? These are just some of things Carol has to consider as she leads them all into battle!
Image by Marvel Comics
Someone Actually Bred with Nuclear Man?
Meanwhile, back in the “real world,” it has only been a few minutes. The Avengers and Rhodey can’t breach the invisible barrier, and the latter insists that Carol can handle it. With a threat involving vampires coming on the horn, the rest of the team decide to depart. The only one who remains is She-Hulk, who’d been a late arrival. Formerly a member of Carol’s A-Force team, her powers have changed drastically since Thanos nearly killed her during Civil War II.
Image by Marvel Comics
Within the Roosevelt Island “bubble,” Mahkizmo has begun yet another attack on the resistance. He has an army of robotic “metal men” who obey his every command and often overwhelm opposing forces. Despite the efforts of Drew, Echo, and Hazmat, all the ladies have managed to do is defend their base. Yet with Carol’s sheer power and military precision, hopes of a successful counter-attack are now in reach! In no time at all, Captain Marvel turns the tide of battle for them!
Image by Marvel Comics
At the very least, until Som is captured. Considering how vital he was to their intelligence, it probably wasn’t a good idea to have him on the front lines. Then again, there may only be so many people capable of using weapons well. Regardless, one of the robots refers to Som as “prince,” suggesting that he is, in fact, the son of the Nuclear Man. Mahkizmo seems to envision Carol as an ideal wife, which disgusts and repulses the veteran Avenger. At this point, She-Hulk enters the fray — until her powers immediately give out! Is Jennifer Walters about to nearly die again?
Image by Marvel Comics
Thompson Plays to Her Strengths!
Kelly Thompson quickly addresses many of the misgivings which could have arisen from the finale of her debut issue. Considering how vital a supporting cast is and how Carol had just established them, it was crucial for her to be having interactions with “her” versions of Drew and Hazmat, rather than counterparts. The rules of the dimension are also laid out quickly before the plot moves on in action packed fashion. And while Thompson does utilize some familiar tropes to her writing, she has chosen her antagonist wisely.
Image by Marvel Comics
As mentioned in the previous issue, it’s been common for Thompson to kick off her run with a villain who symbolizes toxic masculinity. This time around, she’s found an older and more established villain who serves this purpose. This is actually Mahkizmo’s first appearance in some 13 years, and he benefits from a redesign. Renaming him “Nuclear Man” does risk some confusion, if only because that code-name is still more easily connected to 1987’s Superman IV.
Image by Marvel Comics
His gimmick, obviously revolves around radiation, and to a degree it makes sense that Spider-Woman, She-Hulk, and Hazmat would be suffering some power loss. Their powers also tie into radiation. Mahkizmo has also utilized “willpower sapping rays” which are deliberately mentioned as well. As seen in West Coast Avengers, having superheroes lose their powers is another thread in some of Thompson’s stories. This time, again, it suits the mode of operations for her chosen rogue well. Mahkizmo is a sleazy, cheesy creep, and seeing him get stomped never gets old.
Image by Marvel Comics
A Heroine All Readers Can Rally Behind!
Thompson’s greatest strength here is her depiction of the main character. Carol Danvers has been many things — soldier, editor, super-heroine, recovering alcoholic, space warrior — that it can sometimes overwhelm a writer. Thompson depicts Danvers as a commanding force and a confident heroine, but not as someone above having a sense of humor, or occasionally being caught off guard. Readers also see how others react around her; even the cynical Echo is impressed!
Image by Marvel Comics
Carmen Carnero is a terrific artist for a piece such as this. It is full of the high powered spectacles that readers would expect of a comic like this, and Carnero handles them expertly. Carol has rarely looked better, whether talking strategy or smashing robots into the ground. Nuclear Man’s redesign is also impressive, without losing the stereotypical appeal of the walking symbol of sexism. She also provides interesting alternate costumes for Drew, Echo, and Hazmat. In addition, She-Hulk’s newer, bulkier form also looks fantastic under her pencils.
Image by Marvel Comics
Carol Returns and Fights a Sea Monster in No. 1!. dark. Next
While it’s fairly obvious this story is at least a little inspired by the film Mad Max: Fury Road, this in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. It is a tad ironic that Captain Marvel had wanted to reconnect to her roots, and her first major adventure back involves a villain from another universe. Regardless, Carol is working to liberate people from her city from the said universe, and rally others around her. This issue skillfully establishes Carol as a rallying figure, every bit as much as Captain American can be. At the helm of her biggest title for Marvel, Thompson is providing a great new look at one of the publisher’s top tier characters.