Captain Marvel: 10 essential Captain Marvel comics to read before her MCU debut

7. Captain Marvel: Carol Danvers – The Ms. Marvel Years

Okay, so we’ve established that, long before Carol was Captain Marvel, she was still saving lives as Ms. Marvel. In addition to this, we also know that, in the decades that followed, she would end up adapting with the times and, as a result, adopted new heroic personas such as Binary and Warbird. Well, in 2005, Ms. Marvel returned to prominence.

The infamous House Of M storyline saw Carol Danvers become Captain Marvel in an alternate universe and, as a result, she was the most popular superhero on the planet. Upon realising what she was truly capable of, the real Carol Danvers then threw herself into her super-heroic activities in a way that she never had before, setting the stage for Ms. Marvel to become one of Earth’s most popular heroes in Marvel’s main reality.

The renewed interest in Ms. Marvel led to her headlining her second self-titled series in 2006, which really kicked things off with Carol’s attempts to outdo everything she had previously done. It would then feature her engaging in a battle with aliens as well as highlighting her role in Civil War, as she aligned herself with Iron Man and supported the introduction of the Superhuman Registration Act, putting her at odds with Captain America and his fragment of The Avengers.

The recently released Captain Marvel: Carol Danvers – The Ms. Marvel Years collects the first 17 issues of the character’s rebooted solo series and really reintroduces us to Carol’s original persona, updating her for a new audience while reiterating why she is an important part of the Captain Marvel legacy. A new Ms. Marvel for a new generation, but an equally important one.