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

Image Source: Marvel Digital Comics

3. Captain Marvel Vol 1: Rise Of Alpha Flight

In case the title didn’t give it away, yes you read that right: Marvel launched a third Carol Danvers-centric arc in 2016. Following Kelly Sue DeConnick’s reinvention of the character, Agent Carter showrunners Tara Butters and Michele Fakzekas reunited to bring us Rise Of Alpha Flight.

Giving Carol the chance to ascend to new heights, the story was set primarily in space as Captain Marvel assembled (and subsequently led) the “all-new” Alpha Flight space program – breathing new life into the team of Canadian superheroes known as Alpha Flight (who hadn’t done much of significance in years) and ultimately bringing characters like Puck, Aurora and Sasquatch into the 21st century. In her new role, she commands the program, which is essentially Earth’s first line of defence, against any and all threats from space.

This sets the stage for a new adventure that allows Carol to highlight her full-range of skills as she must learn to reconcile her ability to negotiate like a leader with fighting like a solider. Moreover, she faces challenges on all fronts as she must deal with the reality that there is a traitor on her team while her powers aren’t functioning properly. As a result, she must rely on her inner strength, fortitude and determination to see her through. And this makes for an incredibly engaging character journey for the titular character while taking her back to where she belongs: among the stars.

With so much going on, a normal person may get lost in the fray but, as always, that isn’t the case for Captain Marvel. And, as it deals with her ability to overcome everything that is working against her, this makes Rise of Alpha Flight a perfect read to prepare for the upcoming film.