NYCC 2019: Captain Marvel’s arch-nemesis to Star in her own series

From a  blockbuster film to a top selling comic, Captain Marvel is on the rise. Now her newest enemy, Star, is getting to share some shelf space!

It’s only the first day of the New York City Comic Con, and the news items are coming at a fast and furious pace. As reported at the Retailer Panel, Captain Marvel writer Kelly Thompson will launch a spin-off mini series alongside Carol Danvers’ main title. Set to debut in January with an artist “to be announced,” it will feature Danvers’ newest archenemy, the heroine-gone-bad Star!

As a recap, Star was a mysterious figure who turned up in recent issues of Captain Marvel. Every time Carol was in trouble, Star seemed to always arrive and steal her thunder. This came at a period when Danvers’ public standing reached an all time low.

A media leak led to the world learning she is a half-Kree alien, so that and a series of battles that were taken out-of-context, many were led to believe that Carol seemed like a traitor. Drummed out of the Air Force and losing her powers, Carol had to rally alongside friends like Spider-Woman and Iron Man to try to sort things out.

In classic comic book fashion, it turned out Star was someone readers had met before! Her true identity is Ripley Ryan, a journalist from Ms. magazine who was originally hired to write a story about Carol. Following her prompt kidnapping by radioactive menace Nuclear Man, she returned from that ordeal believing only might made right, and with her seething hatred of Danvers reaching new heights. Willingly becoming a test subject by Carol’s old enemy Dr. Minerva, Ripley became Star to drain Captain Marvel of all of her powers and eventually upstage and kill her!

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Having betrayed Dr. Minerva and turning her scheme to imperil countless New Yorkers, issue 10 ended with a final showdown between Carol and Star. While Ripley’s defeat was inevitable, her own mini-series suggests that was only the beginning of her story!

It appears that Ripley’s trip to prison will only be temporary and she’ll once again regain super powers and imperil the world! But just who is responsible for it this time? At any rate, Ripley may be the first journalist in the Marvel Universe to hate a superhero this much since J. Jonah Jameson funded Scorpion and the Spider-Slayers.

This is one instance where the over-used term “breakout character” fits. While Thompson’s era of Captain Marvel began with strong sales and has often seen issues reprinted, every issue of “Rising Star” from Captain Marvel No. 8-10 has seen massive reprintings! It appears clear that an audience is demanding more, and both Thompson and Marvel are set to give them more of Star!

It’s been a long time since Danvers had a genuine archenemy who felt entirely her own. Previous ones included Mystique (from the X-Men) and Moonstone (from Hulk and Thunderbolts).

Thompson has also handled a spin-off for an antagonist before, spearheading minis for Pizzazz and the Misfits during her run of Jem & the Holograms for IDW Publishing.

Can readers handle more of a rising Star? And is there enough room for three Captain Marvel books, between this and Magnificent Ms. Marvel? Who will that artist be? Stay tuned for more!