Synopsis: Captain Marvel 50 was written by Scott Edelman and pencilled by Al Milgrom and starts after an intro splash page with Iron Man being attacked while testing a vehicle for space exploration. Iron Man is very keen on the genius behind this contraption, which as we know from every other iteration of Iron Man, means he is talking about himself. He is attacked by an old Avengers/Captain America villain, the Super Adaptoid a villain who mimics powers and looks like a 7ft tall green Iron Man, who attacks then flees when he realises how outmatched he is and then heads to the Avengers Mansion.
Elsewhere after depositing two Kree exiles on a farm, Mar-Vell flies to New York and using his nega bands exchanges places with Rick Jones, who is set to perform that night at a one night concert with fellow singer Rachel Dandridge, who is less then keen to share the spotlight with Rick, even after their manager Mordecia P Boggs reassures them that it will be a success.
The show goes well and Rick basks in the applause and is joined in his dressing room by Edwin Jarvis, butler to the Avengers. Jarvis congratulates Rick on the show, which he attended on his night off, with them both having had civilian ties to the Avengers, they have a lot of good history and head back to the Mansion to get some hot cocoa. At the same time, the Super Adaptoid arrives at the Mansion ahead of them and attacks the Avengers, acquiring the powers of Scarlet Witch, Beast, Vision and the skill of Captain America as well as the armour of Iron Man. Rick and Jarvis arrive to find the Mansion on lock down and are unable to get in. A quick clang of the nega-bands and Captain Marvel breaks in and heads for the trouble.
Ignoring the advice of the Avengers, Mar-Vell attacks the Adaptoid and allows it to absorb his photon powers and his nega-bands, Captain America and the Scarlet Witch both berate Mar-Vell about this, but this was all part of the plan. As well as the physical might of the Kree warrior, the Adaptoid gains the cosmic awareness that Mar-Vell possesses and for a second is lost in the wonder of the cosmos. Seeing his moment, Captain Marvel clangs the duplicated nega bands together and the Adaptoid changes places with Rick Jones, freeing the two of them from having to share the same atoms and trapping the Adaptoid in the negative zone. Freed of the nega bands completely, Rick can now live his own life on his own terms.
Notes: Captain Marvel was one of the titles that was changed dramatically by Jim Starlin. His more cosmic stuff featuring Thanos, Adam Warlock and other spun out of a lot of the stuff he did in Captain Marvel and when he left to do other things, well to be honest Captain Marvel wasn’t as good. Al Milgrom pencils well and everyone looks like who they look like, but the writing is a bit hap-hapzard. Beyond some barely hinted at revenge, the Super Adaptoid has no reason for anything he does beyond the writer needing him to mimic the nega-bands.
Relevance: To be honest, not very much, this exile of the Kree characters doesn’t last, the Adaptoid returns and Rick Jones being bonded to someone called Captain Marvel happens again, so this becomes a little forgettable. That said Captain Marvel as a series and a character was both important and interesting and any issue with him in is worth a look.
Next Time: The frequently seen dangers of being trapped in giant chewing gum bubbles.
My Marvel Life 