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bluefall (bluefall) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-03-26 15:45:00

Entry tags:

char: ms. marvel/carol danvers, creator: brian reed, title: ms. marvel

Make Room for Moonstone
From Ms Marvel #37.

Quick recap: Carol's powers have been on the fritz; it causes her pain to use them, which is why she's been running around not using them in the guise of Catherine Donovan. She's after an old enemy named Ghazi Rashid, with the help of a couple of uninteresting indistinguishable spy dudes from her past (Rick and Rossi). Ghazi, teamed up with Osborn, has ingested a formula called Ascension, which gave him superpowers.

Most of this issue is he and Carol trying to kill each other. Something about Ghazi has managed to piss her off enough to remember her old life - all the emotions and connections she lost when Rogue stole her powers - and she's got a serious mad-on for him as a result. Of course her powers, surprise surprise, go on the fritz again, and she starts overloading and going all Binary.

She puts Ghazi down, but isn't able to kill him; there are too many people around to stay and finish the job and she can tell she's about to go nova.

Annnnnd... that's it. No more Carol. The rest of the issue is concerned with Rossi collecting Ghazi for Osborn, Rick killing Rossi for double-crossing him and Carol, and Osborn telling Moonstone she's the only Ms Marvel. The final page is a splash of Moonstone flying off into the night in the old red Ms Marvel costume.

Please, please, please do not ask me to reconcile this with Carol's place as powers-functioning-totally-fine, very-not-dead-and-entirely-secure second-in-command-for-the-forseeable-future of Avengers Group #23,471. Probably she survived the explosion, landed just fine, and decided "to hell with this" and wandered over to Bucky's house to find an author who's actually marginally interested in her story.

Also, you know who really, really, really does not impress me right now? Brian Reed, that's who. Seriously, what the hell was that? Not only was that the most deeply pointless death I've seen in... I don't even know how long - it's not a war death, it's not to protect innocents, it doesn't take down or hinder the bad guys, it's not even a fridging, because who the hell does it motivate, Rick? Who gives a crap about Rick?* - but we don't even know what the hell actually happened, and somehow I don't anticipate Reed putting much page space into explaining it now that it's over and Carol's out of the book. Her powers freaked out! For no apparent reason! And killed her! Just because! Look, Moonstone is Ms Marvel now and Carol is boring and sucks so shut up, it doesn't matter, I don't care, I write what I want!

Great, fella. Fantastic character death. You're a veritable Shakespeare.

* Unless, of course, Rick's crusade against Osborn becomes a running B-plot under Moonstone's tenure as Ms Marvel, in which case I am even less impressed with Reed, which shouldn't even be possible, but there it is.

(Post a new comment)

	daningram 2009-03-26 03:07 pm UTC (link)
	Honestly I'm amazed that Ms. Marvel's series has lasted so long under Brian Wood. He can't write an interesting Carol, her supporting cast sucks and has done virtually nothing with her rogues gallery. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	scottyquick 2009-03-26 03:39 pm UTC (link)
	I thought her supporting cast was Arana and Machine Man? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	statham1986 2009-03-26 03:44 pm UTC (link)
	Brian REED. Brian Wood is the generally decent writer behind work like DEMO, Supermarket and the like. Brian REED is the turd who has this and Ultimate Spider-Man videogame, along with Secret Invasion: Spider-Man as some of his sole, cruddy writing credits. Please do not tar Wood with the crap-brush because Reed's work sucks. (Reply to this) (Parent)

aulayan
2009-03-26 03:12 pm UTC (link)

I have two theories.

Theory 1) Editorial forced this. I tend to fall back on this theory often, thanks to DC.

Theory 2) This is temporary. Carol will be back, and soon. Of course, I had this theory after Cap 25 and it's been 23 issues now...So I could be wrong on this one.

I just can't bring myself to accept a person writing the book from Ish 1 would do this. Yes there have been signs he's been bored of Carol...But, damn, he made me -like- Carol. I just can't see him doing this.

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bluefall
2009-03-26 03:35 pm UTC (link)

Well, the thing is, she's on the cover of the June Avengers solicit. I don't think this is permanent because I'm not sure it actually even happened.

But, I have no doubt that Reed was all about it. The way he talked about it in that interview we all headdesked over at S_D 1.0, the way his storylines and panel appointment have been less and less Carol-centric and he wrote an entire annual that was actually a Spider-Man story... I don't know why he took the assignment. He might have just said "okay, I'll give it a shot," he might have been the guy who pitched it, I don't know, but he'd hardly be the first writer to start a story and then get so sick of the main character that he deliberately kills her off.

Of course, Doyle actually gave Holmes a pretty good death, so...

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	starwolf_oakley 2009-03-26 03:17 pm UTC (link)
	You don't usually think Pat Olliffe for a story where a super-heroine loses control of her powers and dies, even though he did 52. But he does very good work here. (Reply to this)

kali921
2009-03-26 03:18 pm UTC (link)

Wow, Carol pulled a Jack of Hearts! I totally didn't see that coming! I'm caught entirely by surprise!

So, basically, Reed managed to write a scene of Carol going Binary!asplodey that looks and reads like almost every other time that Carol has gone Binary!asplodey.

I think at this point Carol should pull a Rich Rider and just go hang out in space for a while when Marvel decides that she's officially alive again. Go help some stranded Rigellians, have a cold brewski and play a few rounds of five card stud with Pip, go beat up on some Baluurians, and then when things have settled down at Marvel editorial and this whole Dark Reign nonsense is over with, she can come back to Earth and have Hank McCoy fix her up.

Who gives a crap about Rick?*

Lots of people, actually. Don't diss on Rick. He did write Sidekick, after all. I'm glad to see him being used, although why Reed decided to insert him in Carol's book when he could have been harassing Bucky all this time I'll never understand.

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bluefall
2009-03-26 03:26 pm UTC (link)

He did write Sidekick, after all.

Fair point. He hasn't been at all interesting under Reed's stewardship, though - the only character in this arc who's really come across as more than wallpaper is Ghazi (even Carol, sort of, and she's our narrator), and it's not like Rick needs an excuse to crusade against Osborn anyway (or even to shoot Rossi, who after all, tried to blow him up too). So I don't think Carol's death is really supposed to be in any way for the benefit of his story... Reed's just bored with her.

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kali921
2009-03-26 03:38 pm UTC (link)

To be honest, I've found a lot of Reed's writing -- and in particular his execution of the supporting cast he used in Carol's book -- to be very flat. Nothing really stuck with me. Even the cameos by other A- and B-listers lacked the kind of sparks that I'd like to see in a Ms. Marvel book.

Was it said anywhere explicitly that Reed was tired of Carol? Because the shift to Moonstone smacks more of an editorial mandate than of Reed getting sick of Carol. He may not have done the most imaginative things with Carol (after all, most of his run felt like he was just cycling through her old canon and riffing on bits and pieces of it rather than doing anything really new, except for the "now we'll have four issues of Carol beating up on a single mother" part).

Rick should be used. With the right writer, he can be an awesome character, because 99.9999% of what he's seen and done in Marvel continuity is unbelievably cracky and his running commentary alone, when he's written well, will make me buy an issue of any given title. But I think he works better with a writer who is very, very adept at sharp humor, and I'm not sure that Reed is that writer.

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bluefall
2009-03-26 05:59 pm UTC (link)

It's nothing he's said specifically anywhere that I've seen, but it's the impression he gives with the way he talks about her in general (I'm thinking the interview he gave spoiling her death) and the way the title's focus has shifted as it goes on. Like, there was the annual, for example, which was not a Ms Marvel story, it was a Spider-Man story (which he followed up with another issue during this Ghazi arc that was more about Peter than about Carol).

Also, if it's an editorial mandate, it's a bit weird that it hasn't had any effect on her portrayal in the Avengers whatsoever, but then I suppose that would be par for the course ::coughOMDcough:: at Marvel.

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	lieut_kettch 2009-03-26 08:46 pm UTC (link)
	Rick is awesome, especially for the fact that he has Snapper Carr on speed-dial on his transdimensional celphone, at least according to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	daningram 2009-03-27 04:01 pm UTC (link)
	Uhh, I think you guys got your Ricks confused. The Rick we see here is Rick Mason, not Rick Jones. http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/agentrm.htm (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ashtoreth 2009-03-28 01:06 am UTC (link)
	Imagine if they WERE the same person! Rick Jones, an assassin in Berlin! Rick Mason, assassin who ALSO writes loving accounts of the colorful people he's worked with! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	bluefall 2009-03-29 12:40 am UTC (link)
	Well, like I said, Rossi and Rick have been completely uninteresting and indistinguishable. I only even remembered his first name because it gets used a bunch of times in these scans. Dude could be Tom Petty for all it matters to me or this storyline (or, y'know, Carol, at this point). (Reply to this) (Parent)

	volksjager 2009-03-26 03:27 pm UTC (link)
	Yikes who will be dept. Avenger's chairperson now ???????? (Reply to this)

	thandrak 2009-03-26 03:27 pm UTC (link)
	Welcome back, Binary. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	pensive1 2009-03-26 04:52 pm UTC (link)
	Glad I wasn't the only one who thought this. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ashtoreth 2009-03-28 01:07 am UTC (link)
	::cries over the bad hair:: (Reply to this) (Parent)

	xdoop 2009-03-26 03:34 pm UTC (link)
	As someone who's only experience with Rossi was Claremont's X-Men run (specifically, #182), what's up with him being a villain/betraying Carol? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bluefall 2009-03-26 03:36 pm UTC (link)
	Osborne paid him. What, you want more explanation than that? Next you'll be asking why Carol's powers went on the fritz. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	daningram 2009-03-26 03:39 pm UTC (link)
	Was it ever explained why she went from Binary to her current levels? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bluefall
2009-03-26 04:00 pm UTC (link)

As I understand it, her power level never actually changed. She's an energyvore, kind of - she sucks in power and pumps it back out as flight and strength and energy blasts. We've seen her absorb explosions and whatnot for a temporary power boost. What made her Binary form so badass was that she had a connection to a white dwarf star or something equally bottomlessly energetic like that; when she lost the Binary identity it was because that connection was severed, so she no longer had the juice to keep doing the really cosmic high-end stuff. She still theoretically could, though, if you charged her up enough beforehand.

What happened to her here could probably be explained as faulty energy regulation, or something happening to reconnect her to a high-end power source, or various similar theories.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	daningram 2009-03-26 04:05 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, I remember that from Kang War. But did they ever establish why her baseline (for lack of a better word) dropped? Did the white star die or somethin'? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	xdoop 2009-03-26 04:25 pm UTC (link)
	http://uncannyxmen.net/db/spotlight/showquestion.asp?faq=10&fldAuto=118&page=6 Scroll down to the bit from X-Men Unlimited #13. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	unknownscribler 2009-03-26 05:13 pm UTC (link)
	Who's Galactus' current herald? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	philippos42 2009-03-29 01:52 am UTC (link)
	Norrin again. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	colonel_green 2009-03-26 05:14 pm UTC (link)
	Given the supervague explosion, one imagines that once the whole "villain protagonist" angle (which I think is a fairly neat idea on a story level) is played out, she'll recompose or whatever. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	ashtoreth 2009-03-28 01:11 am UTC (link)
	That's what I figured too. I'm not sure whether I care to follow what goes on in the meantime. I find Karla Sofen to be a vile person. :( I liked Bucky enough to read him while Steve is dead, that isn't hte case here. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ashez2ashes 2009-03-26 05:32 pm UTC (link)
	Ok, DEFINTILY making sure my lcs remember I dropped this title now (last time there was one in my comic pile and I decided to buy it anyways, not so this time..). (Reply to this)

	jlroberson 2009-03-26 06:16 pm UTC (link)
	Marvel turns her into one of their most solid characters, so of course they kill her? Whatever. (Reply to this)

	demonprawn 2009-03-26 08:14 pm UTC (link)
	Well from what I can tell not having followed Ms. Marvel that wasn't good. I'd prolly care if I didn't like Moonstone so much more then Carol. (Reply to this)

	moneyless_jew 2009-03-30 09:23 am UTC (link)
	Carol is obviously alive, and Reed has written her for thirty seven issues. I think if he didn't care he wouldn't be on the title. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bluefall 2009-03-30 09:36 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, you know, usually when a writer doesn't care about a character, he finds a way to stop writing that character and move on to another. Heeeeeey, wait just a minute... (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	moneyless_jew 2009-03-30 09:41 am UTC (link)
	I sincerely doubt that giving the book to Moonstone after three years was a Brian Reed Master Plan. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

(Deleted post)

moneyless_jew
2009-03-30 10:05 am UTC (link)
And what I'm saying is, I think you're making too much of it. I don't see the disdain you do in his interviews. And I expect Carol will be back in the book by the end of the year or very shortly afterwards. This looks to very likely be a short term arc tying in with the finite Dark Reign, in which many stalwart heroes have been replaced by their villainous counterparts and things look bleak for Our Heroes. See: "Dark Reign: Spider-Man," "Dark Reign: Hawkeye," etc.

I think if Reed really was uninterested in Carol he would not have wasted his time writing for her for so long, lying in wait. Our opinion on how WELL he wrote her may not always be positive, but he's never come across as anything but enthusiastic and dedicated to writing the character to me, and if Reed continues writing Ms. Marvel when Carol returns, I reserve the right to be completely and utterly unsurprised. Do you truly believe this is meant to be permanent?
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bluefall
2009-03-30 10:06 am UTC (link)
Sorry, that was needlessly sarcastic.

No one is saying Reed has had some master plan to get rid of Carol since the beginning. He's clearly bored with her now, though, and if it weren't obvious in his writing before, it *certainly* is now.
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