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Hello everyone, and welcome to another week in Marvel Snapshot! This week’s spotlight is going to be none other than Carol Danvers – Ms. Marvel herself! Carol has been many things in her lifetime, but of course she’s most notably been a stalwart member of the Avengers! Carol was created by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan back in 1968. Let’s take a closer look at her (heh) right now!

Carol’s first days in comics were in the United States Air Force, and then she worked at NASA. She really didn’t get thrust into the limelight, though, until she was caught in an explosion from a Kree device that gave her superhuman powers. She could now fly, was invulnerable, and had energy absorption capability as well. She quickly became the costumed hero Ms. Marvel we know today.
Ms. Marvel was kind of a character that made a lot of guest appearances at first. The Avengers most notably, but also the Defenders, Spider-Man, and Iron Man. She really did make her mark even early on, though, as an Avenger. She fought against Ultron, then was the first hero to run into Mystique (who actually killed her lover at the time). Later, Ms. Marvel was part of a controversial story line where she was apparently raped and impregnated by Immortus’s (Kang) son, Marcus. The story drew a lot of negativity, and was later retconned. It was at the end of this story when Ms. Marvel was attacked by Rogue, who then permanently absorbed her powers.
With a connection to the X-Men via Rogue, Carol helps them by wiping out government documents in the Pentagon. She then accompanies them into space, but is subsequently abducted by the Brood. The alien race experiments on her, and changes her into Binary. She then went on to have more adventures with teams like the X-Men and Excalibur, and not the Avengers. Carol’s persona also took control over Rogue’s mind for a time in a Claremont story (Siege Perilous). Carol later rejoined the Avengers for a story called Galactic Storm, where she eventually reverted back to her old self, and was later called Warbird.

Later on, Carol, along with Tony Stark, become advocates for the Superhuman Registration Act. They believe it’s the only way to keep the heroes accountable for their actions. Of course, Captain America, along with Luke Cage and a host of others, opposed this. Civil War followed, and was one of the best (if not the best) story lines to come out in the last decade. Eventually, Cap gets killed and we know how that ends, but Carol became the leader of the Mighty Avengers team for a while, along with juggling her own monthly title. Carol eventually had another run in with the Brood that had a showdown with her and the Brood Queen. In the end, Carol ended up powerless and naked (yes, naked) floating through space until her powers came back on. Carol is currently not in her own series, but you can catch her in New Avengers alongside Spider-Man, Luke Cage, and Wolverine.
As always, here’s my recommended reading list along with some of Carol’s best cover shots! See you next week.
Recommended Reading
Essential Ms. Marvel – Tpb
Avengers: Galactic Storm – Tpb
Ms. Marvel vol. 1-6 – Tpbs (2006)
Secret Invasion – Tpb

Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net