Thanos Just Proved Marvel Is Obsessed With Repeatedly Killing One Hero
In a preview for Silver Surfer Rebirth #2, Thanos gets to slaughter his heroic nemesis once again, showing Marvel just won't let the Avenger rest.
Warning: contains a preview for Silver Surfer Rebirth #2!
If there's one hero who can't catch a break in Marvel Comics, it's Mar-Vell, the original Captain Marvel. Few superheroes actually remain dead, but partly because his original passing was so iconic, Mar-Vell is stuck in a process of brief returns followed by repeated dirt naps, with the latest taking place in Silver Surfer Rebirth #2, from Ron Marz, Ron Lim, Don Ho, Israel Silva, and Joe Sabino.
Mar-Vell was an officer in the Kree army, a member of the powerful alien race that forged a galaxy-wide empire. Captain Mar-Vell was sent to Earth by the Kree Leader, the Supreme Intelligence, to enact a complex plan that included posing as a scientist to spy on humans' progress on space travel. At Cape Canaveral, he met Carol Danvers, who would later acquire Kree-based powers and become the new Captain Marvel. After spending a long time on Earth as a costumed adventurer and a hero, Mar-Vell's loyalties began to shift, and he betrayed the Kree and the Supreme Intelligence. Finally, after a fight with the supervillain Nitro, Mar-Vell unknowingly contracted lung cancer, which proved to be untreatable. In the unforgettable Death of Captain Marvel graphic novel, by Jim Starlin, Mar-Vell died in his bed, surrounded by his loved ones, the heroes who came to know and respect him, and even his nemesis Thanos, who paid his respects and helped Mar-Vell face Death.
The Death of Captain Marvel was truly a momentous comic book for the time. Superhero stories usually do not focus on the death of their characters in truly emotional terms, so this touching story depicting Mar-Vell's final moments became an instant classic. To avoid tarnishing its legacy, Marvel did not resurrect the character and generally left him out of its stories for 26 years, until 2008's Secret Invasion, when Captain Marvel returned to life, to much fanfare. It was soon revealed, however, that it was a Skrull brainwashed to believe he was the real Mar-Vell, and the impostor soon died as well. The taboo was broken, however, and the real Mar-Vell was resurrected two times, once for the 2010 Chaos War event, and once during Avengers Vs. X-Men in 2012. On both occasions, he ended up sacrificing his life for his friends or for the cause. Now, in Silver Surfer Rebirth #2, Mar-Vell falls once again. Enjoy a preview below:
In the preview for Silver Surfer Rebirth #2, the former herald of Galactus finds himself on an unknown, barren landscape, facing his old nemesis Thanos and standing near the dead body of Mar-Vell. In the previous issue, this version of the Kree hero appeared out of nowhere, taking the place of his son Genis, who was traveling in space with the Surfer. This Mar-Vell immediately engaged a Skrull army, and in the midst of battle even said, "I didn't survive cancer just to die at the hands of the Skrulls." However, his return was short-lived. Thanos appeared on the battlefield and with a single blow killed Captain Marvel, calling him, "Merely a shadow among shadows."
Going by Thanos' words, this Mar-Vell was probably not the original, and possibly the result of some space/time manipulation that will be explained in Silver Surfer Rebirth #2 when it hits shelves February 23. However, this doesn't change the fact that Marvel just once again threw away the resurrection of one of its most beloved characters, only to make Captain Marvel die again. This looks like a trend: Mar-Vell's greatest story will always be the one where he died, and so Marvel Comics thinks that the best thing to do with the character is to re-enact the death of Captain Marvel over and over again.