Captain Marvel #30// Review
Not only does Captain Marvel #30 wrap up the long-running story that started when Carol went to the future, but it’s an oversized issue, including a bonus story featuring Ms. Marvel. Captain Marvel #30 is written by Kelly Thompson, drawn by Jacopo Camagni, colored by Espen Grundetjern, and lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles. Jamie McKelvie writes and draws the bonus story, Ripples, lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles.
Carol’s escaped from a magical trap under the sea. She’s tracked down Enchantress and the Heart of the Serpent. Now, all she has to do is consume it, and she’ll be immune to magic. If she’s immune to magic, she can defeat Ove. It sounds simple enough, but dealing with Enchantress, and magic, is never quite what it seems.
And when Enchantress finds out just who Carol is using her to fight, she’s enraged and attacks Carol before telling Ove where she is. So now, Carol has lost her ally, she’s still weak to magic, and Ove is back for a rematch long before she’s ready.
Captain Marvel #30 is the culmination of all of the trauma Carol’s endured since her visit to the future. It’s not gone after this, not at all, and she still has a lot of things to deal with. But now, at least she’s letting people in, not suffering on her own. Thus far, Thompson has continually reminded readers that Captain Marvel is human, and therefore, flawed. And this issue is another perfect example of that.
While finding a solution to deal with Ove, Carol lies to and manipulates Enchantress. She’s doing it to hopefully save thousands, if not millions, of lives. Except, if she destroys Ove, the future might worsen, or the people she met may never exist. Worrying about the future has been tearing Carol apart internally and causing her to push away her friends and allies. But even now, when the chance to fix things is right there, it’s not clear what the correct choice is because both will have long-lasting consequences.
It’s fun to see Captain Marvel and Ove go toe-to-toe again. It’s fun because Camagni draws a dynamic fight scene, and Grundetjern’s colors are visually appealing. It’s not fun to see Captain Marvel get knocked down, again and again, to see her question her own choices.
McKelvie’s bonus story, Ripples, is only ten pages, but those ten pages hit hard. Carol has heartfelt. It’s a shame that the abundance of text in each panel distracts from the art. Ripples is so dialogue-heavy that speech bubbles appear like walls of text. But because this is only a mini-story, not an entire issue, and because the dialogue is so meaningful, I’m inclined to not judge this too harshly.
Captain Marvel #30 leaves Carol’s story with Ove and Enchantress unresolved. Not only that, but her story with Dr. Strange is still open-ended. Not in a bad way, though. The arc feels over despite not all of the plot threads being wrapped up. Because this run of Captain Marvel has proven over and over that Thompson and co can play the long game, and I’m confident these plot details will come up again.
