Captain Marvel #32 is written by Kelly Thompson, penciled by Sergio Dávila, inked by Sean Parsons, colored by Jesus Aburtov, and lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles. Captain Marvel #32 is the first issue of the Last of the Marvels arc.

Back in the Last Avenger arc (Captain Marvel #12-17), Captain Marvel was under the control of Vox Supreme, a being of super-intelligence and super evil. Vox Supreme trapped Carol inside a suit that, while it looked incredibly badass, controlled her actions so she would fight and kill the other Avengers. Fortunately, Captain Marvel and the Avengers outfought Vox Supreme, defeating and imprisoning him. Temporarily anyway.

Despite their best efforts, it looks like Vox Supreme is back, and he’s not happy with Captain Marvel. But rather than try and control her again, this time, Vox Supreme’s put someone else in the suit and sent them after Captain Marvel. 

Though the first 75% of Captain Marvel #32 is a fight between Captain Marvel and the unknown person wearing the Vox suit, it’s all part of the setup. The story doesn’t feel like it actually begins until the end of the issue, once it’s revealed who was in the Vox suit and what Vox’s plans are. Understandably, there needed to be a build-up to this big reveal for it to impact the reader and advance the plot. You can’t show all of the cards in your hand right away. However, the balance between building up the big reveal versus making the story interesting was missing in this issue. 

Unfortunately, Thompson doesn’t use this time to have Carol deeply reflect on how her own experience being controlled by Vox Supreme. Or do something else interesting, breaking up the monotony. Carol reflects on how she wasn’t able to control her actions and makes the connection that whoever is in the suit may not even be an enemy of hers because they are similarly unable to control their actions. She also recognizes that unlike when she attacked Captain America, who was able to surrender and trust her, she can’t do that. And it would’ve been great to see this aspect explored more, to see Carol struggle with her own trust issues.  

Because the Vox suit is keeping the wearer from speaking, Captain Marvel is carrying the entirety of the dialogue on her shoulders during these scenes. And when her internal monologue feels stale, the art is left to pick up the slack and drive the story. But the art team is incredibly talented and makes this issue look beautiful. Dávila and Parsons’ drawings and linework combine with Aburtov’s skillful use of colors. The layout of the panels on each page makes good use of space to show smaller moments inside of the larger fight while also making it easy to follow across the page. And within the panels, there’s a good use of space as the action flows in such a way that it fills the panel without being overwhelming. 

Captain Marvel #32 is not an issue you can skip if you want to understand the story going forward. And it does have strong points, such as beautiful art and exciting fight scenes, though they’re weighed down by the writing for the majority of the issue. The script isn’t awful, but it’s far from what we’ve seen Thompson do with Captain Marvel before. While the story ends on a cliffhanger that sells the hype for the Last of the Marvels arc, the rest of the book falls short of being enjoyable. 

GRADE: C