As Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers has traveled to almost every inch of the planet – and beyond! Now she’s heading to somewhere uncharted, where there’s no familiar face to be seen except for…her own! Join Carol on her new cosmic journey through the past and future as Captain Marvel takes flight in an adventure you won’t want to miss. The earth-shattering secrets of her Dark Origin are finally revealed, and the Marvel Universe will be forever changed.

The above teaser text for Captain Marvel #125 promises a lot and the comic itself feels like it’s inching towards what’s promised. Instead, the comic’s focus is the follow up to Secret Empire and the impact on Alpha Flight. Their base is ruined and there’s a question as to what’s next. The first half of the comic is quite good in that, catching new readers up, which is something that feels like it should be a focus on Marvel Legacy, the newest Marvel initiative for new readers. But, that reader friendly beginning then gets derailed with too many references to the past and things that make utterly no sense.

For someone new to Captain Marvel there’s talks of a missing person, a baby, some shapeshifter, and it’s all a little confusing and weird. The idea of finding a missing team member is simple enough but the discussion around it either explains too little or too much. Instead of keeping it simple that a friend needs to be found there’s teasing as to who this is with energy and different looks, and none of that is explained well for new readers. It’s convoluted in an odd way. Writer Margaret Stohl seems to want to make long time readers happy while also attempting to draw in new ones and it doesn’t quite work. What really works is the interaction of the characters though. There’s a flow to it all that’s enjoyable and fun.

The art by Michele Bandini is solid though. The characters look fantastic and the designs are cool. And there’s a certain energy in the art that perfectly fits the vibe of Stohl’s writing.

This issue is an odd one for me that attempts to have one foot in continuity and another in new reader friendly and doesn’t quite pull it off. There’s also giant holes in the plot that are noticeable and little irritating. The comic is fun though and I can’t help but think if the comic focused on the great cast interaction with a Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon flair of adventure it’d be a series that’d soars.

Story: Margaret Stohl Art: Michele Bandini Cover Art: Phil Noto
Story: 7.0 Art: 8.45 Overall: 7.15 Recommendation: Read