It’s always exciting, as a kid, to discover the origins of your favorite characters. What is even better is when you can identify with these characters. Greater still is when the messages with the stories are optimistic ones. Marvel Action: Origins #2 delivers all of this.
First up is the origin of Captain Marvel. Meet Carol Danvers who, as a kid, dreams of being an astronaut. She is told repeatedly that she is unqualified because she is a girl. Everything changes for her when she meets Dr. Walter Lawson and discovers that he is the Kree hero Captain Mar-Vell. When Carol gains powers herself, she lives her dreams in ways that she, nor anyone else for that matter, could never have imagined.
Anyone familiar with this story, through the comics or Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel movie, can see it as a good adaptation. But what writer Christopher Eliopoulos really drives home is the point that the reader should believe in themselves and not listen to what anyone has to say. This is such a valuable lesson for any young person who reads the story and a message that should be included in more narratives.
Second in this issue is the origin of the villain Green Goblin. Departing quite a bit from the comic book version, this story is closer to the first Sam Rami Spider-Man movie from 2002 (as compared to the Stan Lee / John Romita Sr. version from issues 39 and 40 of The Amazing Spider-Man). The Goblin discovers who Spider-Man is accidentally by his association with Peter Parker which makes the battle more personal; however, this lacks the drama of the villain having a plan to discover and destroy his greatest enemy by uncovering the hero’s true identity. There is something very exciting about the original concept that sadly does not make it into this story. Sometimes, it’s okay for a villain to be a villain.
Overall, this is a pretty good issue. The stories work and the art by Lanna Souvanny, like the previous issue, continues to be fun. The coloring is phenomenal. Exploring the beginnings of both a hero and a villain is a great way to get a sense of the overall universe and this is a very stylish way to do it.
3 out of 4 stars
Creative Team: Christopher Eliopoulos and Lanna Souvanny
Publisher: IDW Publishing
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