Super Soldiers. Jason Inman
alien ship. Once he’s defeated, she lets the pilot go back to his home base. The Banshee Squad chastises her: “How can you let him go?” Carol ignores her fellow combat women and demands the pilot put together the best squad made up of his fellow combatants. Then he is to come back to this very spot, so Carol and her all-woman squad can kick their asses.
Generally, it’s not a smart move for anyone in the military to give up a tactical advantage. A captured enemy combatant can provide valuable intel, and said intelligence can save many lives in future battles. At first, this move can be seen as a gesture of “fair play.” Carol wants to prove that she and her fellow warrior women are superior to any army the enemy can muster. Upon closer inspection, though, her actions can be seen as a direct contradiction to the Air Force’s policy for military professionals to not display anger. Does Captain Marvel really need to prove herself against a World War II Japanese military squad? Yes, they have advanced weaponry, but Carol is one of the most powerful cosmic heroes in the entirety of the Marvel Universe. This woman has fought Thor and the Hulk and lived! It doesn’t matter what technology this enemy unit has—Carol will decimate them. She knows it. Yet she issues the challenge and risks the lives of the Banshee Squad in the process. Luckily, the Banshee Squad makes it through the skirmish. However, things could have gone very wrong for Carol and her team. These actions call into question something at the core of Carol Danvers: just how good a leader is Captain Marvel?
When she left the service, she achieved the rank of full bird colonel in the Air Force. This proves she was no slouch. No one can reach the rank of colonel in any military branch without being a great leader and a hard worker—unless a copious amount of bribes are issued in order to achieve said rank. This was not the case for Carol.
After the massive, cosmic comic book event known as Secret Wars (2015), Carol is offered command of the Alpha Flight Space Program. No, this was not your father’s Alpha Flight. No sasquatches or men bathed in the visage of the Canadian flag are on this team; this organization manned the Alpha Flight Low-Orbit Space Station and set themselves up as the first line of defense for Planet Earth. It puts Carol in the unique position of taking charge of a brand-new team called “the Ultimates.” This team became proactive, searching for scientific and non-violent solutions. One of their first missions was to cure the world-eater Galactus of his problem of eating worlds! (Somewhere, Galactus creator and late comic legend Stan Lee felt me write that sentence and a tinge of anger come over his spirit. “Undo my great work? Never!”)
This Ultimates team operated like a military think tank, and it allowed Carol the opportunity to command and collaborate with scientists instead of soldiers. Suddenly, Carol is exposed to problem-solving which does not involve violence or punching your enemy into submission. Despite being exposed to new worlds and infant galaxies of thought (literally), Carol is soon confronted with another situation where her core beliefs will be called into question.
An Inhuman with the ability to see the future, named Ulysses Cain, becomes the focal point of the storyline Civil War 2 (2016). Carol is intrigued by Ulysses and wants to use him to stop crimes and major disasters before they happen. One man is opposed to using this Inhuman and following his predictions without question. That man is the Iron Man, Tony Stark. Tony figures that, if Carol can stop these crimes before they happen, then the visions can only be from a single possible future. Nothing guarantees these specific people will actually commit the crimes, simply because Ulysses says they will. Carol ignores Stark and acts on every premonition Ulysses makes. This leads to severe personal costs for Captain Marvel and those who come down on her side.
During an incident with the mad titan Thanos, the sensational She-Hulk is critically injured, and Carol’s current lover, War Machine, is killed. Not long after this, Ulysses has a vision implicating Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man, in the future murder of Captain America. Carol wants Miles arrested on the spot. Tony Stark does everything in his power to prevent her from achieving her goal. A chaotic superhero battle erupts for the very soul of the Marvel Universe.
The fallout from this event leads to the death of Tony Stark (only for a few months. This is comics! No one stays dead forever, kids!). Carol Danvers is soon invited to the White House by the president, who rewards her with a blank check to do whatever she sees fit. It is a gift of thanks on the president’s behalf because he admired how she handled the situation and appreciated knowing what was going to happen in the future.
Should Carol have been rewarded? Her actions in this event are definitely in the “ends justify the means” camp. Several times, throughout Civil War 2, Carol arrested innocent people merely because of the possibility they would commit a crime in the future. Should innocent people have to suffer for the greater good, or the greater future? Our journey to the ultimate goal is just as important as the final outcome, and our morals, and our actions to achieve that outcome, are equally as important. At several points, Captain Marvel violates the Air Force’s “Service Before Self” model. It states that one must respect others: “We must always act in the certain knowledge that all persons possess fundamental worth as human beings.”
In Civil War 2, Carol saw innocent people as criminals. She locked up these citizens as criminals before any crime had been committed, and she treated said individuals as criminals. Is that respect for others? I would argue it is not. I would argue that Carol Danvers was a poor example of a moral airwoman during this storyline. (I could also fill up the pages of a whole other book questioning the motives of a fictional president who applauds her actions therein.)
The most profound thing that can be said about Carol Danvers is that she is layered. For every story in which the values of the armed forces shine through, there is another contrasting story where she fails them. I admire her bravery and her commitment, but sometimes her cosmic powers outrace her mind. Her leadership capability is beyond reproach. Her morals are where she falters. Yes, Carol is not the perfect ideal like Captain America of the first chapter, but as a full bird colonel, she is responsible for representing an example for the airmen in her command, for the heroes she leads, and for the civilians she saves. General Ronald Fogelman, who served as the fifteenth chief of the US Air Force, once said: “Because of what we do, our standards must be higher than those of society at large. The American public expects it of us and properly so. In the end, we earn the respect and trust of the American people because of the integrity we demonstrate.”
Does Captain Marvel meet the standard that General Fogelman preached? All evidence points to no. She may be a hero and inspiration to millions, but Carol Danvers could definitely try to do better. She has common values with other service members. If she allowed herself to follow them, then Captain Marvel would truly fly.
The Armored Battle Buddy
Everyone in the world knows the phrase “Batman and Robin.” Sidekicks are usually underappreciated, just like the supporting casts in many comic book worlds. These supporting casts include characters who, at first glance, many would consider to be “sidekicks.” In many stories, sidekicks are looked down upon as lesser heroes when measured against the deeds of their heroes/protagonists. However, these characters are the furthest thing from insignificant. These cast members stand by their heroes and support them in each of their battles while, at the same time, not following their orders blindly. Characters like Lois Lane in Superman, Wong in Doctor Strange, and James Rhodes in Iron Man stand taller than their heroes and—in many cases—outshine them in every aspect.
James “Rhodey” Rhodes first appeared in Iron Man #118 (1968). To Tony and the reader, he was simply a helicopter pilot. It wasn’t until many issues later that we learned James’ true origin story. He was not only a pilot, but an Air Force helicopter pilot. (In another instance of Marvel Comic retconning, Rhodey originally met Iron Man during the Vietnam War. Now, their rolling—and constantly updating—timeline has their fabled meeting happening during the Afghanistan conflict.)
When Tony came