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Trading Spaces » Support Captain Marvel » Wizard's Best Hero 2000

» Wizard's Best Hero 2000

Reprinted from Wizard The Comics Magazine #112

Riggs and Murtaugh. Crockett and Tubbs. And then there's... Captain Marvel?

Confused? Don't be. The best buddy team in comics is really two guys in one - the novice hero known as Genis and veteran ex-Hulk sidekick Rick Jones. Combine'em and you get Marvel Comics' newest cosmic hero. With a click of their wrist bands, one part of the bantering duo takes action while the other "pops" into another dimension while still able to communicate with the other.

Just like the lead characters in any self-respecting buddy flick, the Captain Marvel duo's got its share of conflicts (Rick once thought Genis was putting the moves on his wife), accidents (Genis once dropped Rick's aforementioned wife from a thousand feet in the air) and juvenile attempts at humor (prankster Jones convinced his straight-laced partner that "Oh what a goose I am" made for a rousing battle cry). The result, more times than not, makes for a comic with a great sense of humor.

The tandem is stuck together, locked in an unwitting union brought about by the Destiny War (as seen in last year's Avengers Forever mini-series). The tension between them is undeniable - they are two men sharing one life, after all - and it makes their journey on the path toward accepting their situation a helluva lot of fun to watch.

The fact that Captain Marvel's gone head to head with heavy-hitters like the Hulk, Wendigo, Drax the Destroyer, Super-Skrull and the Silver Surfer doesn't hurt either, but it's the characters difficulties, his flaws which allow readers to empathize with him.

Face it, neither half of the whole that makes up Captain Marvel is perfect. In fact, neither's even close. Genis has awesome powers, yeah, but he's inexperienced in the ways of the world and... well, a bit gullible at times. Rick, on the other hand, is a veteran of the superhero life, but he's got a smart mouth and more personal problems (his wife sees dead people) than you can shake an Infinity Gauntlet at.

It's those flaws - and the learning curve that accompanies them - which help make Cap the phenomenal hero he is. He's not always certain about himself, and despite his great powers (flight, superstrength, cosmic awareness) and great responsibilities (living up to the "Protector of the Universe" held by Genis' late dad, the original Captain Marvel), his uncertainty allows us all to understand what he's going through.

Hmm... great powers, great responsibilities - sounds like a pretty good basis for an awesome hero, dontcha think?

Trading Spaces is created and maintained by Louis Digout. Captain Marvel, and the distinctive likeness(es) thereof are Trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc. and are used without permission. All original content copyright © 2002 Louis Digout.