And at Last, It's Ove-r in Captain Marvel #30!

Carol uses dubious methods to fight for a better future, but is the collateral damage worth it? Captain Marvel #30 written by Kelly Thompson, drawn by Jacopo Camagni, colored by Espen Grundetjern, and lettered by Clayton Cowles with special feature “Ripples” written and drawn by Jamie McKelvie.

Christina Eddleman: We’ve reached the finale of the Ove saga and I think this means Captain Marvel can do magic now? Maybe I should read the issue first.

Cat Purcell: I will say this issue did give me a few pleasant surprises and some that left me questioning a lot. I would never have seen myself siding with Enchantress or Doctor Strange over Captain Marvel before this run!

Don’t Lie to a Telepath

Christi: I have now read the issue and I am absolutely kicking myself that I didn’t remember that Amora can do nearly anything with magic – including telepathy. It really makes Carol’s plan to deceive her seem that much more ridiculous. I know that we were certain that Amora had betrayed Carol, but it seems that the Enchantress merely didn’t like waiting around for her and was completely true to her word. Except that instead of teaching Carol to learn magic she’s found a way to simply make Carol immune to it, which is a fascinating possibility.

Cat: I gotta give Thompson props for this twist, because I didn’t see it coming and really, that’s a smart way to avoid a disastrous fight with an expert level magic user! I don’t blame Enchantress for her choices. When a nemesis shows up at your door and no magic user will teach her magic, including her current bedfellow, you get suspicious of her motives. Would I have been as mad as Carol was when she walked in after Amora left her trapped underwater? Absolutely. But I think Amora is totally justified once she finds out what’s really going on. How did you feel about these levels of lies, Christi?

Christi: While many heroes have their lines that separate them from villains, Carol doesn’t seem to have those quandaries. Maybe it’s all that military training? Seeing how these threads have come together in this finale issue, I wonder what Ove has been up to before Amora sought him out. As Carol regains consciousness, she makes the decision to use all of her power to send Amora on a trip to outer space. What do you make of this tactic, Cat?

Cat: I’m super curious what Ove was up to while Carol apparently had the time to try to convince every magic user to teach her. And I don’t know if I’ll ever understand several choices Carol made once the big reunion happened. What a wasted shot!!

Christi: I think I’m most surprised that neither Ove or Amora are off the board at the end of this finale issue. Carol hasn’t been able to punch her way out of her problems recently and while that’s refreshing, I don’t know if I find Ove interesting enough to see him around long term.

Ends and Means

Cat: So after Carol knocks out Amora instead of I’ve with her one chance at a surprise shot, Ove managed to punch his way out of his problems and Carol blasts pretty far. And her plan is to … absorb his punches to build her power without being knocked out? Idk if that’s brilliant or the most ridiculous plan I’ve heard her come up with yet. While she’s down, the ghosts of the future lives come to haunt her. And so does Rhodey. I honestly had forgotten that Strange had him come save the day. What did you make of this set up, Christi?

Christi: I don’t know that Carol had to have Rhodey to save her, but she had to actually confront the problem she was trying to run away from when she broke up with him. The future is tricky, and leaving your boyfriend because you met his future daughter and know she won’t exist if you save the world is a lot to process. Carol hadn’t taken the time to fully do that. I wish the conversation could’ve happened in a way that didn’t frame Carol as needing to be saved, but it was a conversation that had to happen and I don’t think there was a better time for it. I appreciate that it was sandwiched into the action. Rhodey doesn’t actually confront Ove, just gives Carol a boost. This is the most I’ve liked them as a couple so far. Carol’s decision to blind Ove to magic is one that I’m a little more on the fence about.

Cat: That’s about how I felt about it as well. I do really appreciate that Rhodey literally gave her a boost and nothing else to assist her. It was her fight, her demon to battle and she finally confronted it honestly. If Rhodey can continue to be involved (emphasis on involved) in the plot like this, I look forward to seeing more of them now that they’re back together. I’m very skeptical about it being her “initial plan” to have Ove take the anti-magic potion. And I really don’t like that that’s how it happened. SURE, he was about to pretty much kill everyone and this did, as far as we know now, put a halt to it. But a much more satisfying ending would have been for Carol to take the immunity to magic potion and battle him and win fair and square. Much less ethical ickiness involved too. Which brings us to the realization that despite not trusting Carol’s motives, Amora never lied to her. Now that we know she was honest and upfront with Carol from the start, how do you feel about it, Christi?

Christi: I’ve generally enjoyed the chaotic nature of Amora in every instance I’ve read her. While I think her desire for more information probably was a motivating factor in teaming up with Carol, she really wasn’t operating with any malice. Making a true enemy of her was very unwise of Carol. Let’s be honest though, Captain Marvel is a fighter, not a talker. Her charisma score is incredibly low. She’s no Doreen Green who can talk sense into any villain. I don’t know that aside from punching Ove until he gave up/caved in/died that she had a lot of outs here.

Cat: That’s a hilariously accurate read on Captain Marvel. Probably don’t choose her for your D&D campaign, folks. After Carol finishes up at the fight scene and makes up with Rhodey, she heads directly to Dr. Stranger’s to say thanks? But all he has to say is she’s gotta watch her back for the enemies she made out of Ove and Amora as well as for the consequences of her actions. Which left me at the end of this issue surprised I was agreeing with Stephen and Amora!

Marvelous Mentor

Captain Marvel talks with Ms. Marvel about why she inspired her.

Christi: This issue ends with a special feature, Ripples, by writer and artist Jamie McKelvie and lettered by Clayton Cowles. While we last saw Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel, at Carol’s game night, it was incredibly heartwarming to see the two get some one-on-one time in this feature story. What do you make of Carol seeking a morale boost from a teen, Cat?

Cat: I almost didn’t take the time to read this part of the issue and I would have regretted it because I loved it. It was just as heartwarming as the game night issue and I LOVE that Carol went to Kamala for some help. It was nice to see Carol reflecting on all of the shit she’s been through recently and commiserating with Kamala about the suit life. I also related to it a LOT. There’s one particular teen who always stops to say “hi” to me at the library. Most of the time she needs an ear to listen and I’m happy to be that person for her. I also get a morale boost every time she does because it IS a good feeling to know the youths are alright. As anyone who’s regularly around kids, they can be insightful geniuses, even if they do make fun of you for being on twitter still.

Christi: As often as my students make me question… everything really, there are those kids that can truly turn your day around, and Kamala is truly that – better than that really. She takes the time to covertly show Carol the impact, the titular ripples, of her actions as a superhero. While we’ve spent the majority of the issue side-eying Carol’s choices, we get to see some of the concrete examples of good that Carol has brought about in the world. Kamala is a bit like Clarence Odbody to Carol’s George Bailey.

Cat: Please forgive me for only roughly getting that reference, but I see what you mean. When Kamala took the chance to give Carol a little tour of the people they’ve both helped that have passed the kindness on to someone else, I thought it was adorable. It was a good reminder for all of us that one small or big act can make a huge difference on someone’s day or even their life. I’m so glad this cute little story found a great way to bring deeper levels of introspection and personality to Captain Marvel.

Christi: This finale issue really encapsulated the essence of this run to me so far. Carole plays best in a team environment. On her own, she makes rash decisions, isn’t a great talker, and punches a lot. Thompson has put together a plot worthy of a YA comic starring an adult woman. The dichotemy of Kamala and Carol really hammered home the fact that Carol is not a young hero. This arc had some parts that were hard to swallow. While I am satisfied with the ending, I’m glad it’s over.

Cat: I said I was pleasantly surprised by the twists I didn’t see coming and I meant it. Although I am REALLY skeptical of the way this arc handled some serious ethics, I enjoyed seeing the sudden turns that I originally loved with Thompson’s story telling. Camagni’s facial expressions really nailed the variety of soft and hard emotions felt in these pages. And McKelvie reminded me of why Captain Marvel is one of my favorites.