Alas! The inestimable Kelly Sue DeConnick, who helped bring Captain Marvel back to the forefront of the Marvel universe, is finally leaving the series after several years. But Marvel may have found the best replacement possible — Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas, the showrunners of Agent Carter.
The new comic, coming after the whole Secret Wars shebang, will position Carol Danvers as the Earth’s protector against extraterrestrial threats. From Fast Company:
“This is really meant to be the next level for Captain Marvel,” says series editor Sana Amanat. “Carol is really meant to be a soldier and a commander, and also a diplomat. We’re really trying to build up this space complex and this space world. You’ll really feel like there’s an extension of the Avengers world into space, but not necessarily lost out in the Guardians of the Galaxy cosmos. It’s rooted in Earth but also an extension into the galaxy.”
If this sounds like the Marvel comics organization S.W.O.R.D. (the outer space-ier version of SHIELD, well, good call, but S.W.O.R.D. is gone in the new Marvel U., hence the need for Captain Marvel to take the role. She’ll also have a space station to operate out of, as well as a shorter (and more consistent) haircut, promises Fazekas.
I’ve been a huge fan of DeConnick’s work on Captain Marvel, and am sorry to see her go to focus on other projects (including her big TV development deal) but given how unbelievably great Agent Carter was, I can’t help but be really excited to see what Butters and Fazekas bring to the character. I’m actually so excited I feel a little guilty about it. Still, DeConnick was instrumental in repositioning Carol Danvers in the forefront of the Marvel universe — she’s the one who gave her the long-overdue upgrade from Ms. Marvel to Captain Marvel! — and when her movie comes out, I have no doubt it’ll be DeConnick who needs to be thanked first.
Contact the author at rob@io9.com.