Synopsis
Captain Marvel (1999 series) #19 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
In the last 2 issues our gang helped Thanos and Thor stop a mad Death God called Walker from killing Death. Death had been hiding from him within Marlo Chandler for a long time, but she left last issue after banishing Walker herself. However Rick Jones was left aged and without a left arm.
This issue surprisingly starts with Captain Marvel waking in the rain without his mental link to Rick, next to a gravestone for Songbird (Melissa Gold) which says that she was his wife and mother to their children Mimi and Ely. Which is *all* a surprise to him. He vaguely remembers that Songbird used to go by the villain-name Screaming Mimi, and he guesses Ely might be derived from his mother's name Elysius. But this must all be a dream. Then it turns to nightmare as a large shadowy figure with glowing eyes grabs him by the throat and accuses him of killing Songbird. And then he breaks his neck.
But then Genis-Vell wakes again in bed with Melissa who is about to give birth to their 2nd child. She's surprised but glad that he's here because he was out fighting villains called the Sin Seers. He has to deal with the birth while trying not to look at things he doesn't remember seeing before. Her birth-scream shatters windows, but not as many as when Mimi was born. When it's all over our confused hero comments that this must be Ely. Melissa has never heard that name mentioned before, Genis always favoured Marv in honour of his father. But she says she prefers Ely now he's suggested it. Genis covers his slip by saying that his mother *would* have liked it (Elysius is dead in 'reality'). But then she walks in very much alive and it turns out they're at her home on Titan. He automatically assumes his cosmic form and asks why she's not dead. Melissa is worried that he might have concussion from the fight, and Elysius jokes that as an Eternal she got over that and he was there when she was 'resurrected'. But before she can say more he trips over a bedsheet and knocks himself out.
Then he wakes in costume talking to Starfox who insists that he call him 'uncle' Eros. Apparently they'd been fighting Magus and then Genis and the villain disappeared. Apparently Genis had also been talking about bringing his mother back to life. Eros thinks he's too obsessed with having a 'normal' family. Elysius used Titanian science to create him from the DNA of the dead original Captain Marvel, the Kree Mar-Vell. She then artificially aged him to a teen and told him Eros was his dad. Nothing normal there. Genis protests that he's going to get married and have 2 kids, and his mother *will* live again. Eros gives up. Genis then tries to explain that he seems to be hopping backwards through his (future) life, and he's lost communication with Rick. Eros is surprised that he's talking about the Rick Jones he *used* to be bonded with. Genis demands to know what changed ...
... but then his cosmic awareness tells him it's not really Eros so he hits him. And Eros transforms to Magus. They fight. Genis accuses his foe of being behind what's happening to him, but Magus doesn't know what he's babbling about. So our hero just concentrates on hitting the bad guy. But Magus suddenly tells someone else to attack him, and Genis gets kicked in the face by Moondragon.
Now we get to see a bit of 'reality'. Marlo and Thor are hanging around in Thanos' spaceship Sanctuary while the Mad Titan tries to get Rick Jones back to normal. Rick is comatose in a containment tube as energy crackles around him. But Thanos is having no luck. If Walker had just aged Rick then it would have been no problem to de-age him. But this is an actual state from Rick's far future, and Walker linked it to Rick's present. There's a temporal flux barrier which is difficult to get through. Thanos says that his stake in this event was settled last issue so he's doing this out of the kindness of his heart. But if Marlo doesn't stop shouting at him and Thor keeps referring to him as Mad then he might just walk away. Marlo suggests they arrange for Rick to swap places with Captain Marvel in the Microverse. But Thanos says Genis has his own problem, and tells them what's happening to him. His efforts to save Jones has him skipping backwards through his own future. And because of their linking Nega Bands Genis is doing the same thing. They're both caught in a time storm.
CM wakes up again and finds himself on the Microverse planet where he left Rick last issue. And it's still raining. Rick still has both arms and isn't old, so this is actually before that transformation. But they're not supposed to be able to both exist in the same dimension at the same time. So Genis asks if this is real. Rick responds by saying he *used* to have a real/normal teenage life before he wandered into a gamma bomb test and became a perennial sidekick:- 1st to Hulk, then Captain America, then the Avengers, then Rom, then back to the Hulk (and then getting bonded to Genis, and he forgot the 1st Captain Marvel). Now he's seen his future and he knows he's going to be a sidekick for ever, and he's sick of it.
Genis says his life isn't too good either. He used to have a life before he was bonded to Rick. He had friends, lovers, booze and his own place and stuff. Now it's Rick who gets to have an apartment and a loving wife while he just has his costume and hasn't slept in a proper bed since. (But I'm sure we've seen him living it up in the Microverse. It's a lot better than the Negative Zone his dad got stuck in.) If Rick's got something to whine about he'll give him a chance to take it out on him. And Genis switches his cosmic powers off.
Rick takes the offer up immediately and gets several punches in and blocks Vell's counterattacks, all courtesy of training by Captain America. Then he gets Genis' arm up behind his back and pushes him over face-1st in the mud. But GV is ready for his next attack and throws Rick in the mud and then dives on him. They roll over and over down a slope and land in a thorn bush. Winded they take the time to talk and then apologise to each other. Rick offers to switch places sometimes when there *isn't* a villain to fight, so Genis can sleep in his bed. Genis asks if he can sleep with his wife too, but it's a joke. Then something happens.
Back in reality Thor has got fed up waiting for Thanos to help Rick. If they're caught in a temporal storm then he as the master of storms can stop it. He draws the cosmic forces into Mjolnir and Jones falls free into Marlo's arms. Rick wakes but immediately complains that he's still old, 1-armed and stuck with Marv, but at least he's got Marlo.
CharactersGood (or All)Plus: Marlo Chandler.