Synopsis
Captain Marvel (1995 series) #5 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
Last night at Steck'ee's place (in HalvaCenter on the planet Calculex) she and Genis-Vell slept together for the 1st time. This morning he's flying around watering her plants. She tries to find out what he feels about her, the conversation goes wrong and ends with her storming out. He stealthily follows her to a church of the Universal Order Of The Dedicated, which surprises him. Then he flies home to listen to his messages. 1 is from Glib Arkanian, owner of the bar where Steck'ee works, alerting him to a big card(?) game in the offing. Another is from his mother Elysius on Titan.
He replies to that and we see her in a medcentre caring for the body of Moondragon (whose mind is active but her body is in a coma(?)). She tells him his involvement with the Kree and Shi'ar (in the past 4 issues) is all over the Opnet, and reassures him she's OK with him taking his father Mar-Vell's Captain Marvel super-id (last issue, dropping his Legacy codename). He asks why his memories (implanted by her while he was genetically accelerated after his father's death) don't include anything about religion. She replies that her Eternal race is more used to being worshipped than vice versa. Uncle Eros pops in for a word before Genis rings off. Elysius thinks her playboy son is finally growing up, and maybe *he* should try it. Eros responds by pointing out some grey hairs which she doesn't take well.
2 weeks later in the D'Bana Crux port on Calculex Jara from Carmondy IV arrives seeking Captain Marvel. She's directed to Halvacenter and Glib's bar. (Steck'ee appears to be there entertaining a customer, and I think her Kymellian friend Zoog/Z'oofrey Grasswind is dancing for the patrons.) Glib takes Jara to Genis' room. (Everyone apart from him that she meets seems surprised that anyone from Carmondy is still alive.)
Less than an hour later CM reaches Carmondy IV, halfway across the Galaxy. Genis ponders what Jara had meant by saying that her people's god had been taken from them, and they'd carried out a spiritual cleansing. Then he sees that they're all dead, lying peacefully, some of them in loving embraces and family groups. It takes him 2 days to check that there's really no-one left alive, except Jara who's with him. She explains that the Stalker Of Gods took their god Veeda Leebre, and their faith decrees that they can't live without him so they committed suicide. Only Jara was left, ordained to seek vengeance.
Now we have an interlude on the planet where Thanos lives the simple life of a farmer, with his super-costume adorning a scarecrow. The Elder Of The Universe Grandmaster arrives to invite him to a 'challenge to the Dead Man's Hand'. The Titan will enjoy any chance to toy with Mistress Death.
Genis-Vell's Nega-Bands have registered the energy signatures of the Godstalker and Veeda Leebre, and he uses the Bands to pop into the Negative Zone and then pop out where those energies currently exist. He finds an enormous structure floating in space. The Godstalker comes out to 'greet' him and tell him that he is appointed by the Celestials to protect sentients from abuses of power, and he imprisons the abusers here in the Desecration Annex. CM demands the release of Veeda Leebre, and accompanies his demand with a power blast which has no effect on the space-god. The Stalker strikes back with his staff ...
... but CM flies into the building where he finds finds rows upon rows of containment chambers, each presumably holding a prisoner. GS follows and their fight cracks 1 of the prisons which GS says contains the Eternal Druig. The jailer explains that his staff contains the life energies of all the prisoners, but now that Druig's pod has been breached his energy will return to his body within. Genis threatens (bluffs?) to destroy the power lines which maintain the confinement fields unless the Godstalker frees Veeda Leebre. GS warns him that he's making powerful enemies, but CM insists ...
... so confused VL is restored to life. CM and GS finish with a philosophical argument based around the fact that VL had brought peace to Carmondy for thousands of years. Genis-Vell takes Veeda Leebre home to his dead planet. The 'god' claims he never expected them to take his utterances *so* literally. And that looking after them gave meaning to his long life.
CharactersGood (or All)Plus: Elysius, Glib Arkanian, GodStalker, Steck'ee.