Synopsis
Captain Marvel (1999 series) #17 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
This issue begins with some ancient Norse folk celebrating a victory over their opponents with help from Thor. He promises he will remember them forever. But now the Thunder God finds that he can't remember exactly where the battle or the celebration occurred, and he can't recall the chieftain's name. He wonders aloud if he's losing his wits. But he's interrupted by Thanos who suggests he should be worried about talking to himself.
Thor is astonished because he witnessed the Mad Titan's death not long ago (Thor (1998) #25) after he once more tried to wipe out all life in the universe to please his love Death. Still-angry Thor hurls Mjolnir to kill him again but the villain stops its flight with a force field. Thanos claims that he's a much more complex character than just someone seeking universal annihilation, and that the event Thor refers to was just a test as part of a larger scheme.
In Los Angeles Marlo Chandler-Jones has called her husband Rick Jones to go clothes shopping, but mainly to hear her complain about getting old. She asks him what he thinks of her breasts, and Captain Marvel mentally warns him from the Microverse to be *very* careful what he replies. Apparently mid-twenties Marlo went for an audition and was turned down because she wasn't young enough. Lorraine the sarcastic ghost that haunts her says she looks great apart from the crows-feet and sagging boobs. (Rick doesn't know about this ghost.)
Rick tries to get a random man in the clothes shop to confirm to Marlo that she's beautiful. But he's taken aback when the man turns to reveal a bone-white face. Lorraine tells Marlo to run because she recognises Death when she sees him. Genis-Vell also has a bad feeling so Rick grabs the man's staff and also urges Marlo to run away - which she does. Rick lets go of the staff which is icy cold and instead knocks a tall rack of trousers over on the guy, and then he too runs away asking Genis to swap places with him. But CapM says that wouldn't be a good idea because he's in outer space.
Rick finds Marlo and they both run out of the store. Only to see the sudden appearance of Thanos. Genis tells Rick he's approaching a suitable planet. But the stranger already joins them and Rick assumes he and the Titan are in league. The stranger does seem glad to see Thanos but he asks him where *she* is? Thanos names him the Walker and says that *she* is out of his reach. Then he tells our duo to duck as he fires a blast at Walker, who fends it off with his staff. Walker claims that *she* treated Thanos as badly as she treated him, but still the Titan refuses to give her up. So Walker removes his 'sunglasses' and eye-blasts him, staggering his foe.
In the Microverse Captain Marvel lands on the planet so Rick clashes together his Nega-Bands to swap places and CM emerges to hand-blast *both* combatants. But it doesn't faze either of them and Walker makes his staff emit concussive force that at least bowls the hero over. Thanos picks him up and convinces him to combine blasts against the other. Marlo tells Lorraine they've got to do something, but the ghost says she doesn't think hitting them with a toaster is going to work this time (as it did with Una-Rogg in #13). Walker shrugs this off too and says the anger of his worshippers within him sustains him. He asks what more have they got ...
... and the answer comes in the form of a lightning bolt from Thor as the Asgardian joins the fray. But the Death God is disdainful of a mere 'elemental archetype'. Thanos says he and Thor will now combine forces and he asks CapM to use his photonic energies to confine the released forces to concentrate their effect, and coincidentally protect the surrounding city. Thor claims that he will now channel the power of all storms throughout the globe into Mjolnir and he hurls the hammer at the Walker. Thanos adds his eye-blasts and CM does the photonic thing ...
... and the result is a large crater with no sign of Walker. It turns out that Thor was delayed because he consulted the wisdom of Asgard, and then decided to do it anyway. Then it's time for the Titan to explain what's going on. He reminds them that he was Death's suitor, but then so was Walker. But he'll keep the rest until they're safely on his ship. Marvel tells Marlo to wait for him but Thanos tells them that *she* is important in this. Marv and Rick don't want her involved but she's game. And then the Titan settles the argument by transporting them all to his huge spaceship Sanctuary.
He says they won't have much time before Walker returns, and he explains that the *she* he sought is Death. He-who-walks-across-the-worlds-of-life-and-death-like-a-colossus was Death God to an entire galaxy, and to prove his love for her he killed everything in that galaxy and took their souls into himself and offered them to her. But she spurned him and now in his anger he intends to kill Death herself. This would upset the natural order of things, so Thanos persuaded Death to hide herself until he was able to deal with the assassin. And death hid in a mortal who died but miraculously returned to life. Marlo says that's what happened to *her* (Hulk #398-399). And then she realises what this means ...
CharactersGood (or All)Plus: Lorraine (
(ghost)), Marlo Chandler.