Writer: Alyssa Wong
Art: Ruairi Coleman and Jan Bazaldua
Colors: Bryan Valenza
Letters: VC’s Ariana Maher
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 27th, 2023
Much like Rick Jones and Mar-Vell in the 70’s Marvel universe, small-time thief Yuna Yang and Captain Marvel trade places, one of them going into the Negative Zone whenever Yuna clangs her Nega-Bands together. Carol doesn’t need this aggravation, with the new villain Omen (who looks like a more punk rock version of Deathbird) taking control of Genis-Vell and trying to get the Nega-Bands for herself for malevolent purposes. Captain Marvel #3 has Yuna popping inside Dr. Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, and Doctor Strange isn’t happy about it!
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The Story
Doctor Strange has always been one of my favorite characters and I’m always interested in seeing how different writers interpret him. The Doctor Strange we get in Captain Marvel #3 is very much like the classic Stan Lee/Steve Ditko version of the character, a man of few words who’s a mixture of superiority and stodginess. He doesn’t suffer fools lightly. At the end of last issue, Yuna popped into Strange’s Sanctum in an effort to hide from Omen, but is she really any safer there? Armed with her trusty “magic wrench”, which she grabbed on her last trip to the Negative Zone, Yuna faces off with a horrendous looking creature that just happens to be slithering around the upper levels of the Sanctum, even as Captain Marvel tries to help her from the Negative Zone.
There are some interesting new “rules” that Carol learns about transferring back and forth between Earth and the Negative Zone, rules that make it even more difficult for her to swap places with Yuna. I enjoyed the scenes with Carol racing around the Negative Zone, desperately trying to swap with Yuna to keep Yuna safe, but I felt she found a solution to the dilemma way too quickly. I’d love to see an issue or two where we just stay with Carol in the Negative Zone, watching her explore it and the beings that live in it. We got a taste occasionally during the Fantastic Four’s long run, as well as during the ”Annihilation” epic from a few years back, but I’d love to see more of it.
Once Doctor Strange and Clea enter the picture, things calm down a bit and it’s easy to sympathize with Yuna as the Stranges give her the third degree, thinking she’s just a petty thief coming to steal their things. Well, they were half right at least. There are some fun character moments throughout the issue with the Stranges and Yuna and the Stranges with Carol. Carol and Clea’s reunion was especially nice, the two acting like old sorority sisters meeting again at a 10 year reunion, much to Doctor Strange’s dismay. Come on Stephen, I know you have a sense of humor in there somewhere! If you keep rolling your eyes like that, they’re going to get stuck that way.
The story arc doesn’t move forward much this issue, tied up mostly with action at the Sanctum. But that’s fine, because there’s a great battle at the climax, with Doctor Strange and Clea assisting in taking down an ancient magical creature spawned from one of Strange’s thousands of tomes, and I like when the science-based characters hang out with the magic-based characters. It’s like when The Flash and Zatanna were bffs in the classic Justice League comics. Even though one side doesn’t fully understand the other, they enjoy each other’s company anyway, and it’s always an enjoyable read.
The Art
Ruairi Coleman and Jan Bazaldua’s art on Captain Marvel #3 brings the creatures occupying Doctor Strange’s Sanctum to life in all their hideous and grotesque forms.
Doctor Strange looks very much like a stylized twist on Steve Ditko’s version and that’s a good thing. I would have liked to see more detail in the Negative Zone scenes. The Negative Zone pages didn’t feel expansive or bizarre enough, it felt like Carol was in a room or a building, rather in this massive area of other-space.
Final Thoughts
Captain Marvel #3 takes a diversion from the main story arc as Yuna faces off with beasts in the Sanctum Sanctorum and we check in on Doctor Strange and Clea. It’s a fun story, but I felt Carol resolved a big problem in the issue way too easily. Otherwise, the character interplay was great and the issue ends with a solid cliffhanger.