Writer: Alyssa Wong
Artist: Jan Bazaldua
Colors: Bryan Valenza with Carlos Lopez
Letters: VC’s Ariana Maher
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 10th, 2024
Captain Marvel and Yuna Yang continue to be at the mercy of the Nega-Bands in Captain Marvel #4. When Yuna clangs her Nega-Bands together, she and Captain Marvel trade places, one going to the Negative Zone, the other remaining on Earth. And Captain Marvel has had enough of it! The Ringing Box, an ancient magic artifact that holds the secrets to breaking the Nega-Bands’ curse, lies in a forbidden corner of the Negative Zone. Can Captain Marvel and Yuna work together to get through the impenetrable fortress and find the box? Not only will they have to fight through the fortress’s defenses, they’ll also have to face its owner: Blastaar!
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The Story
Yuna Yang promises to be the greatest new character since Kamala Khan, and her cleverness and cat burglar skills are front and center in Captain Marvel #4.
The entire issue has Captain Marvel and Yuna (along with an assist from Doctor Strange and Clea) preparing and committing a heist to steal The Ringing Box from Blastaar’s fortress in the Negative Zone. They hope the powerful artifact will free Yuna of the Nega-Bands.
The Nega-Bands themselves have been explored pretty deeply during this storyline. I’m not super knowledgeable about their history (other than the original Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell, and Rick Jones going through the same Negative Zone swapping when Rick Jones wore them in the past). Here, we get a twist on that story, as the Nega-Bands are becoming corrupted by the black magic of the villain Omen, who embued them with part of her eldritch energy. This escalates the danger to Yuna, who’s slowly being drained by the dark magic. So what was once just an annoyance has now become a dire threat to Yuna’s existence, which adds another layer of tension to the story. I’ve always loved a great heist story and this is a fun one, throwing in some interesting twists, as the fortress that Captain Marvel and Yuna raid has chameleon-like defenses, able to transform itself and its weapons based based on the person.
It’s thrilling seeing Yuna and Captain Marvel work in tandem, switching back and forth inside the fortress, to keep the defenses off-guard and race to the center. Once Blastaar enters, we get a furious battle between he and Captain Marvel, Blastaar’s brute force and power against Captain Marvel’s amped-up powers and tactical prowess. The only downside to the issue is we barely get to see the villain Omen. After establishing her as a massive menace in Issue #1, we barely saw her last issue and this issue. She’s a great villain, though her motivations haven’t yet been defined, but she does finally appear at the end to deliver a great cliffhanger ending. I feel that Omen could be a Mephisto-level character and I look forward to seeing her get more “screen time” in future issues.
The Art
Jan Bazaldua’s art on Captain Marvel #4 keeps the action moving as slick and fast as a Michael Mann film. Captain Marvel and Yuna’s personalities come out in the art and I loved those moments where Captain Marvel and Yuna react to each other. They’re still getting to know each other while being thrown into this Nega-Band crisis, and the art reinforces the fun banter between them.
Final Thoughts
Captain Marvel #4 is another thrilling issue of the series, with a fun heist story, more great insights into Yuna and her skills, and a great brutal battle between Captain Marvel and Blastaar. Though we don’t see much of Omen this issue, her presence is felt throughout the book, the series continuing to meld science-fiction and dark fantasy wonderfully. Recommended.