Carol Danvers

For the other Ms Marvel character, see She-Thing.

Carol Danvers, best known as Ms. Marvel is a Marvel Comics superhero. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gene Colan, she first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (March 1968).

Danvers was a CIA agent and love interest of the extraterrestrial hero Captain Marvel. After exposure to technology of Marvel’s Kree home world, Danvers gained superhuman strength and the ability to fly, among other abilities, and became Ms. Marvel.

Ms. Marvel was featured in an eponymous series in the late 1970s which cast her as a distinctly feminist hero. After the series' short life span, the character associated with the Avengers and X-Men, although a series of personal tragedies have complicated her career. Throughout the years, she has also used the codenames Binary and Warbird.

Danvers has recently taken-up the Ms. Marvel mantle once again and is starring in her own series.

Biography

Early years

Carol Susan Jane Danvers was a United States Air Force pilot who later joined the Central Intelligence Agency. She served alongside her lover Michael Rossi and is known to have encountered Wolverine and Nick Fury during this time. She eventually became a close ally and possible love interest of Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell), an alien of the Kree military who gave up his mission of conquering the Earth and instead chose to protect it.

Ms. Marvel

Carol Danvers became Ms. Marvel after she was subjected to the "psyche-magnitron", a device of Kree origins. Her DNA was altered to resemble that of the Kree and in the process she also gained superhuman strength and durability, the ability to fly and a "seventh sense" apparently a sense beyond that of the "normal" sixth sense, which provided her with premonitions. Her first costume was based directly on Mar-Vell's second costume, a red outfit with blue mask, gloves and boots; her second, more prominently featured costume was a blue ensemble with a stylized lightning bolt across the chest, along with a red sash around her waist.

The series began with Carol experiencing blackouts during which she was transformed into her alter-ego of Ms. Marvel. Soon both Carol and Ms. Marvel learned of each other and acted as one mind soon after. Carol became editor of 'Woman' magazine under J. Jonah Jameson and began dating her psychologist, Michael Burnett. As Ms. Marvel, she fought a number of villains who would go on to become prominent supervillains, including Mystique, Deathbird, Modok, AIM and the Scorpion (in her debut issue). Many of these villains were co-created by writer Chris Claremont, who would amplify Ms. Marvel's already prominent feminist characteristics.

Ms. Marvel's solo series was cancelled with #23. The stories originally intended for #24-25 were reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #10-11 in 1990. In #24 (which was fully completed, including a cover) Ms. Marvel battles Sabretooth in a NYC subway and #25 (which was only partially completed but was finished off for 1990 publication by a new art team) featured a run-in with Pyro and Avalanche of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Chris Claremont, the writer at the end of Ms. Marvel's run, had originally intended for the villain Mastermind to entrance Carol into becoming evil. However this plotline was used for Jean Grey in the legendary Dark Phoenix Saga.

Avengers

Ms. Marvel joined the Avengers shortly after her solo series folded, but several months later was sidelined due to a surprise pregnancy. The pregnancy progressed at freakish speed and within weeks she gave birth to a son. The son quickly grew to adulthood. Her son, Marcus, revealed that he had come from Limbo, a dimension outside of time and had fallen in love with Carol. He had kidnapped Carol during a previous mission and had used mind control devices to force her to fall in love with him. He had seduced and impregnated her, then transferred his essence into her womb, essentially becoming his own son. After he made this revelation to Carol and her fellow Avengers, she somewhat inexplicably agreed to be his partner and left the team with him for this other dimension. It was later revealed that she was still under Marcus's influence at that point. After she left with him, his accelerated aging continued until he withered away to a husk, at which point she used his technology to return to Earth.

Loss of powers to Rogue

Carol was not seen again until Avengers Annual #10, in which Ms. Marvel lost her powers when the mutant Rogue ambushed her and stole her powers on the Golden Gate Bridge outside her San Francisco apartment building.

This was because Carol had once stumbled upon an arms deal that Mystique, Rogue's foster mother and by then, the leader of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, was coordinating with behind the scenes and had foiled her carefully laid plans. Mystique's partner, the precognitive mutant Destiny, glimpsed Carol's future and warned Mystique that Ms. Marvel was intimately tied to a great tragedy which would harm Rogue. Determined to shield her daughter from this danger, Mystique developed an obsessive hatred for Carol. When she learned that Carol had resurfaced in San Francisco following her departure from the ranks of the Avengers, she plotted to end this threat to Rogue once and for all. Rogue overheard her mother's angry words and concerns and became determined to deal with Ms. Marvel herself.

The fight continued far longer than Rogue expected and she permanently absorbed Carol Danvers' abilities and memories. She threw Danvers off the Golden Gate Bridge. Rogue thought she'd rid herself of Carol Danvers, not knowing that the intervention of Spider-Woman had saved Danvers' life. Professor X helped Danvers recover her memories, but could not restore her emotional connection to them. At the time, it was as if she had merely studied her own life, rather than lived it. Danvers was unable to feel the emotions she once felt for friends and family. What once was love would now be only mild affection. When the Avengers attempted to express their sorrow, she berated them for letting her go so easily, especially considering that she had been under Marcus' mind control.

Binary and the X-Men

Danvers stayed away from the Avengers for quite some time and had a series of adventures with the X-Men which culminated in the entire team being kidnapped and sent to outer space by the war-mongering alien race known as the Brood. Painful medical experiments on Danvers caused her to gain tremendous superpowers, including the ability to survive in space, to manipulate cosmic energy and superhuman strength; the source of these powers were attributed to a "white hole"--a virtually limitless source of cosmic power. Danvers became known as Binary; in her "Binary" form, her hair became a corona of flame and she donned a red-and-white costume with a stylized black starburst on the breast. When the X-Men chose to let the severely disturbed Rogue join their school, Danvers cut all ties to the group and spent the next several years in space, often battling alongside the Starjammers.

Warbird

Eventually Danvers' link to the white hole was broken, and as a result, she lost her cosmic-level powers as Binary, but retained a level of superhuman strength, flight, resistance to injury and enhanced senses comparable to those she had once possessed before her battle with Rogue, as well as the power to manipulate and absorb energy. She rejoined the Avengers and changed her code name to Warbird, again donning her classic blue Ms. Marvel costume. She was no longer as powerful as she was as Binary, but she was considerably more powerful than she was in her early days as Ms. Marvel. However, insecurity about her powers no longer being what they once were caused her to become an alcoholic. When she was unable to function in any coherent capacity, a humiliated Danvers quit the team rather than be expelled. With the help of fellow alcoholic Tony Stark, Danvers curbed her drinking and stabilized her powers. She rejoined the Avengers for a few missions but left again in 2003 to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. and the US Department of Homeland Security. She began working as 'parole officer' for the newest incarnation of the Thunderbolts.

Ms. Marvel reborn

When Quicksilver convinced his sister Scarlet Witch to create a timeline where mutants were the dominant species on Earth, most Homo sapiens (normal humans) were viewed as second class citizens with some exceptions (essentially a reversal of the current status quo). Danvers was one of these, as she received her powers through the same procedure mentioned above and became the "greatest hero" on this Earth, going by the name Captain Marvel. Once that timeline was reverted back to the standard one, Danvers realized her potential which motivated her to concentrate once more on reinvigorating her career.

With her new passion to prove herself as a great super-hero, Danvers retook the name Ms. Marvel and planned to strike on her own. Turning down an offer to join the reformed Avengers and leaving her Homeland Security job, Carol is once again becoming Ms. Marvel. Carol has also hired the Public Relations firm used by many superheroes, including the X-Men. The new Ms. Marvel comic book series debuted in March 2006 and one of her first battles was a rematch with the Brood, as well as battling a brand new enemy--the alien hunter known as Cru.

In Civil War #2, Ms. Marvel has joined Iron Man's faction of super heroes who support the newly enacted Superhuman Registration Act in Marvel's "Civil War" storyline. In that issue she is shown fighting side by side with other pro-registration heroes in New York City. She battles fellow Avenger Silverclaw, who is vehemently opposed to the SRA, as it was not law in her country.

Powers

Ms. Marvel has a wide array of superhuman powers. Initially they included superhuman strength, endurance, formidable resistance to physical injury, the ability to fly, and a precognitive sense.

When she became Binary, she could manipulate every form of energy in the electromagnetic spectrum on a cosmic level, had vastly increased strength, and could fly at speeds exceeding light. After her link to the white hole from which she drew her powers was severed, she lost the bulk of her cosmic powers, but still retained her energy manipulation powers on a smaller scale. In addition to her original powers of superhuman strength, injury resistance, and flight, Ms. Marvel has the ability to absorb and manipulate photonic energy. She can focus her photonic powers into explosive blasts of radiant energy, which she fires from her fingertips. These blasts are comparable in power to her fellow Avenger Iron Man's repulsor rays. By focusing her powers outward in all directions, she can surround herself with an energy aura which deflects most attacks. She also has some gravitational powers which allow her to boost her already tremendous strength by absorbing the gravitational forces around her. She has also demonstrated the ability to absorb other forms of energy, such as electricity, to further magnify her strength and energy projection. On at least one occasion, Binary was able to use her power to force open a Shi'ar Stargate, a feat which only hosts of the Phoenix Force and Firestar have managed before or since.

Originally, Hank McCoy, aka the Beast, after performing several biological tests, had theorized Ms. Marvel would never be able to access her cosmic level powers again. However, recent events have proven this to be incorrect. It has been confirmed as of New Avengers #17 and #18 that Ms. Marvel still possesses all the abilities she had as Binary, and merely lacks a suitable power supply to mantain them at that level. One might then surmize that her abilities to absorb and manipulate energy have no upper limit. This was confirmed when Ms. Marvel battled the sentient energy being known as The Collective and was struck by a bolt of its energy, causing her skin to turn fiery red, which was a side effect of her cosmic powers. In addition, the flaming energy corona that manifested around her head when she used them also appeared.

Alternate versions

An Ultimate version has appeared as a high-ranking officer of S.H.I.E.L.D., and has become Captain Marvel's girlfriend. This version first appeared during the Ultimate Secret miniseries.

In the Marvel Mangaverse reality Lt. Carol Danvers (USAF) was the sole survivor of her squad after the Hand's attack. (her callsign was "Warbird" in homage to her 616 identity.) In her hospital room, she realized she had manifested superpowers, and so swore revenge on those who killed her fellow soldiers. After killing Elektra, she donned the identity of Captain America and proceeded to rescue the captured heroes (Black Cat, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman (Mary Jane Watson), Torchie (this reality's Human Torch), and Wolverine, so that they could face down the enemy in one final battle.

In Exiles, an alternate version of Carol Danvers, calling herself Ms. Marvel, was forced to join Weapon X, replacing Archangel, and was forced to repair broken worlds by killing people as seen in Exiles #38. Ruthless and careless, Carol accomplished all tasks. When Hyperion joined the Exiles, Carol became his lover and henchwoman even though he didn't care that much about her. She was later killed in combat with Morph (comics) in Exiles #45 and her dead body was later returned to her homeworld of Earth #4732, where that world's Beast performed an authopsy on her.

Appearance in other media

Originally, there were plans for an X-Men cartoon in the mid eighties (Not to be confused with Pryde Of The X-Men). Among the X-Men would be a character called Lady Lightning who basically was Carol Danvers. The cartoon was, however, rejected.

Carol Danvers, does appear in the X-Men animated series. Her appearance was in the Season 2 episode, "A Rogue's Tale". Her encounter with Rogue in the flashback of the episode is similar to Avengers Annual, minus the involvement of Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman and The Avengers. As such, this Danvers was critically injured in the engagement and is comatose. Rogue and Carol have a mental fight over control of Rogue's body, Rogue wins though. While Carol's not seen again, the ending of the episode implies that she will recover.

External links

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