Book Review: "Captain Carter" by Jamie McKelvie

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Cover of "Captain Carter" by Jamie McKelvie

4/5 stars

*Spoiler alert!*

I have come to comics a bit later in life than childhood, primarily due to the Marvel movies and TV series, but better late than never. Besides, I can't resist a what-if scenario, such as the one posited by Captain Carter: Woman Out of Time, where SHIELD agent Margaret Carter takes the super soldier serum, not Steve Rogers (aka Captain America). It is Carter that is pulled out of the ice in this universe and has to adjust to the complexities of modern life in Britain.

GIF: "Look at me...I'm the captain now."

As Captain Carter is trying to find her feet, the British Prime Minister (PM) enlists her help in countering what apparently is a resurgence of the infamous HYDRA group from the war. The national atmosphere of fear and paranoia in Captain Carter was reminiscent to me of what happened after 9/11, in particular the passing of Patriot Act-like security legislation to counter the threat of terrorism. That and the politics of civil liberties and security theater. I liked the echoes of our reality here and that this comic didn’t shy away from the political.

GIF: Captain Carter

Harley was one of my favorite characters in this story, a self-taught computer programmer and hacker, who forces Captain Carter to take a hard look at modern Britain’s power structures and helps her to redefine the role in her own image. After all, Captain Carter is more focused on trying to do what’s right and not her propaganda value to the PM and the nation at large. Harley helps teach Carter to be skeptical and think more critically about what her role should be in the 21st century.

GIF: That thing they said they're not doing. They're totally doing."

Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, makes a surprise appearance in the story, albeit with a fun twist. Like the partnership of Captain America and Iron Man shown in the Avengers movies, the dynamic between Captain Carter and Iron Man was fun to watch. I would love to see this dynamic explored further in continuations of this story, because the duo only shows up in the last half of Carter, where suspicions grow that HYDRA is not behind the latest violence.

GIF: Iron Man

My nerd heart was made very happy by this fun, fast-paced, and political adventure. I think others who love superhero comics will love this what-if comic, even if they are relatively new to comics themselves.

I hope that there are further installments of this story. I for one welcome our Marvel multiverse overlords!

Happy reading!

--BookOwl

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