Captain Marvel vol. 5 #4Captain Marvel vol. 5 #4
Title: “Other Side of the Drax"
Writer: Peter David
Penciller: Ron Lim
Inkers: McKenna, Nelson, Scurry
Colors: Steve Oliff
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Captain Marvel, Bruce, and Marlo are standing together as the ambulance workers load Lorraine’s body onto a gurney. A mountie is on the scene and is telling Marlo that she is very lucky to be alive. He says that Wendigos are very nasty. He says that he is sorry about her friend. Marlo says that Lorraine wasn’t exactly her friend. The Mountie leaves and Marlo turns to Bruce. She says that she never got to say she was sorry about Betty. She says that Betty was one of the best pals, and that she never thought for one minute that Bruce had hurt Betty. Marlo and Bruce hug. Marlo asks Bruce if he is okay and asks if he wants to come back to Los Angeles with her. Marlo says that she knows Rick would like to see him. Suddenly Rick is there with his hand on Bruce’s shoulder. Rick says that they could have a blast like the old days. Bruce says that the old days did start with a blast. Everyone laughs but Captain Marvel says that he doesn’t get it. Bruce says that Rick will explain it to him as Bruce and Genis shake hands. Bruce walks away. Marlo runs up as they are about to load Lorraine into the ambulance. Marlo says how sorry she is that it worked out like this. Lorraine sits up, with slit throat bleeding, and says that she doesn’t want her “sorry”. Lorraine says that she wants Marlo to take her place and that she should be the one alive and Marlo dead. Lorraine reaches for Marlo.
Marlo wakes up screaming and falls out of Genis’ hands as he flies. Rick says that he can’t believe that Marv dropped her. Marv says that she caught him off guard. Rick says that he thought Marv was supposed to be cosmically aware. Marv flies a Marlo, but runs into a flock of geese. He says, “What? A goose…” It finally dawns on Marv what “owah…tagoo…siam” means and he starts to yell at Rick. Rick yells back at Marv that Marlo is still falling.
An old lady is taking flying lesson as Marlo falls right in front of her. The old lady pulls the stick to hard and knocks her instructor unconscious. Marv flies alongside Marlo and glides her upward. He then uses a stream of photonic blasts to level the plane off.
Elsewhere a young girl named Kelly, perhaps a teenager, sits on her bed. She slowly takes out the razor blade that she hid from her parents from her mouth. Kelly begins to cut her arm.
Marv drops Marlo off on the balcony to her apartment. Marlo says that she owes Marv and that if there is ever anything he wants… “anything at all you want… just say the word”. Marv looks over at the reflection of Rick folding his arms. Rick turns his back. Marv tries to tell Marlo that what she is feeling now isn’t real and that it is the adrenaline from the fall. Marlo is embarrassed and says that she meant she could get him comic books from her store. Marv starts to fly off and Marlo asks how he knew where she lived. Marv hesitates and explains that he is cosmically aware. Marv says that if Marlo really wants to do something for him that she should call Rick and that they belong together.
Rick says that he is sorry that he didn’t remind Marv to ask Marlo where she lived after he told him. Marv says that he shouldn’t have to have Rick hold his hand about everything. Rick apologizes for the whole battle cry thing. Marv acknowledges that Rick was just trying to vent over being stuck together. Rick agrees. Marv says that it is okay and that he will find a way to vent too.
Back inside her apartment Marlo is feeling like an idiot for coming on to Captain Marvel. She says that technically she is still married. Marlo says that she feels like a jerk. Suddenly Lorraine is there and tells her to go with that feeling. Marlo stares stunned. Lorraine says that she was an extra in “Beetlejuice”. She says that she loves this gag as she takes a drag off her cigarette and then blows the smoke out the slit in her neck. Lorraine starts talking about this joke she pulled on Michael Keaton, but Marlo doesn’t hear the end of the story because she passes out.
Rick is walking to his apartment and spots yet another big hole in another of his apartments. Rick gets up there and finds Moondragon levitating. He asks if it would have killed her to use the door. Moondragon starts to say that it wasn’t her, but Rick starts freaking. He asks when he gets a chance to put his life in order. Moondragon tells him to take thirty seconds and put his life in order so that they can move on to more important things,
Drax is flying about the city on a job from Moondragon. Drax spots his objective and flies down. Drax holds out a dollar and says to the bewildered Girl Scout that his daughter desires a box of mint cookies. The little girl stammers that she is out of mint cookies. Drax shouts, “NOOOO!” The girl starts telling Drax about the other cookies she has, but Drax sighs and says that it wouldn’t be the same.
Donna, Kelly’s little sister, spots Kelly cutting her arm and shouts for their mother. Mom tells Donna to run and get the first aid kit. The mother knocks the blade out of Kelly’s hand and asks her when this will stop. Kelly replies, “When it’s over.” Donna remarks that it looks like Kelly made a picture this time. Mom says that Donna is imagining it.
Moondragon says that she doesn’t need Rick and that she came to see Genis. Rick says that he knows that Moondragon had the hots for Genis’ dad. Moondragon tells Rick to hold his speculations and that if Genis doesn’t get her help that the consequences could be dire. Rick asks how she knows that Genis needs her help. Moondragon asks if the star field on Genis’ face is there all the time. Rick says yes and Moondragon says that means that his cosmic awareness is always on and it shouldn’t be. Rick says that Genis would have noticed that just by looking into a mirror and then realizes that Genis couldn’t see his own face in the mirror. Moondragon explains that cosmic ether is like a radio dial. Genis is picking up every radio station at once, but that she can help him to fine-tune it. She says that it may take a few days or perhaps weeks. Rick says that he isn’t putting his life on hold for weeks so that Marv can learn the ways of the force. Rick says that she had better get out or he is gonna kick her out. Drax plows through the wall and says that Rick threatened his daughter. Rick quickly bangs his nega bands and Marv is brought out. Marv tries to calm Drax down, but Drax blasts Marv through the wall.
Marv crashes into a billboard. Moondragon says that she is trying to do something important and that Drax is in the way. Drax says that Marv is the one in the way and that she was supposed to spend time with him.
Marv blasts Drax. Drax hits the ground but
gets up angry. Marv punches Drax, but with his second punch Drax
catches Marv’s hand. Marv’s nega bands accidentally hit
and Rick Jones is brought back to Earth. Marv and Drax are
teleported together. 
Marv tells Drax
that the protective field isn’t enough to protect both of
them. Drax doesn’t care and the field shatters. Marv says
that there isn’t anything to protect them from the Negative
Zone. Marv and Drax fall to the planet’s surface. Marv says
that when they hit that they’re going to explode.
Legacy rating: 7 out of 10
Above average story. The tension between Marv and Marlo and subsequently Rick and Marv is cool. I really like the Kelly subplot. Moondragon and Drax’s involvement is alright. I wonder if this is what a Peter David Hulk would have been like. The only thing that confuses me is why Rick and Marlo were split up. It seems like this Rick wants to separate himself from the superhero world, which was the main tension between him and Marlo.
Ron Lim’s work is solid and well done. He is stylistically opposite from Crisscross. Lim is fundamentally sound while not real long on the personality. Crisscross has fantastic style while lacking in actual storytelling. In my opinion the inking should have been a little darker and perhaps given some of Lim’s sketchy art a little form.