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Captain Marvel vol. 6 #1
Title:"Shards”
Writer: Peter David
Penciller: Chriscross
Colors: Chris Sotomayor
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Rick speaks as the narrator. He says that you must have had an experience in dreams where you wanted to scream a warning to someone about something horrible, but your voice gets caught and you cannot. He says that then not only does the horrible thing happen, but it seems to happen in slow motion and there isn’t anything you can do about it. Rick says that is what it was like the night Captain Marvel went insane. Rick says that there was no way that he could have known, but that it didn’t stop him from blaming himself. Rick says that he has a habit of ruining people’s lives and turning them into monsters or blowing them into bits and so on. He says that he has had lots of experience blaming himself. Captain Marvel was meditating on top of a large cliff. Rick was in the Microverse training when a monster came up behind him. Rick says that he and Marv switch places between their universe and the Microverse, and that the Microverse is nice enough when something isn’t trying to kill you. Rick kicks the monster in the stomach and sends it walking away. Rick says that the bottom line though is that he is a normal guy and Marv is not. Rick explains that Genis’ father was also Captain Marvel and that Genis was spawned by some scientific “immaculate conception”. Rick says that Marv is really only a few years old and that all of his memories were fake and implanted. Rick says that sometimes he envies Marv for that. Rick says that Marv can manipulate photonic energy, but that his strangest power is “cosmic awareness”. Rick says that the power is overwhelming so much so that it has taken Marv months to try to access it properly. The night that Marv went insane was the day that he thought that he had finally gotten the knack of cosmic awareness. Rick says that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
There was a young boy named Tyler being
propositioned to buy drugs from a dealer. Rick says that,
although he isn’t casual about drug buys, he was wondering
why Marv was so interested in this particular buy. Marv told him
that he didn’t know. Marv says, “I see all of creation,
Rick. And believe it or not… the cosmos knows what it’s
doing. Otherwise we wouldn’t all be here, would we?”
Rick says that it is hard to argue with philosophy, but that it
is even harder to argue with results. Marv slams the drug dealer
and he begins to morph into a giant monstrous being. Marv dodges
the creature’s blow as Rick ponders his own recent
‘divine intervention’. Marv chalked it up to science,
but now he firmly believes the cosmos is a living breathing
entity that has tapped him into “helping him call the
shots”. Rick associates it to the story about the six blind
men and the elephant. The men all feel the elephants and judging
by the part they are touching they each form a different opinion
about what an elephant is. Rick says that he thinks that God is
kind of like the elephant and people are all like the blind men.
Rick brings the notion up to Marv and Marv responded, “Why
were all these men feeling up an elephant? That sounds
rather… creepy.” Rick says that Marv did have a point.
The monster ripped up a basketball hoop and tried to hit Marv
with it. Marv snatched the sign from the monster and jabbed it
into the monster’s stomach. Suddenly Marv gets another
vision of a woman in a foreign land with explosive taped to her
chest. Marv says that he is needed elsewhere. He says that he
wishes he had time to understand his motivations, but that he
can’t let him ruin the lives of other children. 
Marv lets off a
blast that causes the thing to screech in pain. When the smoke
clears the monster is dead. Rick says that Marv killed it and
Marv agrees. Rick tells Marv that they have talked about killing
and how life is precious. Marv says that he knows and that it why
he doesn’t see any point in having it again. Marv says,
“Don’t try foisting on me some grand human viewpoint of
the right and wrong of taking lives, Rick. First of all, I’m
an alien. Not only do I not share your beliefs, I don’t even
pretend to understand them. And second of all… considering
what you people do to yourselves… I don’t think you
understand them, either…”
The woman with the explosives on her chest boards a bus. She stands and looks down at a woman who has a hankerchief covering the fact that she has a small child breast feeding. Tears begin to run down the woman’s face. The woman starts shouting and reveals her bomb. Marv tears the roof off the bus and grabs the woman up. He flies her into the air and places a shield around himself. Marv tells the woman that if she wants to blow herself up to feel free. The woman shouts not to hurt her. Marv brings her down without the bomb and hands her over to the police. Marv says, “I have to be elsewhere. No time to wait.” Rick asks him what he would be waiting for. Suddenly the mother, that is now holding her sleeping baby in one hands, holds a smoking gun in the other as she shoots the woman that had the bomb. Rick asks if he knew that would happen and did nothing about it. Marv says that he knew that it might happen, but that he had to be elsewhere and that he couldn’t wait for the future to decide which way to go. Rick thinks how cold and fanatical Marv sounded. Rick says that fanatics are calculating and cold until they go ‘boom’. Rick says that was when he first thought that “Marv might go ‘boom”.
On a distant planet, a ship has crashed and scores of dead aliens lie on the ground. One alien is left alive. It asks if someone is there as Marv stands over it. It says that it wants to go home and that it wants to see its mother. It says that she will make the hurting stop. Marv promises to take the aliens home. The alien thanks Marv, closes its eyes, and dies. Rick asks what the point of this was. Marv says that he doesn’t know. Rick asks if this was themost important thing in all the cosmos. Marv says that he doesn’t know again. Rick says that it would be one thing if they got there before the accident. Marv snaps, “I don’t know! Okay?! How many times, how many ways do you want me to say it? I just… I had to be here, and I don’t know why, and I just have to trust there’s a reason, all right?” Rick says to chill and just drop it. Marv says, “I can’t drop it! Don’t you get that?” He says that the universe is always and twisting into a giant tapestry, bu that he can see all the threads. Marv says that it isn’t like last time and that he can tell the difference between what is there and what isn’t there. Marv says that cosmic awareness is just a tool. Rick wonders how big a tool he would have to be to believe that. Suddenly Marv gets a vision and he has two places where he needs to be. In one location, a race called the Badoon are about to slaughter a planet of helpless beings. In another location, a young alien female is about to be beaten to death by her angry boyfriend. Marv realizes that he can’t do both and that he is carrying a corpse as well. Marv says that he is sorry and Rick wonders if he was talking to the girl, the corpse, or both. Rick asks Marv if he is sure. Marv says that it is thousands of lives versus one and that there is no choice. Rick says that if the universe is such a tapestry with infinite options that there is no such thing as ‘no choice’. Marv says, “Fine, Rick. You go right on believing that.”
The Badoon are tearing into the planet when Marv arrives. Marv uses his photonic energy as a battering ram and starts demolishing the Badoon ships. Marv just keeps saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” as he fights the Badoon. Elsewhere the young alien girl’s blood is splattered on the wall as her boyfriend beats her to death. Rick tells Marv to get his head in the game, but it is as if his mind is a million miles away. Marv says, “You understand, Rick? You understand!” Rick says that of course he does although he has no idea what Marv is going on about. Marv apologizes to Rick for yelling at him before. Rick tries to apologize and say that he should have been more supportive, but he says that he isn’t sure Marv was listening to him. The Badoon don’t have the weapons or stomach for a battle with Marv and they start to withdraw. As the ships retreat the young girl’s eyes go black as she dies. Suddenly Marv shouts, “What have I done?” Suddenly Marv starts going on about how the girl that he didn’t go to save, had she lived, would have become the greatest peacemaker that ever lived in the galaxy. She would have, through sheer force of will, charisma, and compassion, allied every race. A new era in galactic peace would have began eventually to be named the “Age of Miracles”. The girl was the most special female of any age.
Marv just keeps saying that it is all his fault all the way back to Earth. Rick tries to tell Rick that it isn’t and that he can’t be responsible for everything happening throughout the galaxy. Marv says, with his starry face, “Yes. Yes, I am. There’s… there’s an earthquake hitting in Tokyo… and… and on Alpha Gamma II… a traffic accident is about to claim the life of an innocent boy who… who… who if he doesn’t die… becomes a mass murderer… and the Badoon are regrouping and… and the emperor of Tau Kento is about to have an affair that… that will cause his wife to commit suicide… but… but avert a war that… that… “ Marv’s face returns to normal. Rick shouts Marv’s name as Marv freefalls to the ground. Rick suddenly remembers the only line in Latin that he can remember, “Whom the Gods wish to ruin… they first drive mad.” Rick realizes that Marv was wrong about cosmic awareness and that it isn’t that you can see all of creation, but that all of creation can see you. He says, “And if for some reason, it doesn’t like what it sees… then God help you… Unless, of course… He’s busy driving you mad. In which case… you’re on your own.
Legacy rating: 9.5 out of 10
Man this is impactful writing. One can really imagine how frantic it would make someone trying to be a hero in a universe where there is such a myriad of horrible things going on all over the place at once. There is a new coloring technique with this issue and it really seems to work well. The colors are rich and powerful. Chrisscross’ style seems to have really evolved (though I’m still not crazy about the blurring lines that depict speed). The scene where the young alien girl is beat to death is extremely well done on all the writing, penciling, and coloring ends. 4.5 out of 10 for art.