Marvel Comicshas atendency to spread its most popular characters a little too thin, and some fans are worried that Captain Marvel is the latest hero to befall this fate; it seems like the company has a lot of exciting plans for the character, but these upcoming story arcs might come at the expense of her leading the Avengers.
Over the last several years, Carol Danvers has become as synonymous with leading the Avengers as Captain America and Iron Man.
Yet, in addition to being in charge of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Captain Marvel might also soon be headed into space, andbeyond that, she could be in store for a major mystical promotion: Marvel’s next Sorcerer Supreme.
Captain Marvel Is A Candidate For Marvel’s Next Sorcerer Supreme, But Is It The Right Move For Her?
Marvel Teases Carol Danvers' Upcoming Roles
Let’s start withCarol Danvers' candidacy for Sorcerer Supreme. Last year,long-time holder of the title Doctor Strangehad his position and powers usurped by Doctor Doom, whose reign is set to wind down by the end of this year. At San Diego Comic-Con 2025, Marvel announced a follow-up storyline to pick a new Sorcerer Supreme.
Lately, heroes such as Storm and Captain Marvel have started to verge on “too much of a good thing” territory.
The teaser image for this “Succession” storyline depictsmany of Marvel’s top heroes all imbued with the power of the Sorcerer Supreme, with Captain Marvel featured prominently among them.While there’s no guarantee she’ll ascend to the role, it does speak to her status among Marvel’s upper echelon of popular characters.
The idea of an existing hero becomingthe Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel Universeis intriguing, for sure, but it speaks to a looming concern in the fandom:that the pace at which Marvel canon operates is accelerating.Often, the result of this is characters, like Captain Marvel, being forced to juggle multiple roles in Marvel lore simultaneously.
This has long been an identifiable issue with characters like Wolverine, Spider-Man, and Hulk; lately, heroes such as Storm and Captain Marvel have started to verge on “too much of a good thing” territory.These characters appear in different ongoing titles concurrently because they are popular, but that has its consequencesin terms of fan perception.
Marvel Has Big Things In Store For Captain Marvel; Readers Prefer Her As The Avengers Leader
Carol Danvers has had many different identitiesand held many different roles in Marvel canon over the years, butin the past decade, her “brand,” so to speak, has been that she is a stalwartleader of the Avengers.Many fans of Captain Marvel would agree that this is the role in which she is at her best as a character.
It is always laudable when Marvel wants to take characters like Captain Marvel in new directions, and try new things, but too often, the company’s attempts to do this run parallel with “safer” stories.
Leading the Avengers allows Carol to be front-and-center in Marvel’s biggest team book,routinely giving her a chance toprove her powerhouse hero statusin action, while also showcasing her wit, charisma, and cunning. Arguably, this is something Marvel Comics should continue to lean into, rather than trying to do something new with the character, when they already have a winning formula.
In addition to her potential as Marvel’s next Sorcerer Supreme, the publisher has alsoteased that Carol might head into space to get involved in the fallout from its currentImperialseries.Again, it isn’t that the character wouldn’t excel in such an arc, it is that she’s better served being used inTheAvengers.
It is always laudable when Marvel wants to take characters like Captain Marvel in new directions, and try new things, but too often, the company’s attempts to do this run parallel with “safer” stories featuring those same characters. Again, Marvel fans can consider the proliferation of Wolverine and Spider-Man books as proof of this, andCaptain Marvel could soon enter the same territory.
Marvel Risks “Over-Exposing” Captain Marvel, And She Wouldn’t Be The First Hero They’ve Done It To
Marvel Risks Extending Its “Too Many Wolverines” Problem To Carol Danvers
In theory, there’s nothing wrong with Captain America serving as Sorcerer Supreme in one book, flying off into the depths of space on a solo adventure in another, and still appearing inAvengersat the head of the team. For many readers, though,this can contribute to the comic book equivalent of the “superhero fatigue” phenomenon.
What Marvel readers don’t want is for their favorite heroes, like Captain Marvel, to be over-exposed to the point where their appearances are less special.
More precisely, it bugs fans who want to have a clear idea of what theirfavorite characters are currently doing in Marvel continuity. More crucially, they want what their favorites are doing to matter. If Carol Danvers is going to be the next Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel Universe, that’s great, butfans want Marvel to fully invest in that new paradigm.
If Carol is going to be the Sorcerer Supreme, and also still lead the Avengers, great, butthat should have a tangible impact on her role inAvengers.Or, if she’s going into space for a while, the ongoingAvengersseries should rightfully have to deal with the fallout of that.
In other words, fans want big creative swings, but those swings should have stakes. If charactersappear in multiple books at once, those stories should have bearing on one another.WhatMarvelreaders don’t want is for their favorite heroes, like Captain Marvel, to be over-exposed to the point where their appearances are less special.
