Since reading last issue, I have bought all the back issues of "Captain Marvel" and added it to my pull list. This issue reminds me why I did that. Just like issue #9, DeConnick delivers an issue focused on fun but still delivers something resembling a plot. I thought the revelation that "Robyn Hood" is an artificial intelligence created to infiltrate the Occupy Movement was clever, given that it's definitely not where I thought we were going. I will say that parts of the issue drag, mostly when Captain Marvel is verbally sparring (yet again) with the security guards and bank official. In any other series, it would be an serious flaw, given that both the guards and the official are such cartoonish riffs on gun-happy mall cops and coldly manipulative bank executives that their portrayals defy belief. But, since this series is more dedicated on the fun, I'm not going to be too bothered by this sort of flaw.
The best part of this arc is DeConnick's portrayals of Carol and Peter, both as individuals and teammates. As I mentioned last issue, DeConnick really "gets" Peter. She understands his smarts, having him bring his full science-nerd powers to analyzing Robyn Hood's size fluctuations and deducing that she's going to explode. But, probably most importantly, she also understands his heart. Although she doesn't directly focus on Peter's feelings after Robyn explodes, the fact that Carol apologized to him after calling her plane "just a machine" is a sign that Peter felt sad over Robyn's "death," even if she was "just a machine." Peter is the type of guy who's going to feel bad about that sort of thing and I love that DeConnick gets that.
But, most importantly, I loved that she also has Carol get that. I was really in this issue for the moments between Carol and Peter. I loved that Peter was obviously, um, excited to learn that Carol was "into physics." But, it's their interaction in the hanger that's the real highlight. From Peter teasingly calling Carol "kind of a monster" for calling her plane "just a machine" after Robyn's "death" to Carol getting in real close to demand that Peter tell her a secret, DeConnick makes you really feel their chemistry, how they complement each other. I feel like Carol Danvers is the only person who gets Peter on somewhere near the same level as Mary Jane does. In fact, I think she might even be better for Peter, given that he wouldn't really have to worry about her in the same way he did Mary Jane. There, I said it. Let's not dwell on it. At any rate, I hope that Peter isn't a stranger in Carol's new book and vice versa. Their chemistry is undeniable and it needs to be explored more.
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