Following a trial in which
DC Comics sued
Fawcett Comics for breach of
copyright, claiming
Fawcett's Captain Marvel was too similar to
Superman, the latter stopped publishing Captain Marvel in 1953. In the late 1960s Marvel gained the
trademark "Captain Marvel" with its first series. In order to retain its trademark, Marvel has published a
Captain Marvel title periodically every few years since, leading to a number of
ongoing series,
limited series, and
one-shots featuring a range of characters using the Captain Marvel alias.
Mar-Vell The first Captain Marvel is Mar-Vell. Created by
Stan Lee and
artist Gene Colan, the character first appeared in
Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (December 1967). Captain Mar-Vell is a military officer of the
Kree Imperial Militia sent to observe the planet
Earth, as it is developing technology to travel into space. Mar-Vell eventually wearies of his superiors' malicious intent and allies himself with Earth, and the Kree Empire brands him a traitor. From then on, Mar-Vell fights to protect Earth from all threats. He was later revamped by
Roy Thomas and
Gil Kane. Having been exiled to the
Negative Zone by the
Supreme Intelligence, the only way Mar-Vell can temporarily escape is to exchange atoms with
Rick Jones by means of special wristbands called Nega-Bands. He is also given superpowers, and his Kree military uniform is replaced with a form-fitting costume. The process of the young man being replaced in a flash by the older superhero was a nod to the original Fawcett Captain Marvel, which had young Billy Batson say the magic word "Shazam" to transform into the hero. With the title's sales still flagging, Marvel allowed
Jim Starlin to conceptually revamp the character, although his appearance was little changed. Mar-Vell is freed from the Negative Zone and becomes a cosmic champion, the "Protector of the Universe" appointed by the cosmic entity Eon. Together, Mar-Vell and Rick continue to battle against evil, most notably battling the Death-worshipping
Thanos. Mar-Vell became a close ally of the
Titans, and one of their number,
Elysius, became his lover. Mar-Vell later develops inoperable cancer, the result of earlier exposure to
nerve gas during a battle with
Nitro. He died from cancer in the 1982
graphic novel The Death of Captain Marvel and has remained dead since.
Monica Rambeau The second Captain Marvel is
Monica Rambeau. Created by
Roger Stern and
John Romita Jr., the character first appeared in
The Amazing Spider-Man Annual#16 (October 1982). Monica Rambeau is a police lieutenant from
New Orleans,
Louisiana who can transform into any form of energy. Her powers were briefly altered so that she cannot transform to energy, but instead can generate a personal force field. Sometime later, the
Stranger returned her energy-transformation abilities. She is a member of the
Avengers, and at one point she served as their leader. She eventually ceded the Captain Marvel name to the original Captain Marvel's son after which Rambeau took the name
Photon, using that name for quite some time until
Genis-Vell adopted the same name. Genis-Vell and Monica discussed this, and Monica decided on the name
Pulsar. Rambeau later joined H.A.T.E. (the
Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort) in the new series titled
Nextwave. In this series created by
Warren Ellis and
Stuart Immonen, H.A.T.E. (a subsidiary of the
Beyond Corporation) forms a team to fight the Bizarre Weapons of Mass Destruction. Members include Monica Rambeau, a man known only as
The Captain,
Boom Boom,
Aaron Stack, and
Elsa Bloodstone. She returned to the Avengers using the codename
Spectrum.
Genis-Vell The third Captain Marvel is
Genis-Vell. Created by
Ron Marz and
Ron Lim, the character first appeared in
Silver Surfer vol. 3 Annual #6 (1993). Genis-Vell is the genetically engineered son of Mar-Vell and his lover Elysius, created from the late Mar-Vell's cell samples and artificially aged to physical, if not emotional, maturity. Genis, like his father, wears the Nega-Bands, possesses cosmic awareness, and is, for a time, bonded with Rick Jones. Although the pair do not get along at first, they eventually become good friends. Genis goes insane and threatens to destroy the universe. After dying and resurrecting himself with the secret aid of
Helmut Zemo, Genis-Vell joins the
Thunderbolts under the name
Photon. However, in accelerating his resurrection, Zemo links Genis to the ends of time, causing a degenerative effect on the universe. To prevent the inevitable destruction of all existence, Zemo scatters pieces of Genis-Vell's body through time and the
Darkforce. Long after his death, Genis is resurrected by Carol Danvers and Phyla-Vell.
Phyla-Vell The fourth Captain Marvel is
Phyla-Vell. Created by
Peter David and Paul Azaceta, the character first appeared in
Captain Marvel vol. 5 #16 (November 2003). Phyla-Vell is the sister of Genis-Vell. She is created when Genis, an only child, recreates the universe and, in doing so, creates various anomalies which result in his mother being restored to life and his sister coming into existence. She is last seen romancing
Moondragon. Phyla-Vell appears in the
Annihilation event, fighting alongside
Nova's United Front in an effort to stop the destructive armies of
Annihilus. She becomes the new
Quasar after the original,
Wendell Vaughn, is killed by Annihilus. Phyla has superhuman strength. She can fire energy blasts, fly, and act like an "energy sponge", absorbing any energy attacks directed at her and returning them as energy blasts. Phyla also has cosmic awareness and is a proficient fighter. Phyla later becomes an avatar for Oblivion and renames herself Martyr. She is later killed rescuing the
Guardians of the Galaxy, and has remained dead since.
Khn'nr The fifth Captain Marvel is '''Khn'nr'
. Created by Paul Jenkins and Tom Raney, the character first appeared in Civil War: The Return'' (January
2007). He is a
Skrull sleeper agent who is bound with Mar-Vell's DNA to lock itself into Mar-Vell's form and given technological replicas of the Kree Nega-Bands. However, his mental conditioning was botched, causing Khn'nr's personality to be erased, leaving the Mar-Vell persona dominant. Though part of the
Secret Invasion, Khn'nr decides to fight against the invading Skrulls, during which he is nearly killed.
Noh-Varr The sixth Captain Marvel is
Noh-Varr. Created by
Grant Morrison and
J.G. Jones, the character first appeared in
Marvel Boy #1 (August 2000). As part of the
Dark Reign storyline, Noh-Varr joined the new team the
Dark Avengers, using the alias Captain Marvel. He subsequently quit the team upon discovering they were all villains, at which point he was contacted by the Supreme Intelligence, given a copy of the original Captain Marvel's Nega Bands, and told he should take his place as the Kree's protector of Earth. This led to Noh-Varr taking the new code name Protector. Noh-Varr currently goes by the codename
Marvel Boy, the name he uses when he joins the
Young Avengers and works alongside the
Inhuman Royal Family.
Carol Danvers The seventh Captain Marvel is
Carol Danvers. Created by
Roy Thomas and
Gene Colan, the character first appeared in
Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (March 1968). Carol Danvers, the longtime super-heroine known as
Ms. Marvel, assumed the mantle of Captain Marvel in an ongoing series written by
Kelly Sue DeConnick with art by Dexter Soy, in July 2012. Danvers dons a
jumpsuit and explores her own past. DeConnick said at
WonderCon 2012 that her pitch for the series could be described as "Carol Danvers as
Chuck Yeager." She said the series would contemplate what Captain Marvel's legend means to Danvers, how she will wield it, and how the rest of the
Marvel Universe reacts. ==Other versions==