Carol Danvers is in my personal top three comic book characters. She’s my most read comic character of all time. She’s the one fictional character who has managed to ignite inspiration in me, the way superheroes are meant to. She’s a badass, hard headed woman who doesn’t back down from fights, and has been through a whole lot of shit and always gets back up again. And Kelli Fitzpatrick captures Carol perfectly.

Starting back in her Ms. Marvel days and leading all the way up to Carol’s series by Kelly Thompson, Carol Danvers’ Declassified tells her story, in her own words. Interviewed by Ripley Ryan—also known as the villain Star—hired by J. Jonah Jameson, Carol reflects on her life and upbringing, her highs and her lowest of lows, and how she always manages to spring back and punch her way to victory, just like always. Using comic book panels as in universe images for personal files, social media posts, and newspaper front pages was a creative touch that I really enjoyed, even passing off speech bubbles and drawn on sound effects as video subtitles or edited imagery.

Crossing my fingers that one day, Fitzpatrick gets to join the line of Kell(y)i’s who have written Captain Marvel comics before, because she certainly has an understanding to the character that would bring a lot of depth to a series.

Thank you to NetGalley & BenBella Books for an e-copy in exchange for a review!

Carol Danvers is my favorite Marvel character. Fullstop, I have enjoyed every version of her I have read or watched.

This was a lovely catch up to comic arcs that are older and hard to find, or details I have missed. A solid compilation of her story so far. It was a lot of fun too when I caught up to what I had read, and was able to enjoy the retelling of those plots.

I do think an ebook copy is hard to read, and would recommend readers pick up a physical copy when possible. It is told in interview format, with various "documents" and photos interspersed, and while these were fun additions, it formats a bit funny in ebook for.

I could have done without mentioned of the "Captain America is a Nazi" storyline. I had thought, after the response, Marvel had pulled that from canon. It's a gross part of Marvel and having it brought up again left a sour taste, even though the bringing up of it was pretty brief.

I am a Marvel cinematic fan! But, I did not know a lot about Carol Danvers' comic book variations--not for a lack of trying. I couldn't track the varied universes, timelines, and evolutions. Kelli Fitzpatrick helps comic lovers, like myself, to synthesize Carol Danvers' evolution. Captain Marvel: Carol Danvers Declassified is an imaginative story; there are social media posts, government documents, flight logs, personal letters, and artwork that splice together Danvers' life and identity into an easily comprehensible story. The narrative unfolds as Ripley Ryan interviews Carol Danvers. Ryan poses questions regarding identity: Who is Carol Danvers? Is she a whole person, or is she a variation of one of her former personas, such as Ms. Marvel, Binary, or Captain Marvel? Fitzpatrick keeps true to superhero narratives: "...giv[e] underrepresented people and issues the coverage they deserve" (location 33 of 166). Fitzpatrick upholds Marvel's track record for representation and exploration of challenging social topics, such as females have a right to be in the armed services, heroes should be held accountable for collateral damage, and trauma victims need support. Through her characterization of Danvers, Fitzpatrick admonishes readers: "...we can change the culture" (location 54 of 166). I appreciate that Danvers is a balanced character. She has trauma that affects her, hence Danvers medicates her wounds with alcohol, which results in her losing her moral compass, joining a gang of criminals, and taking on the persona Warbird. Warbird remains in emotional turmoil until Danvers learns a hard lesson: "...you can try your best and still fall short. That's just life. But I choose to keep trying, and to learn from my mistakes and do better" (location 93 of 166). Danvers learned that moral failure is inevitable. She had a responsibility to model overcoming a time of darkness. Warbird left behind her criminality and morphed into Captain Marvel who is a cultural mirror for social change and accountability.

I enjoyed the quest for identity, the exploration of moral ethics, and the philosophical undertones in this text. It reminds me of Tom Morris and William Irwin's Popular Culture and Philosophy series. I highly recommend this book for novices and experts.

Thank you to #KellIFitzpatrick, #BenBellaBooks, #SmartPop, and #NetGalley for my e-ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.