Marvel Super-Heroes #12
Marvel Super-Heroes #12 is the debut of Mar-Vell, the first character in the Marvel Universe to bear the name Captain Marvel — a trademark grab that shaped the entire Captain Marvel legacy for decades and ultimately forced DC Comics to publish their revival of the original Fawcett character under the title 'Shazam!' rather than 'Captain Marvel.' The issue also marks the first appearances of supporting characters Una, Colonel Yon-Rogg, and Prime Minister Zarek, establishing the Kree love-triangle and command-structure dynamics that would fuel the ongoing series. As the first issue of Marvel Super-Heroes proper (continuing the numbering of Fantasy Masterpieces), it simultaneously serves as a turning point in how Marvel used anthology titles — pairing a brand-new Silver Age lead feature with Golden Age reprints — a format that would soon debut the Guardians of the Galaxy in issue #18. The Kree-spy-on-Earth premise introduced here also built directly on Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's earlier Kree world-building in Fantastic Four, tying the new character organically into existing Marvel continuity.
In "The Coming of Captain Marvel!" from Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (1967), a British commando unit races against time to deliver critical plans to the French underground—unaware that the enemy has already infiltrated their ranks. Written by Otto Binder and brought to life with dynamic art by Don Rico, Fred Bell, and Stan Goldberg, this gripping wartime tale unfolds with tension and cunning, as deception becomes the sharpest weapon in the fight against the Nazis. The cover by Gene Colan and Frank Giacoia captures the stakes with a striking, shadowed intensity.
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Publisher Martin Goodman instructed Stan Lee to create a Captain Marvel character after learning that small publisher M. F. Enterprises (run by Myron Fass) had been exploiting the lapsed trademark; Goodman's attempt to purchase the name from Fass for $6,000 was rejected, so Marvel pressed ahead with publication. Stan Lee wrote the lead story — titled 'The Coming of Captain Marvel!' — and Gene Colan provided the pencils, inked by Frank Giacoia, with lettering by Artie Simek; Colan later stated he disliked the character and had no involvement in his conception despite being frequently credited as co-creator. Roy Thomas served as associate editor and Gary Friedrich as assistant editor under Lee, and Goodman arranged for the reprint title Fantasy Masterpieces to be renamed Marvel Super-Heroes starting with this issue, giving the new flagship character a title that prominently contained the word 'Marvel.' The issue went on sale October 10, 1967, with a cover date of December 1967.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance and origin of Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell), a Kree military officer sent to spy on Earth, in the story 'The Coming of Captain Marvel!' — written by Stan Lee, penciled by Gene Colan, inked by Frank Giacoia.
- First appearances of supporting characters Una (Mar-Vell's Kree medic and love interest), Colonel Yon-Rogg (his jealous commanding officer), and Prime Minister Zarek of the Kree Empire.
- Mar-Vell is established as the first character to hold the Captain Marvel name in the Marvel Universe; the character was created largely to secure Marvel's trademark on the name after Fawcett's lapse and a rival claim by M. F. Enterprises.
- The series title was changed from Fantasy Masterpieces to Marvel Super-Heroes starting with this issue (continuing from issue #11), a renaming partly driven by the desire to reinforce the trademark connection between the new hero and the 'Marvel' brand.
- The remainder of the giant-size issue consists of five Golden Age reprints: Captain America (from Men's Adventures #28, 1954); the Human Torch by Dick Ayers (from Men's Adventures #27, 1954); the Destroyer (from All Winners Comics #12, 1944); the Black Knight by Stan Lee and Joe Maneely (from Black Knight #1, 1955); and the Sub-Mariner by Bill Everett (from Sub-Mariner #38, 1955).
- The reprinted 1954 Captain America story later required a significant retcon — because Steve Rogers had been established as frozen since 1945, Marvel explained in the 1970s that a different, unstable replacement Captain America starred in those McCarthy-era tales.
- Mar-Vell's lead story connects directly to prior Kree appearances in Fantastic Four, with the character's mission motivated by the Kree's earlier defeats at the hands of the FF (Sentry #459 and Ronan the Accuser).
- The lead story has been reprinted extensively, including in Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Vol. 1 (2005, 2012), Essential Captain Marvel Vol. 1 (2008), Marvel Firsts: The 1960s (2011), True Believers: Captain Mar-Vell #1 (April 2019), and the Captain Mar-Vell Omnibus Vol. 1 (2022).
Cast · 32 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
A British commando unit places the plans for the Second Front into the hands of the Destroyer, and his job is to get it to the French underground. What the Nazis don't know is that the plans are false and designed to trap the Nazis themselves.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).