Marvel Super-Heroes #13
Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (March 1968) is one of the defining first-appearance issues of the Silver Age, delivering the debut of Carol Danvers — the Air Force security officer who would spend nine years as a supporting character before emerging as Ms. Marvel in 1977 and, decades later, claiming the Captain Marvel mantle outright in 2012. Her introduction as a competent, high-ranking woman in a field command role — at a moment when most female comics characters held no positions of authority — gave the issue an unusual social texture for its era. The story also marks the point at which Mar-Vell assumes his long-running civilian alias of Dr. Walter Lawson and first encounters the dormant Kree Sentry #459, directly bridging the character into his own solo title just two months later. As the originating chapter of what became one of Marvel's most consequential character trajectories, this giant-size anthology functions as the narrative foundation for the entire Carol Danvers mythology.
In "Where Stalks the Sentry!", Mar-Vell takes on the identity of the late Walter Lawson to infiltrate a military base, unaware that the Kree have a dormant weapon waiting to be unleashed. With Yon-Rogg's schemes unfolding in the shadows, the reactivated Sentry becomes a sudden and terrifying threat—leaving Mar-Vell to face a battle not just against an enemy, but against the very machine meant to serve his oppressors. Written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Gene Colan, with inks by Paul Reinman and colors by Stan Goldberg, this 1968 Marvel Super-Heroes classic features a cover by Gene Colan and Frank Giacoia.
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Stan Lee launched Mar-Vell in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (December 1967) as part of Marvel's deliberate strategy to secure the 'Captain Marvel' trademark against low-quality imitators. For issue #13, editorial stewardship of the lead story passed to Roy Thomas, who was then rising through the Marvel bullpen under Lee's supervision; Thomas scripted the new chapter while Gene Colan — who had co-created Mar-Vell the issue before — returned to pencil, inked this time by Paul Reinman, with lettering by Sam Rosen. The issue was formatted as a giant-size 68-page anthology priced at 25 cents, with the new Captain Marvel lead story padded out by Golden Age reprints selected to showcase the breadth of Marvel's (and Timely's) back catalog. The Captain Marvel story proved successful enough that, although the issue's inside cover advertised Mar-Vell's return the following issue, he was instead immediately spun off into his own ongoing series — Captain Marvel #1, cover-dated May 1968.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Carol Danvers, introduced as security chief at Cape Kennedy (Cape Canaveral), who would later become Ms. Marvel (1977) and ultimately Captain Marvel (2012); created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gene Colan.
- Second appearance of Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell), who debuts his long-running civilian alias as Dr. Walter Lawson after Yon-Rogg's laser blast accidentally kills the real Lawson — establishing Mar-Vell's core Earth identity for his entire original series run.
- First appearances of General William Bridges and Walter Lawson (the latter dying in the same issue); Kree Sentry #459 is shown in the possession of the U.S. military, having been recovered after its defeat by the Fantastic Four.
- Lead story 'Where Stalks the Sentry!' (20 pages) is written by Roy Thomas with pencils by Gene Colan and inks by Paul Reinman; the cover is also penciled by Gene Colan.
- The issue is a giant-size anthology (68 pages, cover price 25 cents) whose remaining pages reprint five Golden Age stories: a Black Knight tale by Joe Maneely (1955), a Human Torch story by Dick Ayers (1954), a Vision story reprinted from Marvel Mystery Comics #25 (1941), a Captain America story penciled and inked by John Romita Sr. (1953), and a Sub-Mariner story written, penciled, and inked by Bill Everett (1955).
- The letters page (Marvel Mailbag) includes a letter from a then-unknown fan named Dave Cockrum — later the celebrated X-Men artist who co-created Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and the modern Wolverine costume — asking Marvel to revive the Black Knight as an ongoing series.
- The Captain Marvel lead story continues directly into Captain Marvel #1 (May 1968), even though the issue itself advertised Mar-Vell's return in the next Marvel Super-Heroes issue, reflecting a mid-production editorial decision to spin the character into his own title.
- The Captain Marvel story was later collected in Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Vol. 1 — The Coming of Captain Marvel (2022/2023).
Cast · 24 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Yon-Rogg continues to plot against Mar-Vell, launching a secret attack that kills bystander Walter Lawson. Taking advantage of the situation, Mar-Vell assumes Lawson's identity and his new job at the nearby military base so that the Kree can continue their plans for the conquest of Earth. Later, he is surprised to find that the military has discovered an inert Kree Sentry, which is reactivated by Yon-Rogg and threatens to destroy the base.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).