DC really made a foolish decision when they bought Fawcett Comics and their most successful character, Captain Marvel. They didn’t use the character and eventually allowed the rights to the name to run out. That allowed Marvel to jump in and create their own Captain Marvel and secure the name, forcing DC to rename their own version Shazam. Introduced in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (1967) by Stan Lee and Gene Colan, Mar-Vell sent to Earth to study and find a weakness for the Kree. Infiltrating an air force base as Dr. Walter Lawson, he met Carol Danvers and eventually fell in love with the human race, betraying the Kree to protect Earth.

He would battle his own race, including Ronan, Yon-Rogg, etc, and the Skrulls, like Super-Skrull. He would eventually end up in the Negative Zone. He eventually lured Rick Jones, Hulk and Cap’s former sidekick, and had him find a pair of Nega-Band. Clanking them together allowed Mar-Vell and Rick Jones to switch places for a period of time. Yon-Rogg eventually returned and kidnapped Carol Danvers. During a battle with the villain, Mar-Vell tried to protect Danvers from a blast. While it was eventually reveal that this blast activated her Kree bloodline, Mar-Vell believed that his DNA had merged with Danvers to give her powers. After this with the aid of the F4, he help Rick Jones from escaping the Negative Zone so they could both exist in the real world.

He became involved in the Kree-Skrull war, which saw him re-merging with Jones to save his life. He would eventually met Eon and become the Protector of the Universe. During this time, he fought Nitro and would become a fight that changed his life later on. After a fight with the Super-Adaptoid, Mar-Vell and Jones separated. It was later revealed that Mar-Vell had contracted cancer during his fight with Nitro. He would travel to Titan where he died surrounded by his friend and loved ones. He was believed to have returned a couple of times, like when a Skrull pretended to be him and during the Chaos War. While he did return during the AVX saga, he would eventually die and pass on the mantle of Captain Marvel to Carol Danvers.

Mar-vell is actually quite a popular character, especially since his “Death of Captain Marvel” novel is considered the first graphic novel of comics. He has had quite a few figures over the years. Toybiz released one as part of their last wave of Marvel Legends (the MODOK series). Hasbro released a Kree Soldier and Skrull Soldier 2-pack, which could be used for a First Appearance Captain Marvel with the pink head. It took a while since then but Hasbro remade classic Mar-Vell in the Avengers Gamerverse Abomination wave.

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