Warning: Contains spoilers forAvengers #21!!
In the decades since their introduction, theAvengershave housed some of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Universe, including the team’s current leader,Captain Marvel. Not all heroes are created equally, however, and Carol admits that she doesn’t want to be compared to former honorary Avenger: Rick Jones. While Rick’s association with the team goes back to its very creation, he doesn’t stack up to Captain Marvel’s standards.
InAvengers#21–by writer Jed MacKay, with art by Valerio Schiti – asCaptain Marvel and Cyclopsbegin to unite their respective teams, Scott reminds her that she was once an honorary X-Men herself. Though this is true, and Carol was part of the X-Men despite not being a mutant,she’s quick to inform him that she was “never [their] Rick Jones.”
Jones, whose association with the Avengers began after his role in Bruce Banner’s initial Hulk transformation, is well below Captain Marvel in terms of power and status.
Rick Jones’ Time As An Honorary Avenger Means Nothing To Captain Marvel
Avengers#21 – Written By Jed MacKay; Art By Valerio Schiti; Color By Federico Blee; Lettering By Corey Petit
Rick Jones' foray into the world of superheroes was always an accident. It kicked off with being pushed out of the way by Bruce Banner, who then absorbed the brunt of the gamma bomb thattransformed him into the Incredible Hulk. The accident cemented him as a fixture in Banner’s life and significantly changed the course of Rick’s life. Jones was also instrumental informing the first Avengers, after sending out a distress call to all heroes in the area while Loki possessed Hulk, and he later went on to become a superpowered hero in his own right.
Though not a mutant, Captain Marvel found a home among the X-Men and more than pulled her weight – something she apparently doesn’t believe about Rick Jones.
Despite his later deeds, Rick originally served as a Hulk liaison during his time as an “honorary” Avenger, while the actual heroes did the heavy lifting.Carol Danvers' experience with the X-Men was entirely different, and even when she temporarily lost her abilities toRogue’s absorption powers, she was still hands-on and fully active with the team. Though not a mutant, Captain Marvel found a home among the X-Men and more than pulled her weight – something she apparently doesn’t believe about Rick Jones. Her time among mutants was only honorary in the most technical sense, as she had no X-Gene.
Rick Jones’ Relationship With The Avengers Doesn’t Compare To Captain Marvel’s Association With The X-Men
Carol Finds The Comparison Dismissive
Although Rick Jones was no coward and even acted, very briefly, as Captain America’s sidekick in his earlier days, he never became a true core member of the Avengers, possibly leading Carol to believe his time was less transformative than her stint with the X-Men.Captain Marvel’s reaction likely says more about her need to connect withCyclops and his mutantsthan it does about Rick himself, but that doesn’t erase how easily she dismissed his time and legacy with the team.Captain Marvelrefuses to be deemed “honorary” like Rick Jones, revealing her true thoughts about his history with theAvengers.
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Avengers #21is available now from Marvel Comics.
Captain Marvel
United States air force officer Carol Danvers gains superpowers after an explosion fuses her DNA with a superhero colleague. With her super strength, speed, flight, and other abilities, Captain Marvel (also known as Ms. Marvel) has fought alongside the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Guardians of the Galaxy. She also appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, joining the films' other heroes to fight evil.
