Issue(s): Captain Marvel #34
Cover Date: Sep 74
Title: "Blown away!"
Credits:
Steve Englehart - Script
Jim Starlin - Plot
Jim Starlin - Penciler
Jack Abel - Inker

Review/plot:
The second to last story in the The Life & Death of Captain Marvel doesn't have anything to do with the Thanos War. It's the story where Mar-vell is exposed to the nerve gas that gives him cancer. Kind of annoyingly, this kicks off the Lunatic Legion storyline that continues after Starlin leaves the book, and while i originally had the issue as part of the previous issues, i've had to subsequently split it into a separate entry due to that.

Rick Jones gets set up by Mordecai P. Boggs on a tour with Rachel "Dandy" Dandridge...

...but while traveling they run into a new villain named Nitro, who has just stolen the nerve gas and wants the musicians' car. Nitro says he is working for the Lunatic Legion. Captain Marvel is able to defeat him but passes out after sealing the gas canister.

If you were only reading the Life & Death trade, you would think that the next thing that happens is Mar-vell finds out that he gets cancer and dies, but in fact the death of Captain Marvel doesn't happen until 1982 and Mar-vell has quite a few appearances in between then and now.

Please note that there are some comments in the Captain Marvel #31-33 entry relating to Carol Danver's appearance here before i split this issue into a separate entry.

Quality Rating: B

Historical Significance Rating: 5 - Captain Marvel is exposed to the gas that gives him cancer. First Nitro.

Chronological Placement Considerations: Partially due to some of my stories being in trades, and partially due to the fact that Captain Marvel was a bi-monthly book, i've got a large gap between issue #33 and this one, but i don't think there's any harm done. This also continues directly next issue; it's only in a separate entry for boring technical reasons. This story runs directly into the Trial of the Watcher, which has to take place after the Watcher creates a star over the Avengers Mansion in Avengers #128; i'm placing the entire set of issues between Avengers #128-129; the stories pretty much take place concurrently. The Vision and Iron Man appear very briefly in this issue, dropping Rick off with Mordecai; i'm saying that happens during Avengers #128 while Wanda is fighting Necrodamus.

References:

• Carol Danvers was responsible for the security of Compound Thirteen. She says she hasn't seen Captain Marvel since he rescued her from Yon-Rogg in Captain Marvel #18 but she is forgetting when she helped Mar-vell when he was wanted by the law during the Kree-Skrull War in Avengers #90 (it turns out Carol is a more trustworthy source than i am; see Walter's comments on Captain Marvel #31-33.). I'm surprised she was even sure it was him at all, due to the hair color change.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: The Life & Death of Captain Marvel TPB

It's interesting that Starlin killed off Captain Mar-Vell by pointing back to an even from his final issue on the character's series. Even at the time of publication, I suppose this is Starlin symbolically saying that "his" Mar-Vell is dead and gone.

Between the death of Captain Marvel and Civil War, Nitro has got to be the one minor villain with the biggest influence on the Marvel Universe.

A panel of road signs has a backward message "This issue is the end".

Good Point above NITRO is directly responsible for altering the Marvel Universe but yet he is mainly a ghost and definitely not present in the cinema side of things. He's way too cool to sit on the bench.

in his debut, Nitro is drawn as and repeatedly referred o as a hunchback, something not in evidence in any of his later appearances.

I love the palm up clenched fists Nitro continually exhibits as if he is high and in awe with his omnipotent power! The real thrill is in his unpredictability Of containing its lethality.