Captain Marvel - Full of Surprises (12 of 12)

In the final issue of this volume of Captain Marvel, we get two characters on the verge of orgasm and then a complete shattering of the fourth wall.  As the last issue in this volume, the authors actually address issues of audience boredom.  Instead of a catastrophic finale, the stage is simply struck and the door closes.

This was some ground-breaking work in many ways.  I can't say I loved the story line or the characters, but I am impressed with the cultural changes the books included.

Captain Marvel - Full of Surprises (11)

sexual relationships that explore issues of dominance and submission

exploring gender fluidity and sexuality...this one is particularly interesting because a major character is interested in someone of ambiguous gender identity.

Captain Marvel - Full of Surprises (10)

Captain Marvel continues to explore sexuality and references orgasm.  Whoa.

Captain Marvel - Full of Surprises (9)

A blossoming love affair between two characters of the same gender (again, 1999-2002)

A horny super-hero

Captain Marvel - Full of Surprises (8)

This time gender roles and reference to penis size...

Captain Marvel - Full of Surprises (7)

Marlo and Moondragon discuss the objectification of women.
Though the title did plenty of objectifying, bringing it up was unusual to say the least.

Captain Marvel - Full of Surprises (6)

More sex, but this time it includes a reference to gay sex.  For the time, that was pretty risqué.

Captain Marvel - Full of Surprises (5)

Dumping my load...another sexual reference. 

Captain Marvel - Full of Surprises (4)

Virginal comic book nerds...This Captain Marvel run included a fair number of self-referential nods to the world of comic fandom. 

Captain Marvel - Full of Surprises (3)

"This is the most incredible thing I've seen while I wasn't stoned."
This is the only reference to drug use I know of in mainstream comics.  There may be a female Thor, but this was more cutting edge than that. 

Captain Marvel - Full of Surprises (2)

"She must be a basket case every month..."  The only time I have EVER seen menstruation referred to in comics. 

Captain Marvel - Full of Surprises

As mentioned before (probably quite a few times, actually), I read comics as a kid for a few years and then there was a long hiatus of about 20 years when I did not.  Thanks to the miracle of the internet, I have been able to read several long story arcs that were not only fun reading but important to the whole 'Marvel universe' thing.  The most recent one in this category was the Captain Marvel run from 1999-2002.

Reading this three year run was a fascinating glimpse into one of Marvel's early forays into a more mature and realistic look at the world.  Not only the storylines, but also the characters' actions and attitudes were much more reflective of the society inhabited by the book's readers.  Of course, they were still comics, where 99% of everything that happens defies logic, but characters were more human.  When my comic reading resumed around 2010, comics were not as 'innocent' as they had been in my childhood, but the patterns were still more or less the same.  When the openly gay character Northstar married in 2012, it was still a big deal.

Captain Marvel between 1999 and 2002, I realised, had broken a lot of ground.  Captain Marvel/Genis Vell goes crazy and slaughters millions of people (the first time to my knowledge that a hero character had committed heinous acts), there was an open lesbian relationship, there was heterosexual sex, and there was even a reference to a woman having her period (maybe the most shocking thing of all oddly enough).  I don't know what happened after 2002, but it seems like comics lost ground and are only now gaining it back.

In this and subsequent posts are some of the pages that stood out for the 'groundbreaking' bits of those years.  

Rick and Marlo not only have sex but also clearly enjoy it. 

Two other minor characters 'do it' too.