The Love Triangle Continues: Captain Marvel #9 – January 1969
The love triangle refuses to die. However, it seems that Medic Una and Colonel Yon-Rogg are the only characters who are aware of it. Captain Marvel doesn't show any overt interest in Carol or even thinks about her, and Carol doesn't know that Captain Marvel isn't single. The Carol Danvers of the first few issues makes a small appearance in this issue and then goes back to being a damsel in distress.
The issue opens with Captain Marvel fighting against the Aakon who want revenge after the events of the previous issue. He manages to run away from them and hide them from the police by using a smoke grenade. Then we switch to Carol Danvers.
This scene is the first time in a while where we see a glimpse of the strong and independent Carol that we were introduced to in her first appearance. She didn't go to Dr. Walter Lawson's house to investigate it, but now she decides to investigate his hotel room. Unfortunately breaking and entering is illegal as she well knows, so it's not so admirable. Carol tells the man at the reception that she is Dr. Lawson's assistant and she needs to take something from his room. He replies he has no problem as long as it doesn't interfere with him picking a winner for the race. She does interfere by saying "Well, could I tear you away from your research project long enough to get his key?" and for some reason he tell her that this remark is "snippy". I disagree, especially considering how rude he is for a service provider. But Carol solves the problem with a simple solution of a bribe. And this is where she stops being impressive in this issue.
While she is illegally going through Dr. Lawson's belongings (and not finding anything important or suspicious), Cyberex the killer robot from the previous issue kidnaps her. He still needs to kill Dr. Lawson and from some reason he chooses her as bait. Now she's back to being a classic damsel in distress.
Then, she basically prays for Captain Marvel to save her. Luckily for her, somehow Mar-Vell realizes that it's Carol Danvers who was kidnapped and goes to the rescue. He even feels that this situation is his fault, because he was "meddling in Lawson's life". Although if Carol would have acted legally and not breaking and entering, this situation would have been avoided.
Everything that Mar-Vell is doing is being watched. So as he flies to the rescue Carol, Colonel Yon-Rogg and Medic Una are watching him. Colonel Yon-Rogg teases Medic Una that "Mar-Vell rushes to rescue the lovely security officer!... can it be naught but duty that speeds him so? Or has she some special claim upon his… heart?" Una says Mar-Vell is simply doing his job. But he isn't, he should not be interfering at all. Moreover, Una thinks to herself that the danger of losing Mar-Vell is real. I don't see how it is real as so far he didn’t show any romantic interest in Carol, although he didn't reject her.
Back to Mar-Vell and Carol, when Mar-Vell reaches Carol she tells him: "Captain Marvel you're a heavenly sight to these eyes… I'll tell you!" this sounds more semi-romantic then just grateful to me. Then Captain Marvel fights against the robot. As he is fighting, he tells Carol to run while she can. In response she tells him: "No, Captain Marvel! If you die here… I must, too!" It sounds silly to me. He has superpowers, he can handle himself, and she's just an ordinary human who isn't doing her military training any justice. But Mar-Vell finds this human quality to be "touching". Humans generally, not Carol Danvers specifically.
Then the Aakon arrive and attack the robot thinking it is a Kree creation. Mar-Vell and Carol make their escape together. He takes her to a safe place inside a cave.
Then Carol realizes that he is going to leave her there and go back to fight, so she tells him: "you're going back out there! And nothing I say will stop you! Be… be careful, Captain Marvel! For… me!" It would be touching if they were actually a couple. The love seems to be very one sided. Mar-Vell goes back to the fight without saying anything in response.
Mar-Vell pretends to be dead and when Carol sees the Aakon celebrating she mourns his death. Then we see Mar-Vell's ruse: he took Lawson's address book, which he knew the robot would follow because it has Lawson's scent on it, and wrote Code Z-19 on it, because he knew the Aakon will take it. This causes the robot to annihilate the Aakon, and Mar-Vell annihilated it.
Just to degrade the character of Carol Danvers even more, she yells at Captain Marvel to stay as he leaves her after winning. He doesn't give her any attention, thinks about her, or even looks at her.
The issue ends, again, with a crying Medic Una. Now suddenly all she ever does is cry. And why? Mar-Vell didn't do anything to indicate that he is interested in Carol.
Do you agree with me that this issue degrades Carol even further? She goes from being the other woman to being a desperate woman running after a man who isn't single and is clearly not interested in her.