Captain Marvel #34
Captain Marvel #34 is the origin point of two interlocking threads that would define Mar-Vell's entire legacy: the debut of Nitro (Robert Hunter), the Kree-engineered exploding villain whose confrontation with Mar-Vell over stolen Compound 13 nerve gas directly caused the Kree hero's fatal cancer — a plot seed that blossomed eight years later into Marvel's first original graphic novel, The Death of Captain Marvel (1982). Beyond Mar-Vell's story, Nitro's destructive power later served as the narrative detonator for Marvel's 2006 Civil War crossover event, making this single Bronze Age issue the causal ancestor of two landmark storytelling milestones separated by decades. The issue also marks the first mention of the Lunatic Legion, the Kree extremist faction whose racial-purity ideology would thread through the title for years after Starlin's departure.
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The issue was plotted by Jim Starlin with dialogue scripted by Steve Englehart, inked by Jack Abel, colored by Starlin himself, lettered by Tom Orzechowski, and edited by Roy Thomas — an unusual split-credit arrangement that reflected a book in creative transition. It proved to be Starlin's final full-issue contribution to the series he had shepherded since issue #25; according to Starlin's own account in Back Issue #93, his departure was triggered by chronic frustration over Marvel's revolving door of inkers — his ten-issue run saw seven different embellishers — and a specific broken promise to assign Klaus Janson permanently to the book, only for production manager John Verpoorten to redirect Janson elsewhere and hand the assignment to Jack Abel instead. The book's readers in late 1974 received no warning of the creative shake-up; the issue's editorial content made no mention that Starlin's era was ending.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Nitro (Robert Hunter), a villain genetically re-engineered by the Kree Lunatic Legion to explode and reconstitute himself at will; created by Jim Starlin.
- First (voice-only) appearance of the Lunatic Legion, the Kree extremist faction; their agent Nitro is sent to steal the top-secret nerve agent Compound 13.
- First appearance of Rachel 'Dandy' Dandridge, a supporting character who continues to appear in subsequent issues of the run.
- Mar-Vell is exposed to Compound 13 nerve gas during the battle — an incident that the 1982 Marvel Graphic Novel #1, The Death of Captain Marvel, retroactively establishes as the direct cause of his fatal cancer.
- This is the final full issue plotted and penciled by Jim Starlin on the title (Captain Marvel #25–34); his next contribution to the series was only three pages in issue #36.
- The story is titled 'Blown Away!' — plot by Starlin, dialogue by Steve Englehart, inks by Jack Abel, colors by Starlin, letters by Tom Orzechowski, edited by Roy Thomas.
- The issue contains Marvel Value Stamp Series A #25 (the Human Torch) on its letters page.
- The issue has been reprinted in multiple collected editions, including Captain Marvel by Jim Starlin: The Complete Collection (2016), The Death of Captain Marvel (2010/2013), The Death of Captain Marvel Gallery Edition (2021), and The Thanos Wars: Infinity Origin Omnibus (2019).
Cast · 19 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
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Captain Marvel is exposed to the nerve gas which will eventually kill him.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).