The Adventures of Captain Marvel: Death Takes the Wheel

"Talk fast, or I'll..."

Four episodes in and the first ever appearance of a comic book superhero continues to impress. The mystery of the Scorpion's identity continues to enthral as possible clues appear. And, while this is pure pulp with a cliffhanger every seven minutes, it's done so. And, impressively, behind the set pieces it feels, with the conceit of the device and three lenses for the Scorpion to recover, as though there's a real plot beneath the set pieces.

And the set pieces are exciting, although the re-edited cliffhanger (Billy realises about the bomb, says a quick "Shazam" and flies away before the plane explodes. Surely he's only supposed to do this for the cause of right, not pure self-preservation...?) is a blatant cheat. We have Billy and Betty (our two intrepid investigators) both lured into a trap and both imperilled in delightfully entertaining ways.

Interesting, too, that Captain Marvel is not too much of a goody two shoes, threatening dire consequences to the minion he asks about Betty’s whereabouts. We’ll see how such things develop. For now, though, I’m enjoying this in ways I never expected I would.