The "Legacy" version of Genis-Vell (in addition to the "Captain Marvel" version) turned up last week in a new mini-series of his own. The character has appeared twice recently and, although I read both those stories, it occurs to me I really have no idea how this younger version of a now-dead (or now-previously-dead) character has shuffled his mortal coil back on. I have long been a fan of "Marvel's 'Cosmic' Comics" so I figured I had better look into it.
SILVER SURFER: REBIRTH #1-5: Earlier this year, Genis-Vell (as "Legacy") appeared in the five-issue nostalgia series reuniting Rons Marz and Lim. I enjoyed it as I was reading it on a month-to-month basis, but I wasn't retaining it. It's a pretty quick read, the kind of "decomressed" storytelling I usually complain about, but in this case it works. The story is a series of "quick hits" strung together: Legacy, the original Captain Marvel, Thanos, Galactus, Nebula, Jack of Hearts, etc. One of the Surfer's villains from the '90s got ahold of the Reality Gem, so Legacy's appearances in this series can be dismissed.
Also earlier this year, Legacy appeared in "The Last of the Marvels" which ran through Captain Marvel #32-36. I read it but didn't remember the particulars of his return, so i thought I'd better read it again. Before doing so, however, I backed up for a running leap at it.
CAPTAIN MARVEL #1 (2012): I like the Carol Danvers character, but I don't often follow her solo titles. Back in 2019, Marvel rereleased the first issue of the 2012 series in its "True Believers" line for a buck. I tried to read it this morning for the first time but the ugly art rendered it unreadable.
GENERATIONS (2017): "Generations" is to Marvel as "Convergence" is to DC, i.e, an interesting diversion but of no lasting value as far as continuity is concerned. In this story, the Carol Danvers Captain Marvel meets the Mar-Vell one.
THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN MARVEL (2018): I remember liking the retcon/implant/EYKIW intoduced in this issue, but not until today did I realize I missed the fifth and final issue.
CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019 series) #32-36: This storyline features all of the Captain Marvels (or "Captains Marvel," if you prefer): Carol Danvers, Monica Rameau, Genis-Vell, Phyla-Vell and Noh-Varr... even a version of "Binary." I found this story too steeped in recent continuity to be enjoyable. Genis-Vell appears as Legacy, but he has amnesia. Carol explains, "You're a hero... mostly... named Genis-Vell, and we're all very glad you're back."
"I was away?" he asks.
"You could say that. I think the rest will have to wait."
A footnote continues, "...and so will you, True Believer, but not for long. Look for more of Genis' story this summer!"
The footnote apparently references the new mini-series, so at this point, Genis-Vell is back but we don't know how or why.
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Here is what I posted about #1 last week:
GENIS-VELL CAPTAIN MARVEL #1: There was a time Peter David was my favorite comic book writer. Then he started injecting "humor" into his stories. At one point, he told a "joke" in Captain Marvel that was so lame it sucked all of the enjoyment out of the series for me, which is too bad because, although the character has a bad rep, I kind of liked him. Fabian Nicieza, during his run, did a good job explaining how the nega-bands works. Then along came Peter David and arbitrarily changed the comic book science from Negative Zone-based to Microverse-based. Eventually, Genis-Vell was killed off. But now he's back from the dead, and apparently Rick Jones is, too. They're respective deaths are mentioned, but brushed aside ("Yeah, like that ever lasts") because who really cares about continuity anymore? My hope is that PAD can focus enough to avoid telling "jokes" for the duration of this mini-series.