This article contains SPOILERS for Captain Marvel #40!
As Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers wields immense power, but it turns out her greatest crucible won't be a measure of her physical strength. Instead, Carol Danvers' capacity for mercy and personal growth are what will decide her ultimate success or failure. And with a child's life hanging in the balance, here's hoping that Captain Marvel has it in her to resist her darker impulses.
In Captain Marvel #40, Carol may have been freed from mystical judgment, but her trial is only just beginning. After cycling through a magically induced simulation multiple times, Captain Marvel still failed to complete the task assigned to her: save a small village without killing the dragon attacking it. However, in attempting to prevent the dragon's child from turning feral and eventually breaking free of the simulation, the court of sorcerers determined Carol had displayed enough character growth to earn her freedom. The lone dissenter, Amora the Enchantress, took matters into her own hands to mete out vengeance for her son, who Captain Marvel stripped of his powers.
In the final pages of Captain Marvel #40 (from Kelly Thompson, Álvaro Lopez, Juan Frigeri, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles), Carol Danvers finally breaks out and manages to return to New York. Simultaneously, Amora seeks out Captain Marvel's young friend Kit to put her final plan in motion. Carol's 'Lieutenant Trouble' is implied to be turned into a dragon by the Enchantress. Amora believes that Carol cannot resist her preference for lethal solutions, and apparently hopes that Captain Marvel can be goaded into unwittingly killing an innocent child.
Amora is not totally off base for calling out Captain Marvel's tendency to rain down "death from above." In the past, Captain Marvel has admitted dark truths about herself, including the fact that during the Secret Invasion, she enjoyed watching a Skrull enemy asphyxiate after she threw it into space. Carol also harbored the desire to kill Ove during their last battle, and even killed Tony Stark's physical body in Civil War II.
It's safe to bet that Carol won't be doing anything as egregious as ending Kit's life anytime soon, but the climax of this arc is well engineered to force Carol to confront her tendency towards ruthless, militaristic violence and choose a different path. If Carol can rise up above her old ways and not kill the dragon this time around, it will be an excellent showcase of her growth as a character.
Captain Marvel is a force to be reckoned with, possessing godlike powers and a killer instinct rarely seen in traditional superheroes. Rather than ignoring this character trait and attempting to pretend it never existed, it seems Captain Marvel is addressing Carol's past sadism, and exemplifying how her new role, connections, and responsibilities have changed her. The dragon currently attacking the city is the ultimate test of Captain Marvel's perspective on violence, and when she finds out the truth of its identity, it's likely that Carol Danvers will be changed forever by the realization of the consequences "death from above" could have had.
Captain Marvel #40 is available now from Marvel Comics.