Ms. Marvel #19 Review

I hate to say it, but I remain disappointed in the entire “Last Days of Ms. Marvel” arc. I sincerely hope that others found Ms. Marvel #19 moving and meaningful, but I just thought it was trite. I saw nothing surprising in this issue.

Last month‘s big reveal was that Kamala’s mother already knew about her secret identity. She’s very supportive. Yay.

On the one hand, it’s nice. Secret identities are generally implausible with close relatives anyway, and I’m glad they’re not going the “You’re grounded for the rest of your life” route, but still. This is such a typical scene, and it’s followed immediately by an even MORE obvious interaction with Zoe. She’s the popular blonde girl usually seen making racist remarks in Kamala’s direction, but she apologizes and explains she only did those things because she’s jealous of how much everyone likes Kamala. Understandable, maybe, but haven’t we seen this conversation in every high school friendship movie EVER?

Then, another conversation! Nakia, Kamala’s best friend, is upset that Kamala never talks to her. Nakia only hears about Kamala’s life through the grapevine.

I felt this conversation was more relatable to me personally, and that feeling of being dumped by a friend tends to be glossed over in other stories. Its something that shows up in the grand denouement of a high school friendship drama, but those stories are usually about the person leaving, not the person being left.

And finally, Kamala speaks to Bruno about his feelings, and they both declare their love for each other. BUT! Kamala has committed to being a superhero.

It’s a good conversation with good lines, just good scripting. It shows Kamala and Bruno being brave and talking about their feelings, and I can respect Kamala’s commitment to herself over anyone else. I love that, actually.

But… really? Really, though? Is it really necessary to show the exact same conversation every other superhero has ever had about personal relationships? Not to mention that she just spent the whole issue reaffirming her familial and social relationships. Is it really necessary to draw this subtle distinction between being “just” a friend and being “more than” a friend? Really? I’m not saying they should get together at this stage by any means, but if it were up to me, I would’ve just let that simmer a lot longer. Make something creative and intense out of it, instead of playing out the same old story.

A lot of young people are reading this comic, and maybe this is the first time they’re seeing these arcs. It might be new for them, and as I said, I hope it was meaningful for other readers. For me, it was disappointing, frustrating, and derivative. As always, though, I’ll be tuning in next month, if only to see how Kamala and Bruno’s relationship develops. It’s all out in the open now, and it’s nigh impossible to recover from that.

Ms. Marvel #18 Review

This is one of those covers that has nothing whatsoever to do with the story inside. Just ignore it. Spoilers below, as always.

At the end of the last issue, the Ms. Marvel/Captain Marvel teamup had successfully located Kamala’s brother Aamir, who had been kidnapped by Kamala’s evil Inhuman ex Kamran. But they were too late to stop Kamran from immersing Aamir in mist in an effort to transform him into an Inhuman too.

It worked… Sort of. Aamir wakes up with superpowers, but the transformation wasn’t typical, and it seems to have made him sick. Kamran doesn’t care, and starts his speech about ruling the galaxy, but Aamir’s having none of it…

Aamir has never been so cool. He gives Kamran a spectacular piece of his mind — Aamir never wanted superpowers, he’s perfectly happy the way he is no matter what anybody thinks of it. And he will not forget what happened between Kamala and Kamran, and he may not know exactly what occurred, but he will not blame Kamala or let Kamran off scot-free just because he’s a guy. And then he tosses Kamran into a pile of junk with his superpowers! It’s my favorite scene in a good long while.

Come to mention it, I’m still a bit disappointed with the team-up. I think it’s because all of this is happening as part of the Secret Wars event. I wish Ms. Marvel had gotten to meet Captain Marvel under normal circumstances. Meh. It ends nicely, although rather predictably.

The curveball is in the exposition — Captain Marvel tells Kamala that they don’t expect to win this one, leaving her at a loss, just as the rest of her family arrives.

There’s one issue left in this arc, but I don’t know yet what to expect. Will Kamran be back? I didn’t notice until my second time through the scene, but they totally just left him there. He can stand right back up and continue being a nuisance. Will Kamala engage with the larger storyline, or will it be an entire issue of family drama ending with however-Secret-Wars-ends? We shall see.

Ms. Marvel #17 Review

I didn’t want to spoil the big reveal at the end of Ms. Marvel #16, way back in June, but it’s on the cover now so what can I do? IT’S CAPTAIN MARVEL. Ms. Marvel’s hero and namesake, meeting Kamala Khan for the first time and I am SO EXCITED.

Kamala handles it pretty well, all things considered.

Captain Marvel explains about the planets in the sky. Apparently it’s what happens when realities are bumping up against each other, and Carol only came to tell Kamala that no one else is coming to Jersey City, Kamala will have to defend it on her own. But Carol agrees to stay and help rescue Kamala’s brother from Kamran, Kamala’s evil ex-crush.

Most of the issue is Carol and Kamala wandering around the city looking for Aamir, Kamala’s brother. Carol dispenses a lot of superhero advice, and it’s good advice — a step beyond what she’s learned from Wolverine and Lockjaw. It’s harder advice, and there are kittens involved. (I just hope the kittens come back, otherwise there may be crying involved. Those are the cutest kittens I’ve ever seen.)

Unfortunately, even though the advice is pretty okay, the dialogue is uninspiring. There’s no real personal connection between the two women, or if there is it’s one-sided. The final effect is just of a paint-by-numbers conversation, like Captain Marvel could’ve given the same advice to any young superhero. There’s too much of it at once, rather than an organic conversation growing from where Kamala is now as a superhero. Just bang-bang-bang, advice-advice-advice. I want more out of a team-up I’ve been anticipating for a year and a half!

We do get this gem of a panel though, after Carol compliments Kamala’s skill with her powers, and it really sums up the entirety of the Ms. Marvel series…

The team-up isn’t over, and there should be more plot development in the next issue. To be continued!

Secret Wars (1984) – A Comic Classic Review

Cover to Secret Wars (1984) #1!

Alright, maybe I use the term “classic” loosely but it certainly counts as something if, 30 years later, it’s still floating around in the Marvel Comics consciousness. This was Marvel’s first big “event,” where heroes and villains from across their titles ended up together in the same place dealing with the same situation.

And it shows – there are a lot of moments with people introducing themselves and clearly meeting for the first time. By today in the comics, the X-Men have fought Avengers numerous times, and half of everyone has been a member of the Avengers, there have been team-ups, and other big events have happened… there’s a whole lot less of the characters not knowing each other!

So quick synopsis: what the heck was a “Secret War?” Well, a handful of Marvel heroes (like most of the Avengers and X-Men, Spider-Man, most of the Fantastic Four… oh, and Magneto) and villains (like Dr. Doom, Ultron, the Wrecking Crew, Absorbing Man, Doctor Octopus… oh, and Galactus) find themselves whisked away across the cosmos to separate space stations. Down below, they watch as a new planet is formed – formed with pieces of other planets, a patchwork planet that comes to be called “Battleworld.”

Oh yeah and a galaxy is destroyed. Don’t worry – I think it gets better.

Then, after showing off its power, a voice speaks to them all: battle to the death, and they will be rewarded with their greatest wish. To top off the show of power, Galactus – his greatest desire being to stop wanting to eat planets – just goes straight for the voice and the glowy spot in space that is its source (the Beyonder). And Galactus is struck down.

What follows is 12 issues (a year) of the villains selfishly – and then following Doom’s orders – working to win the battles, and the heroes not quite getting along to fully stop the baddies. There are civilians, alien technology, and all sorts of things on the different patchwork pieces of the planet. So each fight is different, with new stakes or toys at their disposal. Galactus tries to eat the planet, Doom comes up with a scheme and gets the Beyonder power and loses it… and yeah, end result, not too much happens.

Although for a while, Doom has a face again. Cover to Secret Wars #11

Okay, there are a few results. Some of the people summoned sound like they were dead in the comics and come back. Some new heroes and villains are created. I would say the biggest result was really Spider-Man finding the Symbiote suit, which would come to be known as Venom…

Dat headline…

This was Marvel just getting started with events. Part of the idea is that “relevant” things should happen, character resurrections or deaths, suit changes, stuff like that. Big stakes, and seeing how the characters deal with them. And then usually a big reset button to return almost everything to normal. Marvel would get better at this, and one of the best is probably still the Infinity Gauntlet for stand-alone all-powerful-villain events, or else the Age of Apocalypse for alternate-reality-creating impact.

The creation of Battleworld!

So why am I talking about Secret Wars? Well, more than anything, because they’re returned to Secret Wars in the comics. The first Secret Wars was the result of a single, all-powerful Beyonder having a whim to be entertained. The current Secret Wars is so much bigger than that – it’s the result of every Beyonder working together. Instead of a Battleworld built out of a few scraps of planets, the new Battleworld is built out of the last scraps of the entire multiverse – of all of the Marvel alternate universes. It’s an event which is seemingly taking apart the entire Marvel Comics universe, with the idea that it will for real and true never be the same again.

So how did they get there? That’s a post for another day – so I’ll be back soon with Time Runs Out!

Images copyright Marvel, and captured from the Marvel Unlimited service.