Who we give power to.
Creative Staff:
Story: G. Willow Wilson
Art: Takeshi Miyazawa
What They Say:
True love or true enemy? There’s a reason it’s called a CRUSH. Ms. Marvel faces her most confusing challenge yet!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Ms. Marvel had one of the best issues of its run the last time around as Kamala began to get caught up in the events of New Attilan and that made for some engaging reading. Her story is one that took a solid turn with the introduction of Kamran and what he was really after, as we get the nice guy that turned out to not be a nice guy. It’s a familiar enough story in comics with villains going back decades, but it was expertly handled here and worked doubly so since we had the young, isolated and insecure Kamala dealing with him. She was so easily caught up in it all, especially with all the movies and TV shows she’s seen and all the fanfic that paints life in a certain way at that age, that discovering the truth is something that just hit her like a ton of bricks.
With this installment, the final issue of the main series before the Last Days run that brings us up to Secret Wars, we get to see the events that play out prior to the final Inhumans issue from last week with what Lineage is really up to. Here, he’s intent on bringing her onto his side as he wants her genetics and its history as part of his larger plan with the Index, and Kamran just had one job of bringing her in and making her amenable to it. Unfortunately, as much of a nice guy act that Kamran put on before, we saw it fall apart last issue and even more so here this issue as he puts the screws to her hard about the fact that he knows what’s best for her. I completely get where they’re going with it and the presentation of it all, but I’ll admit I had hoped it would be done a bit more subtly. That said, it’s a strong and inspirational piece as a whole here throughout the issue as Kamala realizes what she’s done in giving him power over her, and she certainly turns that around in her own particular way.
While the bulk of the book focuses on events in New Attilan with Kamala on the run, Bruno does get brought into it through “the code” as he high tails it from school to there. He’s not exactly sidekick material here, or a puppy dog trying to please her, but he’s intent on supporting her and there’s a great lightness and intensity to him as he makes it through many obstacles to get there. Having that play out alongside the more serious side with Kamala facing off against Kaboom and then Kamran, along with a few others, provides for a good balance in material and keeps the energy moving. There’s no real surprises here in a sense, having read the Inhumans book already, but we get some teases of what’s to come for Kamala in the future through one of several Star Wars and Star Trek references we get.
In Summary:
As we get ready for the Secret Wars tie-in with the Last Days run, what we get here brings things to a certain concluding point that plays out in other books to deal with Lineage and his plans. But focused here, we get to see Kamala take a stand for herself, realize what kind of position she’s put herself in by giving power to others, and reasserts who she is in a strong, capable and confident way. For the most part. But part of that lightness from her is just a coping mechanism popular in movies and comics with the quips and exaggerated expression and the like, made more so by her embiggening side. While not quite as good as the previous issue, this is an installment that puts Kamala on a better stage to move forward and represent herself and interact with the rest of the Marvel Universe. Solid stuff all around with this book and a good capping moment for those that are looking at it in that way in regards to Secret Wars.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: May 13th, 2015
MSRP: $2.99
