Ms. Marvel #5 – Review

By: G. Willow Wilson (writer), Adrian Alphona (art), Ian Herring (color art)

The Story: Who knew that Marvel’s Jersey City was such a happenin’ place!?

The Review: As the opening arc winds down, Kamala Khan begins to stabilize her myth, literally and metaphorically, and takes her first steps into a larger world. And it really is Kamala you’re here for. While this issue gives us our first real taste of superhero action, it’s the human aspect that sets it apart. In fact, the action actually leaves something to be desired.

As an antagonist, Doyle is nothing all that special. He’s a simplistic threat, more of an obstacle, for Kamala. Appropriately, Kamala’s failures and eventual success are not exactly moments of brilliance for the genre. While these scenes are lacking in complexity, G. Willow Wilson continues to highlight Kamala’s powers in relevant and interesting ways. There’s something nostalgic about the attention Wilson pays Kamala’s gifts and the way that a single power is used in numerous ways, rather than the other way around. Kamala’s healing, in particular, seems to be a strong consideration for Wilson. Its presence not only helps clarify how Kamala will deal with the physical demands of superheroing but also gives the title a dose of reality, as many superheroes would simply display unusually rapid healing as part of the plot’s demands. It’s especially interesting because the rules Wilson establishes actually place some useful limits on the story. By showing us the hardships of Ms. Marvel’s powers Wilson dramatically increases our ability to connect with Kamala and encourages readers to consider consequences, an overlooked area of superheroics.

Wilson also brings back the supporting cast with a vengeance. Particularly as Batman proves that superheroes can get by purely on the strength of their hero and villains, the modern superhero comic places less and less emphasis on the secret identity and accompanying trials. Nonetheless, this is where Ms. Marvel really knocks it out of the park.

While it’s a shame that Nakia is absent this go around, Bruno’s mix of support and skepticism is calibrated just right to appeal to reality without grating. There’s still clear romantic tension between Bruno and Kamala, something that could be adorable or disappointing depending on how Wilson handles it, it’s nice to finally see Kamala opening her world up to a friend, listening as well as venting.

Meanwhile, the dynamics of Kamala’s family are amazing. This issue is centered around a beautiful conversation between Kamala and her Abu. Despite staying true to his stern characterization, it’s brilliantly clear how much Kamala’s father loves her and believes in her. Wilson still occasionally sets off that alarm in my head that screams ‘adults are trying to relate to you!’ – “I thought I could just charge in – isn’t that what heroes do?” was a notable offender – but this scene is beautiful and touching and real. It’s the kind of thing that makes this series something special.

There’s a rescue to perform and a somewhat rushed denouement, but Kamala’s real victory is trusting herself. That sounds cheesy as anything, but just try reading her training montage without hearing a badass soundtrack in your head; Wilson has admitted that she was playing “Eye of the Tiger” when she wrote that scene, though I could see “Montage” or the X-Men: First Class score, whatever fits your fancy really.

As I mentioned, it would have been nice if Kamala’s last scene had a little more room to breathe, it clearly was intended to be a big moment, but once the issue crashes to a halt for the final page spread you WILL be excited for this series going forward. The Inventor is creepy, weird, bizarre, fascinating – a perfect villain for this series and an apparent threat that Kamala will have to get a lot better at this, and soon.

Adrian Alphona captures the madcap energy of this series perfectly. Kamala moves with bluster and joy and you can really feel how quickly or slowly panels should be read. The aesthetic of the series embraces the perfection of what is, lovingly rendering the conventionally unattractive: the double chins and goofy looks, the things other artists might leave out. It fits the themes of the issue wonderfully and really reminds you how much those things color the world we live in. Additionally, Alphona displays a great knack for angles in this issue.

It’s also worth quickly mentioning how much fun Alphona has with the details of the book. The melodrama of Kamala’s mother or the ‘expressions’ of Doyle’s robots show the care with which the art was prepared and the kitchen scene is a smorgasbord of subtle gags. We even get to see the ingredients list on the side of a box of GM-Os!

The Conclusion: Ms. Marvel #5 closes out this opening arc in a satisfying fashion. It’s hard to deny that this is a strangely paced issue, both as an individual chapter and as part of a five-part story, but it knows what’s important to it and to its readers and focuses on those elements.

In the end, what anyone says about a single issue of this series is not particularly relevant; G. Willow Wilson has already succeeded by establishing Kamala Khan as a beloved character in the Marvel universe, but it helps that the writing and art are perfectly suited to Kamala’s story. The relationships in this story are rich and vibrant and Kamala is a hero that you naturally want to root for. Ms. Marvel captures the magic of a first encounter with Spider-Man, the wish fulfillment and affirming acknowledgement of flaws.

Ms. Marvel could really use a better class of criminal and needs to distribute its plot better next time, but it seems almost inevitable that there’s going to be an entire generation of comic readers who look back on this series as the one that made them see the beauty of comics, and not without reason.

Grade: B

Some Thoughts:

• This issue is marked as part four of five. While it could easily function as a penultimate chapter, I believe this is just a mistake.
• Wow, that’s a beautiful cover…

-Noah Sharma