Friends and readers, we have another great week of comics coverage for you here at Marvel Files— the premiere home of conversational Marvel Comics coverage. This week we have the debut of a surprising choice for solo title in Star #1. We also chat continuations of the eclectically cast team title Strikeforce, and the Hollywood focused solo outing of the Amazing Mary Jane.
Star #1
Andrea Ayres: I dug the first full page of this series. The colors and transition from blue to red, I’m here for the entire mood. Ripley awakens clutching her chest, sweating… it was a night terror. “I guess that trauma’s not going away anytime soon.”
Ripley has this way of speaking throughout the issue regarding her trauma which strikes me as fairly realistic. Sometimes you poke fun of it, you use your defense mechanisms to deflect and avoid dealing with the overwhelming, at times horrific emotion of it all. Ripley frequently engages in this kind of avoidant behavior. When she finally decides she has to get out of the house she goes to a bar for villains, Astoria [Ed. Note: A pop up bar, even]. She questions whether or not she is bad. She also has an acute sense of smell, is overly defensive, and is vigilant regarding her surroundings. Each of these are classic elements of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which if anyone would have, Ripley would. I’d be interested in knowing what you thought of this depiction?
Christi Eddleman: Ripley is fascinating in that she is a character I very much dismissed in Captain Marvel as a background character. She endures terrible events followed by poor decisions. Her portrayal in this first issue helps to give us a clearer picture of who she is as she seems to struggle with that very same question. What will her identify be? Will her trauma define her? She can never return to who she was and in classic “my life has gone to hell” style, cut off all her hair. It’s like a bad break-up with a portion of her own chest. I am interested to watch her development as we don’t have much of an idea of who she was before being trapped on Roosevelt Island. Ripley showed relief at no longer having to play the role of “goody-goody hero” Captain Marvel #10, but also, in Captain Marvel #11, she eludes to how much the trauma she went through changed her and made her determined to no longer be a victim.
Taunting Titania, standing up to Loki, and threatening Jessica Jones – the choices we see Ripley make throughout this issue are reckless, but certainly seemed motivated by fear. As long as Ripley remains motivated by fear of being a victim, imagine we’ll see similar erratic decisions. I hope to see her process through her trauma, and maybe seeking out Jessica Jones for help is the first step.
AA: Same here. There’s so much about PTSD where you feel as if you are beyond repair, beyond damaged. I may be reading too much into this first issue, but I do get the sense we’re going to see the story Ripley has told herself about who and what she is, may not end up being the story she is destined to live with for the rest of her life. I’m very curious to see how it all unfolds.
CE: If the pitch for this story didn’t hook me, this first issue would [Ed. Note: Plus, who can resist an Infinity Stone?]. I really didn’t have many expectations going in, but Thompson’s storytelling is effective and characterizations are believable, and Pina and Andrade’ art and Aburtov’s colors are gorgeous. This book has a great creative team and I’ll definitely be continuing to pick this one up.
Strikeforce #5
CE: Strikeforce has really been a wild ride. The team has just begun to come into their own, despite some banter concerning the team name of “Strikeforce.” While I thought I had some idea where this story was headed, Howard has thrown some new villains and obstacles our way while still advancing the plot of the Vridai.
AA: Tini is so good at injecting humor at the right moments, knowing when and where to add a good line is honest to goodness amazing darn skill. Overall, I enjoyed the levity of this issue. Howard has such a deft hand in balancing reveals, moments of humor and dialogue that moves these characters (and the plot) forward.
CE: Even when I feel a bit overwhelmed by the blending of magic and science and the trust it requires to suspend my disbelief over the sheer comic book nature of the plot, Howard is there with a subtle quip and a bit of banter to remind me that it’s just comics. Whether or not I know the difference between E.M.F. signatures and ghosts, I can appreciate warm vanilla sugar scented nanites.
AA: When the ghost leaves Spectrum’s body, thanks her for the research and apologizes for the heart attacks. It’s a little line, but it made me smile. There’s also a great bit between Moonstone and Spectrum, Karla is on the floor and says, “You have anger issues? We have a pill for that.” [Ed. Note: Better living through evil chemistry.] It’s a good display of exactly who Moonstone is and what she cares about, it’s also amusing. That moment demonstrates what tends to set Howard apart from so many other writers. She makes the banter feel free-flowing, easy and light.
CE: This issue is fast paced and action packed, and Howard has done an excellent job establishing some solid character dynamics between the team in previous issues to accomplish this. Each character has a clear voice and plays well off of their teammates. While characters in team books can tend to become rather one dimensional, we’ve started to get some nice character beats to give them more depth.
AA: We also got more background into Daimon’s past in a flashback scene with Wiccan, which I appreciated. It also sets us up for a possible team-up between the pair in the next issue mayhaps? It’s clear this issue is more focused on laying the groundwork for whatever horror show awaits Strikeforce in issue #6. AKA a battle against the living dead.
Amazing Mary Jane #4
AA: I can’t get over the sheer campy feel of AMJ. I’m not exactly sure if it is 100% intentional or if it is the way the art couples with the script? Though there are times when I have to imagine everyone is in on this, specifically when MJ cheeses us when she tells the cast she’ll play Spider-Man. I haven’t decided if I like it or not yet. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on this, Christi?
CE: As a big fan of William’s writing on Gwenpool Strikes Back!, I find AMJ’s incredibly self-aware style delightful. The premise of the series is hysterical, and I think that the writing is a perfect compliment. While I feel the first few issues were much more heavy handed in poking fun at problems female characters face in comics (latex catsuits, underdeveloped characters that serve no purpose, being motivated by love for male protagonists) those elements are definitely still present in this issue. It’s a fun, lighthearted series and an enjoyable read.
AA: Totally agree with you about the heavy hand at some points. That being said yeah, it is still pretty fun. Still, one thing that kind of bums me out about the series so far is that I just kind of want more for MJ. While there’s a good part of me that enjoys the silliness of the story, it’s never quite centered on MJ herself. Mary Jane frequently feels like she’s playing second fiddle or angling to set up the punchline for another character. She’s the Laurel to Mysterio’s Hardy. (That’s a timely Laurel and Hardy reference given that it is the 20s again). She feels like the sidekick of her own series. She’s not really driving the action and just kind of responding? Like why is Mysterio explaining to MJ how Spider-Man fights? If anyone is going to know about Spider-Man’s web wouldn’t it be Mary Jane?
CE: You are spot on with this assessment. Mary Jane is working to bring about Mysterio’s dream of creating a sympathetic biopic of his own life. The payoff being perhaps a boost to her career? She incredibly capable and incredibly selfless, heroic traits to be sure, but it keeps her as a static character in her own title series. As much as the series pokes fun at issues with properly developing female characters, it perhaps makes the same mistakes in new ways. I do feel that this issue is bringing together quite a few plot threads that may give MJ the opportunity for some growth, and I do enjoy the writing, so I’m interested in continuing the series.
AA: Is this series called “The Amazing Mary Jane” because it is actively not any of those things? Is this some kind of meta-commentary on Hollywood, fandom, and the ridiculousness of Superhero films? It very much feels scripted the way a Soap Opera might be, there are little hints and clues that maybe, just maybe, the people behind the scenes are in on the joke. But I also have no idea if I’m grasping wildly at straws.
CE: I am truly entertained by this theory, and I would not put it past Williams. This series is a fun, easy read, but imagining it as meta-commentary gives it a really clever dimension. Given that the series has gotten its run extended, we may see this expanded upon or perhaps even a pivot for Mary Jane to take the lead in her own title [Ed. Note: Because even though Mysterio can be fun, we all love Mary Jane more].
Christi Eddleman is the world’s first Captain Kate Pryde cosplayer and co-host of Chrises On Infinite Earths
Andrea Ayres writes about comics and culture. She also loves research, coffee, and lifting weights.
Christi Eddleman is the world’s first Captain Kate Pryde cosplayer and co-host of Chrises On Infinite Earths.
