No one ever said life as a superhero would be easy, but things have been especially complicated for Ms. Marvel of late. There’s little time to breathe, however, as ORCHIS’ nets are slowly closing around her — but with a little help from the Marvel Universe’s latest power couple, Emma Frost and Iron Man, she might just scrape safely through another day. Ms. Marvel #2 is written by Iman Vellani & Sabir Pirzada, drawn by Carlos Gómez and Adam Gorham, colored by Erick Arciniega and lettered by Joe Caramagna, with design by Tom Muller and Jay Bowen.
Armaan Babu: Mini-series have it tough. There’s a lot to do and not a lot of page space to do it in. While Ms. Marvel #1 felt like a great balance of exposition, action and moments of human interaction (or, in Kamala’s case, human/mutant/inhuman…), Ms. Marvel #2 felt a lot like it was trying to get a few important things sorted out before we could move on to the good stuff. It was still an enjoyable issue, however. Tony, what are your thoughts?
Tony Thornley: Set-up issues are important, whether miniseries or ongoing. I think for me, it’s successful if it’s able to not just move pieces on the chess board but also advance plot and character while it does it.
The Fallout
Armaan: So. A lot happened last issue, setting up a new status quo. Kamala’s doing a college course now; which is only a front for her investigating an ORCHIS-run program. She’s publicly (and privately) come out as a mutant, and while the public has been far from supportive, her best friend Bruno is with her all the way. However, now that it’s apparent that the new mutant Ms. Marvel is on campus, ORCHIS wants their hands on her…to say nothing, of course, of the dreams that have been plaguing her.
This issue is taking things a little slower, sort of dealing with the fallout of what happened last issue. That’s not to say things don’t move forward, but our hero is given a little room to breathe. To tell Bruno about the dreams she’s been having, and for her roomate to stir up a little hint of will-they, won’t-they again.
Making sure Bruno stayed by her side for her move to this campus is one of the best decisions that could have been made. The role of the civilian supporting cast in a superhero comic is often overlooked, but the presence of Kamala Khan’s friends and family has always been a major part of her best comics in particular. She might be away from home, but with Bruno there — things aren’t too unfamiliar.
I’m also, once again, delighting in the art here. The art sets such an enjoyable tone — it mixes playfulness with heart so well. Everything feels exciting, fresh, but also personal. There are a lot of scenes with people out of costume, but even without the flash of super heroics, I’m drawn into everything happening on page.
Tony: Artist Carlos Gómez is so different from the usual style we see in Kamala’s books, but again, he’s showing a steady hand here. He adds a bit of grounding, while having a great sense of energy.
I’m with you on Bruno’s presence too. Kamala has a supporting cast as robust as Spider-Man or Superman. If Vellani and Pirzada had ditched them entirely in favor of this new cast, it would have been disappointing at best. Instead, Bruno adds a familiar presence, the X-Men continue to show Kamala’s new world, and we get Iron Man for a strong tie to her Avengers past. Kamala has such a great network.
Legitimately, this might be the most “Marvel Universe” title that we’ve gotten in ages, and I like that.
Armaan: We also see more evidence that Ms. Marvel’s new status as a mutant is not a popular one, at least not on this ORCHIS-run campus, as Kamala Khan runs into a group of anti-mutant protesters. Heartbreakingly, there’s only a single counter-protester there in Ms. Marvel’s favor — but even more heartbreakingly, Kamala feels overwhelmed and helpless in the face of this crowd, too overwhelmed to help out the lone person on her side. We saw some of this last issue. The crowd makes her feel quite literally small — and it feels like public perception is about as big if not bigger a nemesis than ORCHIS for her in this miniseries.
Tony: That was so hard for me. Kamala has generally been a well-received hero in the public eye. Seeing her struggling with that is a great character beat, and it made me feel for her. I also was a little worried for her for a moment. I knew she wouldn’t be physically hurt, but getting trampled is such a visceral danger.
Armaan: All that would be a lot on its own, but Kamala’s still very much caught at the center of the war between ORCHIS and the X-Men. I’m really enjoying how…relegated to the background this is. Kamala is front and center of her own story, but the ORCHIS and X-Men stuff is still happening, just enough to keep things interesting.
Speaking of which, I’m curious as to your thoughts about Nitika Gaiha, the ORCHIS scientist who’s heading the hunt for Ms. Marvel. The focus she’s getting, it feels like the comic’s setting her up for a bigger role — but at the moment, she’s simply the harried henchwoman, doing her best to enact ORCHIS’ evil plans. If there’s another hook here, it eludes me.
Tony: It’s almost like they’re just trying to give Kamala an Orchis counterpart who isn’t Omega Sentinel. But we don’t have much to care about beyond, “she’s evil and also South Asian.” Yes, she’s a bad guy but that’s about it.
Armaan: In the meantime, Kamala learns from Synch that ORCHIS is developing some kind of radio telepathy, for reasons unknown. Before she can figure anything out further, however, ORCHIS hones in on the encrypted communication happening, and sends a battalion of drones to attack her — only for her to be saved at the very last moment by the other popular Avenger who’s been dragged into the Fall of X. Iron Man is here!
Tony: Yay! The drones were a good beat, but I’m so glad to see Tony show up!
#IronFrost
Armaan: So you and Matt have been having a lot of fun reading about the Tony Stark/Emma Frost “wedding” that’s been happening over in X-Men and Iron Man, but I gotta say — I think they’re at their most fun here. It probably helps that they’re only dropping in for a cameo, but still, I think they’re a delight.
Tony: Yes, stay tuned for our thoughts on the wedding shortly. But holy crap, I like them together here. We all know that the IronFrost (IronQueen?) pairing is a marriage of convenience, but the flirtatious nature of their relationship is SUCH a highlight, here and in the other books so far. Tony is totally crushing on Emma, and she’s just bemused by it. I love that.
Armaan: Emma Frost has kind of taken Kamala under her wing during this era. She was the one who helped keep Kamala’s identity a secret through a series of strategic mindwipes. Here, she’s making a note of Kamala’s new choice of costume — one that marks her as an X-Man in an undeniable way.
Emma Frost is upset with this choice; she’s worried about Kamala’s safety. She has a line here, one that hits hard — asking for Kamala to take care of herself “so I don’t have to cradle your body someday. I’m rather tired of that.”
Emma has a bit of a point, at least within the context of what we’ve seen so far. There are lot of groups that get the public’s hatred, but none so much, so quickly, or in some cases so comically as the mutants. The hatred they receive is almost always ramped up to an absurd degree, and the hate Kamala’s been receiving is no different — plus, as we’ve seen, it’s been getting to her.
There’s something about this that I think would irk me if it was being handled by lesser writers. This can’t be the first time that Kamala’s faced hate. Heck, it’s not the first time she’s had to face down people who wanted Ms. Marvel to hang up her costume for good, as seen during the “Outlawed” event. But it’s her being out as a mutant that gets her the most hate, it would seem, or at least enough of it for things to really start getting to her for the first time.
Marvel Comics have…not always been the best at handling identity, and a lot of the time, it’s often the case that writers use the Mutant Metaphor as a shortcut to talking about problems of identity without the need for nuance — or for that matter, any real thought whatsoever. Writing about the persecution mutants go through has what our friend Ritesh Babu has called the aesthetics of representation. For the most part, you don’t have to scrutinize an X-Men story too hard before it all starts falling apart.
The thing is, I have some trust in the creative team here. They’ve delivered a fantastic #1, and a highly enjoyable #2. I enjoy the storytelling. None of it’s trying too hard, but there is care being put into the story that’s being told. It’s handling a lot, but it’s pacing it well, and it’s got a good sense of its priorities. All that to say: I’m a little wary, but on board for the story that’s being told here.
Tony: Yeah, I’m feeling a lot the same. It’s good, I think, that it’s got the creators it does, so there’s a much more thoughtful approach than I think any other would have. But yes, the nature of the story definitely hasn’t gotten me completely bought in.
Galaspiderboy Mini When?
Armaan: The dreams Kamala has been having are apparently more than just a way to introduce the themes this book wants to explore — there’s a mystery here, one that’s apparently central to the plot. A mystery that’s somehow tied in to Kamala’s old fanfiction — but also one that, thanks to a nanobot in her scalp, is going to give ORCHIS the means to figure out who she is, by spying on her dreams. Even Bruno’s along for the ride, setting up a makeshift dream-viewer so he can help Kamala figure out what these dreams are all about.
I’m going to be honest, the dream last issue was one of that issue’s highlights, but I didn’t expect her dreams to be taking center stage like this at all. I’m certainly intrigued — especially since Kamala has had, to my recollection, little to no interaction with Stephen Strange or the Silver Surfer at all. Yet their amalgamation is the one anchoring this mystery. Do you have any guesses as to what that could be about? And what do you think of this particular mystery taking the spotlight?
Tony: I’m stumped on this. I expected our Silver Sorcerer to have some more significance than dream symbolism. It’s such a quick sequence, that this is probably the part of the issue I have the least to say about because I’m completely stumped.
Armaan: For my part, I can imagine why someone might have the Silver Surfer appear in their dreams when they’re feeling lost. He’s a bit of a lost soul himself, wandering the stars in search of meaning. I can’t think of a better dream guide, really — but I’m struggling to imagine where Doctor Strange could fit in.
It’s possible I’m reading too much into this, but honestly, that’s half the fun of a good dream sequence, which this creative team has managed to evoke. Some of it’s random, some of it scary, some of it silly, but most of it has just enough significance to remain vague, but hint at deeper meanings that leave you dwelling on it for weeks afterwards (‘X’ weeks, in this case).
The question of who Kamala is, what face and costume she should wear, and where she belongs when everyone wants her on their team — these are the biggest questions I have for the character right now, and I’m as eager as all heck to see them answered.
Ms. Cellaneous Musings
- One of Ms. Marvel’s fanfiction mashups is of Galactus and Spider-Boy, and I have so many questions. Does he swing along galaxies? Was he a Galactus bitten by a radioactive spider-god, or a cosmic spider bitten by a radioactive Galactus? Is the EGO-ld Goblin one of his nemesis? We need to know!
- It’s a small thing, but it always bothers me when we see Tony Stark drinking in a bar-like setting but the comic doesn’t specify whether it’s an alcoholic drink or not.
- I personally always assume cranberry and ginger ale though.
- Honestly, Kamala has the nicest roommate. Extremely patient. Almost suspiciously so…
- It’s a little frustrating that this series doesn’t really have Kamala interacting with any of the mutant big leaguers, when she’s a full fledged member of the team in X-Men.
Armaan is obsessed with the way stories are told. From video games to theater, TTRPGs to comics, he has written for, and about, them all. He will not stop, actually; believe us, we've tried.
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble.
