Written by: G. Willow Wilson
Art by: Adrian Alphona
Publisher: Marvel
With Kamala Khan coming up on her first publication birthday, Ms. Marvel author G. Willow Wilson is in the somewhat difficult position of having a new character who, despite arguably being one of Marvel’s creative and sales triumphs of the past year, is still very much in her formative issues. Despite an audience hungry for more Kamala, you need to walk before you can run. Or, in this case, walk before you can embiggen, and then run. Thankfully, Wilson is resisting the temptation to push Kamala too far. The book has been exceptionally well-paced so far, and this issue, the culmination of the “Generation Why” arc, provides a nice cap on Kamala’s first year.
Facing off against the villainous avian The Inventor, Kamala has been forced to confront society’s preconceptions, not about her religion, one of the books slow-burning themes, but in this case her entire generation. Written off by the Inventor as a cellphone-addicted waste of space, his scheme to simply use them as batteries to power the ‘better’ elements of society offers a socially on point scheme for Kamala directly to face. Generational politics in a superhero/supervillain story.
It never feels overwrought. One of Kamala’s greatest strengths as a character is that she can be idealistic without being overly naïve, heroic without losing her smarts, intelligent without being a know it all. She’s flawed, but her finding strength and learning through her flaws is what makes her so compelling. Towards the end of the issue, she learns not all battles can be faced down by yourself, and that it is sometimes very necessary, and seeing her arrive at this realization is deeply satisfying, not because we want her to admit a mistake, but purely that she’s learned from them and grew as a character. Real-time and well-paced character development can sometimes be something writers miss, but Wilson handles her creation’s path with aplomb. Adrian Alphona’s art continues to delight, even if the colors are somewhat more muted this time around. His creative use of Kamala’s stretch powers always manage to stay on the right side of cartoonish.
Ms. Marvel remains one of Marvel’s most consistent books, and one of their most endearing, charming characters. It’s been a joy watching her grow this past year, and I deeply look forward to what the future has in store for our girl from Jersey City.
