Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art by Adrian Alphona
Published by Marvel Comics
Things are changing quickly for Kamala Khan in the ninth issue of Ms. Marvel, which is the second issue in the “Generation Why” arc, an appropriate title considering it often raises more questions than it answers. Kamala is learning more about who she is, but she doesn’t have time to stop and ask questions, she just keeps on trying to take down the Inventor.
This issue has a fair balance of action and plot progression. It starts with Kamala fighting one of the Inventor’s giant robots in her high school, and she is unable to change her appearance. She has to fight as a giant version of herself, with no mask hiding her identity from her classmates or police. Luckily, Bruno is the only one to spot her and runs to her just in time for Medusa to arrive and transport the two of them (and Lockjaw) to Attilan.
Attilan is where things start to get real. Kamala finds out she is an Inhuman, and is therefore an alien rather than a mutant, like she thought. Kamala takes it all in stride, though, and doesn’t stick around to figure out what this means, even when Medusa asks her to stay in Attilan. Even though her image is plastered on the cover, Medusa isn’t around for much of the issue, and I want to know more about Kamala’s Inhuman-ness and how this affects her powers, as she has already discovered a few limitations.
The issue ends with Kamala back on Earth, with a new obstacle in her way of taking down the Inventor. It will be interesting to see where all of this goes, and Wilson is handling the plot well. The transitions in this issue were a little jumpy, though, and there wasn’t much time spent on any of the sections, which is surprising considering there are some big reveals happening. Wilson continues to write Kamala as strong, stubborn, and entertaining character, though.
Adrian Alphona’s art in this issue is solid. His action scenes are good, but he really shines in close-ups of characters. There were also a couple of visual jokes sprinkled through the issue, which was fun and fits in well with Wilson’s writing.
All in all, Ms. Marvel continues to be a great pull, and Kamala Khan is really going places as a character. I am looking forward to see how she handles her new identity as an Inhuman, and I think it’s really telling that she is struggling to conceal her identity with her powers. Considering Kamala was struggling with her identity as a female Pakistani American before she even got her powers, throwing “alien” into the mix as well should be wild.
