Ms. Marvel (Volumes 1 & 2: No Normal & Generation Why) | G. Willow Wilson, Jacob Wyatt | Review

Ms. Marvel (Volumes 1 & 2: No Normal & Generation Why) | G. Willow Wilson, Jacob Wyatt | Review

• Wednesday, 24 June 2015

“A hero is just somebody who tries to do the right thing even when it's hard. 

There are more of us than you think.” 

Kamala Khan is just your run of the mill ordinary Muslim girl living in Jersey City, until she’s bestowed some seriously awesome and out of this world superpowers. Suddenly she’s filling in the latex boots of Captain Marvel herself and saving her city from creepy super villains, all whilst trying to get through high school in one piece and avoiding getting grounded until she’s 30 by her overprotective parents.

Volumes 1 and 2 of Ms. Marvel encompasses the first 11 issues of Kamala's story, as she figures out how to be a superhero (with a little help from some mutant and inhuman companions) and launches herself on the hunt to figure just who elusive Inventor is (and what on Earth does he want with the kids of Jersey City?).

So what's my verdict?

I’ve decided superhero origin stories are my kryptonite and Kamala Khan's is fantastic. As a relative newbie to the Marvel Comic Universe, Ms. Marvel series is a fantastic starting point to delve into the comic-lore. As the wise old saying goes ‘with great power, comes great responsibility’, and even before Ms. Marvel was even printed Kamala Khan had a lot riding on her young shoulders as the MCU’s first Muslim superhero. She needn't have worried though, her story totally lives up to the hype.

Kamala herself is a truly modern protagonist for the 21st Century. She’s a total fangirl (many of the issues have her wearing a trusty Captain America hoodie and she writes Avengers fanfiction), she also has to deal with her non-super responsibilities with her family, religion and school life too. All this whilst keeping her Ms. Marvel identity secret and physically and mentally managing her new found powers.

Personally as great as the action sequences are, seeing Kamala at home, school and with friends reminds you of what she's fighting to protect. There's some great character growth already and it's the smaller moments between the hyped up battles I really enjoyed. It's not all serious life lessons and beating up bad guys though, Kamala herself is a pretty hilarious character - again I think this comes from her inner fangirl - and there's some particularly great scenes in Volume 2 when she meets one of her own personal heroes. All in all, Ms. Marvel is a wonderfully fresh and lively addition the Marvel-lore, and she's only just getting started.

Reading soundtrack:

Titanium: David Guetta ft Sia; I'm Supergirl: Krystal Harris; New Perspective: Panic! At the disco; All Star: Smash Mouth; Shake The Ground: Cherri Bomb; Superheroes: The Script; Let The Flames Begin: Paramore; Centuries: Fall Out Boy

For lovers of...The Avengers, The Amazing Spiderman and Heroes (TV series)