Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art by Adrian Alphona
Colorist by Ian Herring
Published by Marvel Comics
This week G. Willow Wilson concludes her inaugural arc on the excellent Ms. Marvel. For the last year, Kamala Khan has been slowly unraveling the manic plot of the Thinker, a humanoid parakeet with a massive intellect and equally large ego. These latest issues especially have launched Ms. Marvel from being a diverse yet small curiosity into a prideful rallying point for millennial angst as the Thinker’s true goal is to use young people as a cheap source of energy. It’s now up to Kamala Khan and her improvised team of Jersey City kids to stop the Thinker once and for all.
This issue wastes no time as it jumps right into the story. This finale is a well suited ending to this first arc. It has Kamala finally emerging as a hero proper, both in her actions and as her identity of the new Ms. Marvel. She starts to become a local leader to the underprivileged youth, starts relying mostly on her wits, and even sympathy for her foes. It’s all well and good, however, Kamala comes off so strong that she overshadows the Thinker. At the end of the book, one realizes that he’s a much smaller presence than in previous issues. There’s very little banter between the two, and they don’t fully connect as enemies. This installment is also quite light on action which isn’t bad per se but it might not be for some. The day is really won by Kamala using her intelligence to escape tight situations and uniting her home town against the Thinker.
Adrian Alphona, as expected, comes up aces. His style is well fitted for Ms. Marvel’s style of street-level whimsy, and it deserves recognition. The way he brings the Thinker to life with simple line makes one wish there were more monstrous and bizarre characters. Hopefully the Thinker will come back for future arcs as any lack in his chemistry with Kamala is well made up in mannerisms.
Year one of the new Ms. Marvel draws to a close but it’s certainly not the end. This title has been one of the break-out books of 2014 and is well on its way to being a modern masterpiece. The contemporary readership needs a book like Ms. Marvel to stand up for the oft belittled generation of millennials while spreading a philosophy of acceptance. Wilson has laid a fantastic ground work for many stories to come and it’s going to be tough to wait and see what she has in store for act two.