Jody Houser is crafting a Ms. Marvel adventure via what, on paper, looks like a series of one-shot stories. Last week, Ms. Marvel teamed up with Wolverine and the X-Men, and now it’s Moon Knight’s turn. The series has featured an expertly written Ms. Marvel while maximizing the effect of the team-up. Question is, how can Ms. Marvel–a good person and just a kid–team up with a brutally violent vigilante hero like Moon Knight? The answer is simple: Crazy violence is off-panel!
Ms. Marvel & Moon Knight #1 opens with an innocent woman being attacked by what sounds and looks like rats. Moon Knight swoops in, but weird rats are not something he can easily pinpoint a culprit on, given weird stuff happens to him regularly. Enter Ms. Marvel, who has a lead on nanobot technology being used to terrorize the people of New York.
Houser does a great job having it make sense that Moon Knight would even consider working with Ms. Marvel, let alone patrol. Soon they’re working together and helping one another. Yes, Ms. Marvel is fully aware of Moon Knight’s violent nature, but she at least admits it’s not her way to do things.
Ms. Marvel comes off as quite smart and deductive, and we also get plenty in the way of her embiggen powers. Ibraim Roberson draws a great Ms. Marvel, especially her growing powers, with good details in her hair and the city around her. The details throughout are expertly done with perspective and make the action feel dynamic no matter the angle. The details on Moon Knight’s mask are also well done, reminiscent of Gary Frank’s rendition of the character.
Team up time!
Credit: Marvel
Joining Roberson on art is Erick Arciniega on colors, who maximizes the use of shadow in a comic mostly set outside at night. Details like lights on in buildings and dynamic lighting help create a realistic feel, especially when giant robots are stomping about.
Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel don’t interact a whole lot, reducing the general value of the team-up. That said, they at least work together. That leads them in the right direction, although there is a rather convenient resolution to a problem that should have them both getting chewed to death. Thankfully they have a little more to do when fighting the robots compared to the last issue.
The villain, and cliffhanger reveal, remain secondary to the interesting parts of this narrative. It’s telling the series is a bunch of team-ups because the story hasn’t done much to set up the main antagonist, nor does it seem interested in delving into that until a later issue. That’ll make your interest in this issue and the series so far contingent on whether you want to see Ms. Marvel team up with these other heroes.
If you’re looking for a fun team-up this week, look no further than Ms. Marvel & Moon Knight #1. Not only does it feature a logical setup, but it has the characters resolving issues together in an entertaining series of scenes. Plus, Houser writes a great Ms. Marvel and sticks a lot of continuity and modern elements from the Moon Knight series into the issue. That’s a win-win for Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel fans.
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
You must be logged in to post a comment.