Marvel Comics has given Ms. Marvel the Marvel-Verse treatment this week, which gives fans of the MCU movies and television programs a taste of the comics. Essentially this line of trade paperbacks is for younger readers, which is obvious due to the size of the comic. It’s also less about giving an origin of a character and more about giving a general idea of them over five or six stories. Ms. Marvel is the latest to get the Marvel-Verse treatment because of the Ms. Marvel television show. The question is, does it have enough for new readers to get excited about?
If you’re unfamiliar with the format, be sure to read my reviews for Marvel-Verse: Jane Foster Thor, America, Moon Knight, Moon Girl, Morbius, Thor, Spider-Man, Hawkeye, Doctor Strange, Shang-Chi, Captain Marvel, Deadpool & Wolverine, Iron Man, Venom, Thanos, and Black Panther — each one features various stories from the title character’s history. Marvel-Verse: Ms. Marvel features Ms. Marvel (2014) #12, Generations: Ms. Marvel/Ms. Marvel (2017) #1, Ms. Marvel (2015) #38, and Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2018) #24.
As usual for this series, I wouldn’t recommend this for someone looking to start a Ms. Marvel reading experience. More likely, this is for a younger reader who may not be sure they want to read Ms. Marvel comics. Given the quality of stories here, though, I could see this trade paperback being a great start to get a reader excited. Running 104 pages, this is a shorter Marvel-Verse than most, which typically run 120 pages.
Readers get a quick primer thanks to Robbie Thompson and Deigo Olortegui and dive in on a Loki tale from Ms. Marvel #12 by G. Willow Wilson and Elmo Bondoc. These two opening stories give you a general sense of how Ms. Marvel got her start and a fun adventure showing her general teenager vibe. Loki being thrown in will likely draw movie fans too. Wilson, of course, has an incredible handle on this character as well as captures the voice of the teenage characters impeccably well. You couldn’t ask for a better start than simply reading the first Ms. Marvel story arc.
From there, Wilson and Paolo Villanelli deliver the Generations tale, which at the time had Marvel publishing team-ups with younger versions of legacy characters. In this case, Ms. Marvel gets zapped into the past when Carol Danvers was just starting her life as a hero. This tale works particularly well since it leans into the older days of Marvel with a flashback feel thanks to the color by Ian Herring drenching everything in yellow.
Is there anything better than superheroes playing sports?!
Credit: Marvel
Next is Ms. Marvel #38 with a story by Wilson and co-scripting by Wilson, Devin Grayson, Eve L. Ewing, Jim Zub, and Saladin Ahmed. It’s a fun tale as we see more of Ms. Marvel’s friends and see them gaming. They get zapped into a gaming universe with classic Mario and fantasy realms explored. It’s a fun adventure.
Closing out the book is Miles Morales: Spider-Man #34, which has Ms. Marvel teaming up with Miles. Ahmed writes this one with art by Carmen Carnero and features the two heroes playing basketball. The two save some lives, connect in a real way around their pressure to save everyone, and even talk about dating. It’s a nice reminder they’re younger heroes, and younger readers should connect with these scenes.
Once again, Marvel-Verse collections are a weird but probably necessary sort of read. Marvel-Verse: Ms. Marvel allows readers familiar with the Ms. Marvel television show to get a taste of what Ms. Marvel is about in the comics in a way that should motivate them to buy more of the collections. This is a shorter trade paperback even by Marvel-Verse standards, but it does an exceptional job of showing who Ms. Marvel is as a hero and a person. You can’t ask much more than that in a taste-tester collection.
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