It’s been nearly a decade since Kamala Khan was first introduced to the Marvel Universe, and in that decade she’s been through a lot. She discovered that she was an Inhuman, and became a superhero. She joined the Avengers, then broke off from Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to form her own team with the Champions. She died protecting Mary Jane Watson. Then she came back to life – and learned she was a mutant!
Quite fittingly, Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #1 opts to explore that new status quo in full. Even though Kamala should have found a new family with the X-Men due to her newfound genes, she’s dealing with a new set of problems after the anti-mutant organization Orchis sends the mutant heroes into exile. Going undercover at an Orchis-sponsored college program, Kamala juggles her newfound duties with the pressure of her new mutant identity – and a series of foreboding dreams don’t help.
The biggest draw of Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #1 is the fact that it’s co-written by two people who’ve recently made their own mark on Kamala over the past year. Iman Vellani, of course, portrays Kamala in the live-action Ms. Marvel series and will reprise the role later this year in The Marvels, while Sabir Pirzada wrote for the show in addition to penning a few Ms. Marvel-centric tales. Their script digs into all of the elements that make Kamala a great character: she’s a huge nerd, playing video games with her best friend Bruno and getting possessive over her old collectables. But she also has to deal with the pressure of mutant pariah, as well as the struggle over whether or not to tell Bruno she’s a mutant. Vellani’s been open about her love of Marvel comics, and I’m happy that love translates to her writing. She and Pirzada also manage to strike a balance between standard teenage heroics and the dread that’s permeated the Fall of X storyline so far; while other X-titles have played up on the latter, a nice dose of the former keeps readers invested.
The artwork from Carlos Gomez and Adam Gorham is also a great draw (pun somewhat intended). Gomez’s art remains just as dynamic as it’s always been, finding new and awesome ways to test Kamala’s polymorphic powers. I also love the way Gomez designs Kamala’s new costume, since it keeps the same elements that made up her original Ms. Marvel costume while incorporating the blue and yellow that’s usually a part of X-Men uniforms. Gorham handles Kamala’s dream sequences, which are terrifyingly trippy – Kamala is surrounded by superheroes from her past and present, all pressuring her to “make a decision.” What makes these sequences so engaging is that they’re a visual manifestation of Kamala’s struggles; she’s tangled up in her own arms, symbolizing how she’s torn between her old life and her new. She falls through darkness and into one of the Krakoan rebirth pods, which is clear for her death and rebirth. This is visual storytelling at its finest.
Finally, I have to talk about Erick Arciniega and Joe Caramagna’s work on colors and lettering. Arciniega makes this one of the brightest, appealing books on the stands with his color work. The blues and yellows in Kamala’s costume are eye catching, and the sun seems to be perpetually shining. Even the X-Men’s underground base has a bright sheen to it, with all of its bluish-white lights. I also love that Arciniega has a wide variety of skin tones; Kamala, Synch and the Omega Sentinel Karima Shapandar all look like distinct people. Too often, I’ve seen darker skinned characters lightened up or characters with different nationalities given the same shade of skin, so to see a colorist actually put thought into this aspect is great. Caramaga is clever with his lettering, adding in tiny words for actions like sniffing or eating then going big with “BOOOMS!” for explosions.
Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #1 leaps headfirst into Kamala Khan’s new status, keeping everything fans have grown to love about the character while introducing new wrinkles into her life. Though I may not have been a fan of the path to get down this road, the end result is off to a promising start. Welcome to the X-Men, Kamala Khan. You’re definitely going to survive the experience.
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