The Magnificent Ms. Marvel #11 // Review
Kamala’s life has been quickly unraveling, and if she can’t figure something out soon, it may be the end of life as she knows it. In this high stakes adventure by writer Saladin Ahmed, artist Minkyu Jung, inker Juan Vlasco, colorist Ian Herring, and letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna, Kamala is racing to defeat her sentient suit. Now called Stormranger, before it permanently eliminates her enemies, and to make it back to the hospital where her family is waiting to hear if her father will live.
Sometimes, things are just too good to be true, and unfortunately, Stormranger falls into that category. Initially acting as a very high tech version of Kamala’s costume, Stormranger has all of her powers, and more, and Stormranger isn’t interested in being a hero. Stormranger is programmed to eliminate any threats, and when Kamala fights back, she’s labeled a threat.
While Ahmed gives Kamala such a real, emotional voice, and that makes the story an interesting one, this issue feels a bit repetitive. Information that has been said in the previous installments —Kamala’s dad is fighting for his life in the hospital, Ms. Marvel is fighting Stormranger, and she’s fighting her own emotional turmoil about the whole situation— is repeated once again. Narratively, not much is added to push the story forward until the very end. Hopefully, the next issue will break out of this loop and move the story forward. The ending certainly makes it seem like Kamala’s life is going to fundamentally change.
Stormranger’s design is the best part of this issue. Jung does a wonderful job of making Stormranger look similar to Ms. Marvel at first glance, but the more you look, the more evil and twisted it looks. Stormranger’s design is complemented by Vlasco’s linework, and Herring’s color choice to create a villain that’s sure to become an icon in Ms. Marvel’s rogues gallery.
This isn’t a bad comic, but compared with how amazing the other issues of The Magnificent Ms. Marvel have been, it just can’t compete.
