Read out of order, stood on its own

When I picked this up to read I was confident I had read Ms. Marvel Vol. 3.  Oops, I was wrong about that, darn fickle memory.  Even though I was missing 4 issues of backstory, this collection was self contained and gave enough information through dialog that I got on just fine.  Kamala Khan as Ms. Marvel continues to be my other new favorite superhero (right alongside Squirrel Girl).  While other supers are associated with more glamorous cities, Ms. Marvel is the protector of Jersey City.  She is there, watching over her home, when resources are rushed to New York in times of disaster.  By now Kamala is comfortable with her powers, created by a terrigen gas attack that woke her Inhuman genes.  With the ability to embiggen she can cover vast distances in super long strides, enlarge her hands for punches that pack a wallop, and in this collection discover that she can widen her feet to be able to walk on water.

What starts as an ordinary day quickly dissolves into the end of the world.  It appears that a planet is headed towards Manhattan and naturally the populace starts freaking out.  Safety for her neighborhood and all the people she cares about is Kamala’s top priority.  Organizing with her friends, the school (protected by wards placed by Loki – can’t wait to go back and read Vol. 3 to find out how that happened) is set up as a refugee center, as people band together to prepare for whatever might come next.

Kamala finally gets to meet her hero, Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel, only to learn from her that another reality is colliding with ours.  It isn’t a planet headed towards Manhattan, it is actually an incursion zone, and everything as we know it will be coming to an end.  All the supers and resources are streaming to New York City.  Ms. Marvel is the only one to protect Jersey City but ultimately this is the end and Kamala must decide how to spend her last day.

Ms. Marvel is a superhero with an enormous heart.  She touches everyone she comes in contact with,

Carol Danvers: “Oh, sweetheart.  You know, I thought I came out here for me.  So I could get a sense of closure…meet this gutsy, upstart girl who’s taken on my name.  But over the past couple of hours, I’ve realized something … I came here for me, but I stayed here for you.  A lot of people think you’re something special, and now I see why.  And .. and it makes me wish we had more time.”

While this arc does end on a tremendous cliffhanger, the book doesn’t end on such a downer note.  Instead we get two Spiderman cross over issues.  Plot by Dan Slott, script by Christos Gage, and pencils by Guiseppe Camuncoli we get to see Ms. Marvel team up with the infamous web-head himself, and her infectious joy of the situation.

Ms. Marvel is a comic for all ages and our ten year old takes delight in giving Vol. 1 as birthday gifts to introduce her friends to the awesomeness that is Ms. Marvel.