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Stillanerd Reviews: Generations: The Marvels (Ms. Marvel and Ms. Marvel) #1 review

By Mike McNulty

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Kamala Khan finds herself working with Carol Danvers as a fellow Ms. Marvel, and as her intern at a struggling magazine in this amusing installment.

Generations: The Marvels #1

Writer: G. Willow Wilson

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Artist: Paolo Villanelli

Color Artist: Ian Herring

Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

Covers: Nelson Blake II and Rachelle Rosenberg; Kris Anka; Olivier Copiel and Laura Martin

When it comes to legacy characters in superhero comics, we assume they’re related to their predecessors. They aren’t always family. Typically, both classic and legacy characters started off as friends, often with the same set of powers or skills. The previous Generations issue, for example, had two different Captain Marvels, Mar-Vell and Carol Danvers, who were former colleagues with powers derived from the Kree alien race.

Generations: The Marvels (Ms. Marvel and Ms. Marvel) #1 also features Carol Danvers, this time teamed with Kamala Khan. But despite sharing the Ms. Marvel moniker, Kamala has almost no ties with Carol. A young, plucky, Pakistani-American with Inhuman ancestry and shape-changing abilities, she’s also a wholly original, more down-to-Earth character. If anything, Kamala is more of a spiritual successor to Spider-Man than the hero she idolized.

Credit: Paolo Villanelli and Ian Herring (Marvel Comics); from Generations: The Marvels (Ms. Marvel and Ms. Marvel) #1

[Generations: The Marvels #1 is] the kind of fun, off-the-wall, wacky nonsense comics weren’t afraid of getting into during the 1970’s.

This isn’t an idle comparison, as Generations: The Marvels #1 opens with Kamala not only back in time but somehow an intern at the Daily Bugle. She even bumps into Peter Parker right before J. Jonah Jameson chews her out for being late. See, during the first volume of Ms. Marvel circa 1977, Carol Danvers, works as the editor for the Bugle’s fledgling Woman Magazine. As it just so happens, Carol is having an emergency sales strategy meeting during Kamala’s first day.

Complicating matters further, a Shi’ar renegade named Nightscream, posing as one Barbara Nelson from “the fiefdom of Florida,” is making a bid to buy Woman Magazine for her own nefarious purposes. Thus Kamala not only must help Carol fend off a bombastic, bloodthirsty alien war criminal, but also save Carol’s job. It’s the kind of fun, off-the-wall, wacky nonsense comics weren’t afraid of getting into during the 1970’s.

That’s what makes G. Willow Wilson’s story odd as much as it is entertaining. Even though Kamala, given Marvel’s sliding timescale, would’ve only gone back in time eight years ago at most, the story clearly takes place during the disco era. Wilson setting her story in the same year as Gerry Conway’s Ms. Marvel is crucial, however, as the 1970’s was also the height of what’s historically become known the second-wave feminist movement. There’s even a reference to women being fired for becoming pregnant, which wasn’t considered discriminatory until 1978.

Credit: Paolo Villanelli and Ian Herring (Marvel Comics); from Generations: The Marvels (Ms. Marvel and Ms. Marvel) #1

There’s no mistaking whatsoever who the protagonist is and which Ms. Marvel [G. Willow] Wilson favors (hint: it’s the one she created).

Wilson, however, takes a refreshing approach. Her story argues while women’s rights and gender equality are important, women shouldn’t be embarrassed or ashamed about being a woman. Nor does pursing traditionally male roles and occupations mean denying one’s own identity. It’s no accident Wilson depicts Carol being a too serious champion of women’s liberation, while Kamala’s silly-sounding “protesting stuff and unicorns” winds up being oddly inspirational. Female empowerment, in other words, is as much about harmony as it is about equality.

Harmony is also key when it comes Kamala’s understanding of the hero who initially inspired her. Civil War II resulted in Kamala becoming disillusioned by Carol’s actions. Since then, she’s made moves in forging her own identity while still calling Ms. Marvel, but she still regrets their estrangement. With this comic, Kamala starts wondering how she can maintain Carol’s ideals without becoming so authoritarian, or as she says “unify the mission.”

Ironic then for an issue about finding equality and harmony, the story skews so heavily in Kamala’s favor. It isn’t just her delivering the most devastating blows on the villain and thus saving Carol’s life multiple times. There’s also the fact she’s the narrator, the voice of reason, and the one who winds up saving Woman’s Magazine despite her lack of journalistic experience. There’s no mistaking whatsoever who the protagonist is and which Ms. Marvel Wilson favors (hint: it’s the one she created).

It also makes for a rushed read, especially towards the ending. Somehow, in an era before PCs, desktop publishing and the internet, the article Kamala submits on her first day ends up published in Woman’s Magazine the next morning. The climactic fight between the two Ms. Marvel’s versus Nightscream lasts less than three full pages. The Shi’ar warrior herself is a complete joke.

Credit: Paolo Villanelli and Ian Herring (Marvel Comics); from Generations: The Marvels (Ms. Marvel and Ms. Marvel) #1

Despite these hiccups, the dialogue is excellent, and Nightscream’s over-the-top eloquence and air of superiority, in particular, is a riot. This comic also has fantastic illustrations, as well. Aside from looking naturalistic, there’s a sprightliness in Paolo Villanelli’s work which matches the tone of the story perfectly. Magna-style techniques such as heavy use of radial speed lines and slightly enlarged eyes also give it necessary energy. He even gets the look of the late 1970s without going overboard to the point of parody.

Unfortunately, the coloring really sets it back. It’s obvious Ian Herring attempted to give this comic the look of aged newsprint to underscore how the story takes place in the past.  This would be fine if the comic’s setting was the 1940’s and 50’s, not in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Nor does it even fit with the tone of Wilson’s script or Villanelli’s illustrations. It makes the scenes look drab when the story calls for something more bright and cheerful.

In the end, Generations: The Marvels #1 makes for a good done-in-one, though it should really be titled Ms. Marvel #24.1. Fans of Kamala Khan will definitely enjoy it, though perhaps more for the circumstances she finds herself in. Also, Wilson’s messages, while fitting well within her story’s framework, do feel obvious and bluntly inserted. Still, this a very fun comic to read, appropriately so since it’s also, to quote Cindi Lauper, about how “Girls just wanna have fun.”

Stillanerd’s Score: 3.5 out of 5

Stillanerd’s Nerdy Nitpicks (possible spoilers)

Credit: Paolo Villanelli and Ian Herring (Marvel Comics); from Generations: The Marvels (Ms. Marvel and Ms. Marvel) #1

  • Hey, Carol? Who are the other people on your staff? You’ve only introduced half of them, who also just so happen to have speaking parts.
  • Kind of weird writing “freeze frame” as a caption when, technically, every panel is a freeze frame.
  • “I was in the middle of a battle for the fate of the Earth…” Again, Kobik sent the heroes through the Vanishing Point after the fighting was over. Guess none of these Generations writers read Secret Empire #10.
  • “Ibu-what?” Somehow, I don’t think Kamala traveled so far back in time for someone to not know what ibuprofen is. Especially since it was on the market during the 1970s
  • Kamala better hope the cashier doesn’t notice the date on her $20 bill. That would also likely disrupt the timeline, too.
  • Also, Kamala, if you’re worried about changing history, why blurt out how you hate “time paradoxes” like a crazy person?
  • So Kamala bumps into Peter Parker but not Mary Jane Watson? This despite the fact MJ was good friends with Carol, too, in the Ms. Marvel series. Oh well, can’t have it all, I suppose.
  • Hold on? When did Kamala tell Jonah her name for him to start mispronouncing it? She never actually introduced herself when he hauled her in off the street.
  • If Kamala could so easily walk into the landing gear of Nightscream’s cloaked spaceship, how is it that none of the other pedestrians did?
  • Yes, Carol’s original Ms. Marvel costume did have her lower abdomen bare. Yet there’s only one panel in this entire issue where this is the case. The rest of the time it’s covered…which might be a good thing, actually.
  • I’m sure I’m not the only one who sees the editorial staff of Woman’s Magazine as a thinly veiled metaphor for the current Marvel bullpen.
  • Um…so what was all that about the dangers of messing with history, “Karina Karuso?”

Must Read: 100 greatest superhero stories

What did you think of Generations: The Marvels (Ms. Marvel and Ms. Marvel) #1? And how do you think it compares to the other Generations issues Marvel has released thus far?

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