Spidey and Kamala swap genders and lives in Marvel Team-Up No. 2
By Alex Widen
Is a generic plot generic when it involves a rookie heroine in Marvel Team-Up No. 2?
Certain plots in pop fiction tend to be so routine, they come and go like the seasons. Some of this is due to historical or fictional precedent, while another is due to comfort in familiarity. While some writers estimate that most of fiction only has roughly eight general plot, the talent is in the details and execution. “The mind-swap plot,” along with “the shrinking plot,” “the mistaken identity plot,” or even “the Fantastic Voyage plot” are standard fare for anyone who has ever watched a cartoon or read genre children’s fiction since the 1960s, if not longer. As mentioned last month, Vice Versa was the first major pop culture usage of “the mind swap plot,” written in 1882!
Image by Marvel Comics
Fledgling comic book writer Eve L. Ewing has chosen such a routine plot for her first major arc featuring two of Marvel’s biggest heroes — Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel. Spidey has historically been the star of Marvel Team-Up and the face of the publisher, while Kamala Khan has captured the hearts of many younger readers who Marvel Comics has been courting for decades. Unfortunately, beyond a few fleeting moments of humor or curiosity, Ewing’s stab at this plot feels rather routine.
Image by Marvel Comics
This arc kicked off with another routine staple of superhero comics — a random villain stealing a hi tech plot device. In this case, Spidey’s old enemy the Jackal trying to steal a psyche storing machine invented by Peter Parker’s pal, Dr. Yesenia Rosario. By circumstance, both superheroes stumbled onto the robbery, and got zapped by the device when Yesenia blew it up. Now Kamala and Peter find themselves sharing each other’s bodies. Beyond some glitches, is it permanent?
Image by Marvel Comics