The Khan family space adventure begins in Magnificent Ms. Marvel No. 3
By Alex Widen
Will There Be a Fork in This Road?
To the surprise of no reader on Earth, it turns out Maliq Zeer as a secret. Cheb Hura is already his prisoner, and his minions are torturing him for secrets. Finding torture to be morally wrong no matter the planet — which alone puts Kamala at odds with some politicians — Ms. Marvel rescues Hura. While initially untrusting of Hura, she’s willing to believe his wounds over Zeer’s boasts. In no time flat, Kamala is leading Cheb and her parents to an escape pod, and Maliq reveals his true malicious heart.
Image by Marvel Comics
Now that Ahmed’s opening arc is establishing itself beyond random Jersey City madness, it’s become a mixed bag. On the one hand, this is a big first for Ms. Marvel — her first space adventure without a team behind her. In addition, it’s also her first major outing alongside her parents in forever. Wilson let relations with the senior Khans take a backseat to other plots for years, while Ahmed has chosen to make it a centerpiece of his story. There is great drama in seeing Abu try to cope with it all, Kamala adjust to her parents in her space, and Ammi seeking to balance both.
Image by Marvel Comics
On the other hand, the Saffa plot is fairly predictable so far. Maliq Zeer isn’t quite the most obvious evil overlord ever, if only because he doesn’t wear dark colors or cackle a lot. Most if not all readers would expect to hear word of a rebel alliance from the moment the Khans beamed into the throne room, and they won’t be disappointed. The very genre savvy Kamala even alludes to Star Wars at one point, as this is a story which every youth has seen a dozen times by the time they’re six.
Image by Marvel Comics