Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #1 Spoilers Inside!
Writer: Iman Vellani and Sabir Pizada
Artist: Carlos Gomez and Adam Gorham
Colorist: Erick Arciniega
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Jordan White
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: August 30th, 2023
Order: Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #1
Last Time On Ms. Marvel
The last time we saw Kamala Khan, well, she was dead. That death didn’t last long though as she was resurrected during X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023 #1, thanks to the new news that she’s a mutant.
Now that she’s officially joined the X-Men with her all-brand-new suit, she has gotten her own limited run to go alongside it. Now while I was one of the few people to initially hate everything behind this, from her death to her having mutant abilities all of a sudden.
This was a very good comic and felt like a Ms. Marvel comic at heart before feeling like any other X-Book.
An All-Star Creative Team
Iman Vellani is back as Ms. Marvel!
Well, not really. Iman has ventured into the world of comic writing by taking her first shot at writing not only this character that she loves but also the character that she’s known for playing in Disney+’s Ms. Marvel series and the upcoming Marvel Studios film The Marvels.
I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we all love how big of a fan Iman is of the MCU and Marvel overall.
In many interviews, she has spoken her heart out about certain changes and just the things she loves so much about the Marvel world and thankfully that shows in her writing here. It is not unusual for celebrities to write comics, in most cases, it can be bad like with Danny DeVito who wrote the ‘Bird Cat Love’ story in Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant #1.
In other cases, we’ve gotten some good stories by celebs like the numerous Dreamer stories written by Nicole Maine or Paul Dano’s The Riddler: Year One.
It’s a common thing in the comic industry recently to have actors write stories about the characters they play and Iman is a new addition to that list.
It is also to be noted that Iman Vellani isn’t writing this comic by herself and is in fact co-writing it with Sabir Pizada, who just like Iman is known for coming across from the Disney+ series as he was a supervising producer on two episodes and also wrote the story/script for episode 4 of the series.
He’s also known for recently writing Ms. Marvel in Dark Webs: Ms Marvel.
Kamala’s Identity Crisis
The issue starts off with Kamala experiencing a recurring nightmare in which she struggles to determine who she is in light of the revelation that she is a mutant.
Is she a Champion, an Avenger, an Inhuman or an X-Man? All of this comes from her Idol, Carol Danvers, which only makes matters worse.
What I loved about this scene right here is the inclusion of the Inhumans. It feels like they’ve been forgotten for a long time in Marvel’s history and that agenda will only get pushed more when Kamala, the only Inhuman that appears regularly is also being turned into a Mutant.
While it might be annoying for some readers with the constant reminder that she’s also an Inhuman while still being a Mutant, I think that it’s a reminder that’s needed. Especially as it’s clearly a topic that’s going to be touched heavily during the series as it’s still not known what her Mutant ability is and that’s playing well into the story currently.
While Kamala is dealing with her identity, she’s also starting a summer programme at one of the most prestigious universities but the only issue is that it’s run by Orchis, the organisation that is known for the Mutant Massacre.
All of this on the back of a teenage girl is a lot and can be quite relatable to some teenage minorities who are attending college and could have the worry of how they might be treated compared to everyone, and having to fit with what society deems as normal. A question that’s troubling Kamala Khan as she struggles to find her identity in this story arc. The creative team at hand does an incredible job of her characterisation and making it relate to not only all sides of her life but also real life.
I think the moment in this comic that stands out the most to me is when Kamala dons her new X-Men suit and goes to save the kids on the bus from this Chitauri. Everyone knows who Ms Marvel is and no one has ever been scared of her but this symbol that she now wears, the symbol that she now represents, this symbol that’s a part of her new identity that she hasn’t really had enough time to understand yet or explore.
This symbol now puts fear into these kids after all the news that has been spread by Orchis, Mutants have always been hated and it’s only worse now in the Marvel universe.
This incident demonstrates to the readers as well as to Kamala that, despite the many horrible things she has gone through as a hero and the fact that she first believed she understood the hatred directed against mutants, she actually only fully grasped it after going through it herself.
Witnessing all these people fear her even though she just finished saving their lives. This changes her outlook on everything and while, she’s on the run with mutants, dealing with students who don’t like her, she now has to deal with the fact that she doesn’t know her mutant side and it scares her as much as it scares her fellow pears not knowing what she’s capable.
This alone is enough to keep me reading the rest of this series as it releases.
Conclusion
Ms Marvel: The New Mutant is off to a great start with this issue.
I had my worries but this feels like a Ms. Marvel book in every sense while still being attached to the X-Books. I can’t wait to see how Iman and Sabir will further explore Kamala’s identity in this story and what her place in the Marvel universe going forward will be.
I can’t wait for the moment her Mutant ability gets revealed and how it’ll coexist with her Inhuman abilities but only time will be able to tell.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
