Ms. Marvel #15 Review – Don’t Feed the Trolls
As a parent, social media and social sharing are the big boogeymen for me. Kids sharing things they don’t understand and shouldn’t be sharing in the first place is a huge concern. Apparently I’m not alone in this concern, as Ms. Marvel #15 tackles the idea of cyber security, trust, and oversharing in a digital age. Spoiler alert: it’s a scary world out there.
After a literal troll (from World of Battlecraft which is totally not World of Warcraft) reveals he knows Kamala’s identity, Kamala is in panic mode both as Ms. Marvel and as Kamala Khan. But her panic is momentarily cast aside as a girl at her school is suffering the ill-effects of trust. It’s never specified what she shared with her boyfriend via text, but from everyone’s reaction, it’s pretty easy to guess.
Being a pariah in a high school isn’t easy, and I want to scream for joy every time Kamala takes time to remind herself (and by extension, readers) that heroes don’t need capes. Sometimes, just inviting someone to sit at your table can make all the difference in someone’s world. I also like that Kamala continues to grow her social circle. Part of what makes Kamala so unique is her continued strides toward being a normal-ish teenager.
While part of the internal dialog is Kamala providing a diet “after school special” reminder about how much we share, it seems so very apropos and important given the wide demographic this comic has. Frankly, I’m glad that my 9-year old will be getting this reminder (even though she’s too young for social media and texting) from someone other than me.
It seems, though, that Clara’s torment may be connected to Kamala’s, as the mysterious assailant is revealed to be a city-wide heckler. His/Her/Its claims of actually being a virus makes Ms. Marvel #15 even more intriguing. At first, I was going to be very disappointed if the construction worker was pulling ye old “I gots me some super powers and now I’m gonna take down a hero” arc. I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.
The question facing Ms. Marvel, though, is how the hell do you take down a virus? Or will this just be a mutant or inhuman claiming to not be one?
Our Rating: YUS
Author: G. Willow Wilson
Artists: Takeshi Miyazawa
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Publish Date: 02/08/2017
Acquired via Purchase
