Ms. Marvel #16 Review and *SPOILERS* - Marvel Monday

Learning from the Internet

Written By: G. Willow Wilson
Art By: Takeshi Miyazawa, Ian Herring
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 15, 2017
Publisher: Marvel

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Ms. Marvel has a lot of stuff going on with the book right now. She lost a lot during the Civil War II crossover but also really came into her own as well. It’s nice to see a creative team tackle these things head on instead of sweeping it under the rug like so many creative teams do. (Though with Civil War II, do you really blame them? I’d prefer to sweep that entire crossover under the rug). However, now our hero must face a new enemy and one that knows her secrets and can seemingly be anywhere at anytime. It’s turned out to be really entertaining up until this point. Let’s jump right in and see if the book can continue to give us that level of quality.

Our issue begins at Battlecraft Studios. This is the company that made the game that Kamala was playing at the beginning of this story arc. Here we see a couple programmers discussing a brand new program. This is basically where we learn the backstory behind our enemy of the story. It would seem that Doc.X was created as some programmers attempt to prove himself and make it big. We cut back to Kamala in the present who is continually being harassed by Doc.X. He has leverage over Kamala and he wants her to plug him into a server in S.H.I.E.L.D. because it’s the one place he hasn’t been able to access yet. However, it’s not only Kamala’s secrets that he holds but also those of her friends.

Considering everything is connected these days, Doc.X has been able to access Zoe’s private files and discovered that she is in love with another woman Nakia. Now, this was revealed to readers of this comic but this is Kamala’s first realization that Zoe is gay. She can’t believe that she hadn’t seen it before but now it seems obvious. The next day Ms. Marvel visits the Triskelion in order to meet with Phil Coulson and deliver Doc.X into the servers. However, halfway into the building, Ms. Marvel turns around and rushes out. She can’t let Doc.X take advantage of S.H.I.E.L.D. no matter how much she wants to keep her secrets.

Ms. Marvel stops by Zoe’s home and bursts into her room. She tells her immediately what is going on and Zoe is surprisingly understanding. Zoe agrees that Ms. Marvel shouldn’t have given into Doc.X and decides that she is going to tell Nakia how she feels. She says that it should come from her directly so that Nakia isn’t taken by surprise. Ms. Marvel, inspired by Zoe’s bravery, travels to an area outside of her home cell tower and confronts Doc.X. Afterwards, she calls Wakanda in order to get in touch with Bruno. We cut to Zoe wo is hanging out with Nakia. She admits her feelings toward her and while Nakia isn’t able to reciprocate those feelings, she understands and the two embrace. Nakia tells her that they will be friends, despite what’s happening. We cut to Bruno who is dealing with his roommate before he picks up Kamala’s call. He gives her a hard time but she sends him the virus and he caves and takes a look at it. He discovers that the virus replicates the behavior of those it watches which gives Kamala an idea. She ends the call and races off in order to stop Doc.X. This is where the issue leaves us.

Ms. Marvel continues to knock it out of the park. This issue is nearly perfect as we get some really meaningful storytelling. The issue relies heavily on dialogue and it delivers in stellar fashion on that point. However, the highlight of this issue is not Ms. Marvel but Zoe. When we first met Zoe, she was a spoiled bully who could not be related to at all. However, as we dived deeper and deeper into her character and saw her become what she is today, we have all grown with her. We’ve come to understand why she was the way she was at the beginning and seeing that come full circle to a scene that is heart wrenching is the sign of a truly amazing story. This issue is nearly perfect and I continue to recommend this series to any comic fan.

Bits and Pieces

This issue comes close to being perfect. It has given us incredible art, wondrous dialogue, and one of the biggest pay offs for fans of this comic. Regular fans of this comic will appreciate how far these characters have come since the beginning and new fans will simply enjoy a heartfelt issue with some really emotional scenes. Ms. Marvel continues to be one of the best comics. Period. 

9.5/10