Ms. Marvel #1

There are those out there who levy heavy criticism against Marvel comics for changing or replacing classic characters in ways that appeal to “social justice warriors”. For example, the current run of Iron Man is not Tony Stark as Iron Man, but a young black woman named Riri Williams. There are other examples, and I could go on all day, but the point is that this is seen as pandering to an audience of folks who care more about social and political issues than they do about telling good stories. These changes are seen as a blatant attempt by Marvel to save face under increasing politically correct pressures at the expense of “real fans” who love their classic characters.

I don’t wholly disagree. Well, with the blatant tokenism, not the “real fans” part. If a real fan is someone who reads comics then we are all of us real fans. Anyways, I’m sure that in some respects, there are people high up the Marvel food chain that are pushing to have more diverse characters in order to have good PR. Those people do exist. In spite of their motives, however, there is nothing wrong with changing things up, and for my money, a lot of these books and characters are really enjoyable.

Thor has been really good.

Whatever Marvel’s motives at a corporate level, the folks at the creative level--you know, the ones actually writing and drawing the characters--are still giving it their all, and seem to be having a blast with what they are doing. I’m frankly baffled by the pushback some of these characters receive. All-New Wolverine for example, has been one of my favorite books since it began. With Logan canonically dead (don’t worry, he’s already back as of Marvel Legacy #1) Laura Kinney has taken up the mantle of Wolverine. It makes sense for her to do so as she is, for all intents and purposes, Logan’s heir.

Anyways, Captain Marvel

I don’t want to get too far in the weeds here, but a little bit of context is, I think, needed for my selection. Today, I wanted to look at a more recent book. This is Ms. Marvel #1 from the Ms Marvel solo series that ran from 2006 to 2010. Captain Marvel, as she is now known, is Marvel’s premier woman superhero. At least that is what they want her to be. Marvel doesn’t really have an analog to Wonder Woman, and so they have decided that Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, is going to be it. This has drawn the ire of some longtime comic readers because not only did they change her name from Ms Marvel to Captain Marvel (a title that was previously held by a male) they updated her costume to look more like a military uniform than what she previously wore which was more like S&M fetish wear.

Captain Marvel has drawn criticism for being drawn more masculine than feminine. She has adopted a short hairstyle, and under her current creative team, appears broad-shouldered and muscular with de-emphasis on exaggerated feminine characteristics like wide hips and a large chest. Some readers think this is a bad thing, that Marvel is robbing her of her sex appeal to cater to an increasingly feminist audience. They think their sexy Ms Marvel is literally being turned into a man.

Still looks like a woman to me.

I’ve been a fan of Captain Marvel since I read Kelly Sue DeConnick’s definitive run on the character. It’s the one title I haven’t stopped buying even through event tie-ins and creative team shifting. I think she is strong, virtuous, and aspirational despite her flaws. I even like her depiction in art as an athletic, muscular woman. I’ve watched the olympics, I know what a woman’s body who devotes herself to physical prowess and strength looks like, (and wears a sports bra for fuck’s sake) and Carol’s current depiction fits that so well.

Enough about this, I could go on all day. Let’s take a look at Ms Marvel #1.

How Bad Could it Be?

Storywise, the issue is fine. It’s an introduction to Ms Marvel as a solo character. She had been revived from her 1980’s-90’s runs first as “Binary” and then as “Warbird” (google it because there is not enough time to go through it all here) and is now back on the Avengers. This issue deals with Carol’s strategy for getting back in “the game” as it were. The game being superheroism.

She stops a villain from wreaking havoc on the city, has a brunch with her gal pal Jessica Drew (also known as Spiderwoman), sees a publicist about getting her name back out there, and even puts a call in to Steve Rogers to get a little advice. It’s mostly a breezy, punchy story, and I feel like, yup, this is still basically Carol as I know her now, albeit a little less battle-hardened and authoritative. Her talk with Jessica is great as always (I love these two together, and want them to get a team-up book so bad). Her call to Cap is funny, because Cap is in the middle of a skirmish with some Hydra goons, but is still taking the time to answer Carol’s questions even as grenades go off all around him.

By the end, Carol investigates a mysterious arrival from outer space and finds the old enemies of the X-Men, The Brood, have landed on Earth and are terrorizing a small town off the interstate. All-in-all it’s a solid #1 issue with good pacing and a nice cliff hanger. I want to read the next one.

But the art. But the art.

Let’s start with the cover. The cover is by Frank Cho. Say what you will about Frank Cho. The guy is certainly talented, and he knows what he likes. Personally, I don’t really care for his style or his confrontational attitude, but there is no denying his artistic ability. Here is the Carol that “true fans” are upset about. This is what has been taken from them.

Lady lumps.

It doesn’t stop there. The interior art is just as bad if not worse at objectifying Carol. Yes, she is powerful (she’s holding a car over her head), but that outfit is laughable. It is either painted on her, or vacuum-sealed. It’s barely covering her crotch. Her boobs are bigger than her head. Add to it the fact that she’s just saved some pre-pubescent boys and she is hovering there in all her teenage sex fantasy glory and uttering the phrase “Hi, kids!” What the hell.

Gorss, Carol.

It doesn’t really get worse from there. As bad as that outfit is, at least in the rest of the issue it looks like it fits her. She does have some goofy poses later in the book, poses meant to accentuate her sex appeal, but that is par for the course as far as comics go.

You really fly like that?

I see a certain part of their argument, I do. Captain Marvel now does not even look like the same person. But neither does Carol Danvers from 1976 look like Carol Danvers 2006. Charcters change as artists change and as styles and aesthetics evolve. This is a new era for comics, one in which companies like Marvel have said that teenage boys aren’t the only ones who love our stories. We can do better. Some fans aren’t happy about that. Change is difficult. I don’t like the way some changes were made in comics either. It happens. Not every book is for everyone. That happens too. I don’t love every book that Marvel makes, but I don’t have to. I’m glad that there are books out there that people who aren’t me can read and enjoy. It makes things interesting. And when those people read those books, maybe that means they pick up another title and another. More fans is always better.

Anyways, I’ll get off my soap box.

I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and I’ve seen it. Carol Danvers has always been a great character. This book was fun to read; almost as much fun as her current run. It was just difficult to look at at times for me. It saddens me that a great character can come under such intense fire for changing her look for the better.

Variant is not much better.

Ms. Marvel #1 (2006)

Writer: Brian Reed
Pencils: Roberto De la Torre
Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti
Cover: Frank Cho

Images courtesy of Marvel Comics