Civil War II was never not going to affect Kamala Khan. One
of the two main sides is led by her hero and mentor, and the other is lead by
her friend and fellow Avenger.Now, thanks to some pretty heartbreaking promo images back when the series was first announced, we’ve long known that she will eventually forsake Carol and presumably join Tony’s side. The real question is what happens before that.
Before answering that question, the book starts with a story
way before that. It takes us back to
Bombay in 1947, when Kamala’s great grandparents are fleeing from the country
to get to Pakistan. It’s a beautifully-written and illustrated four pages, and
one that gives Kamala’s story so much more depth. We also get to see the
significance of the bangles she wears as part of her costume.
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| And, more often than not, they turn against each other for ridiculous reasons |
It’s a very strong start to the comic, and whether the story
will be continued or not, it goes a long way towards reassuring the reader that,
despite the Civil War II logo splashed across the cover, this issue is just as quintessentially Ms. Marvel as any other.
After that emotional opener, we get a serious tonal and
artistic shift, as present-day Ms. Marvel is heading to the Alpha Flight space
station to meet with Captain Marvel, who briefs her on Ulysses’s ability to see
future events based on mathematical probabilities, and how it could be used to
stop crimes more easily.
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| Carol, I'm never forgiving you for this |
Carol handwaves her concerns by explaining that this would
be based on individuals, not communities or families.
Kamala then gets swept up in the excitement again as Carol
appoints her as a liaison between herself, the Inhumans, and a new team she’ll be
in charge of: the Carol Cadets. Their mission is to utilize information
provided by Ulysses to take down crime in advance.
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| Not that Kamala would know anything about weird gushing |
It’s as ridiculous as it sounds, and it’s a blast to read.
Things take a somber turn again after that, with Tyesha pointing to Kamala the
gray morality of arresting and prosecuting people based on crimes that haven’t
yet been committed, citing the neighborhood she grew up in as an example.
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| Yes, that tank does have "SORRY" written across the back. Canadian politeness FTW! |
It’s once again a startling real world problem that grounds
the otherwise fantastical stories the comic tells. It’s surprising, or perhaps
not surprising at all, that the issue of profiling is one that hasn’t been
brought up in the main Civil War II series.
On a related note, Tyesha is a fantastic character and we
need more of her.
Unfortunately, Kamala is still a bit too caught up in easily
stopping crimes with her team of sidekicks, and we see how far things have
gotten when she arrests someone for thinking about robbing a store.
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| Can you hear yourself? |
She rushes across the city to get to the address, bursts
into the future perpetrator’s room to find that it’s… Josh.
I’m gonna be honest, I was very worried about this issue. Civil
War II has been rife with character assassination, literal and figurative, and
I was worried it would carry over essential tie-ins like this one.
And it does, at least as far as Captain Marvel goes. Her
insistence on restoring to Ulysses remains inherently wrong, and she seems
to be taking advantage of Kamala’s idolization of her to get Ms. Marvel on her
side.
On the other hand, this book, unlike Civil War II, leaves no
ambiguity as to which side is right. While Kamala almost blindly following Carol
is very much in-character for her, so will the eventual realization of what
she’s actually doing, and how wrong it is, a realization that will undoubtedly
be catalyzed by the involvement of one of her friends.
Now, I really liked the Tyesha scene, so I’m going to go
over it again, but this time from a religious perspective.
Firstly, there is the fact that in all her previous
appearances in earlier issues, she has always worn her headscarf. However, this
time she is at home with no one except Kamala, and isn’t wearing it. It may
seem like a small detail, but it goes a long way towards normalizing the
concept of hijab for general audiences.
Another important detail is her telling Kamala not to forget
that sometimes the people committing the crimes need saving too. This brings to
mind a famous Islamic teaching, to help the oppressor and the oppressed, and the latter is done by showing them a better
way. It’s a bit of morality that should apply to all, regardless of religion,
and one that I believe Kamala will learn by the end of this arc.
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| Listen to her, Kamala |
Overall, this comic is, to use its own words, a small hope
in the midst of civil war. Instead of simply being another vehicle to progress
the Civil War II story, it uses elements
from that to tell a much better, more personal story of its own. I highly
recommend it, whether you’re following the main series or not.
Aranwe Quirke is a totally real, definitely not made up name. No, you may not see the birth certificate.
Aranwe Quirke is a totally real, definitely not made up name. No, you may not see the birth certificate.
