Ms. Marvel (2015) #25

Previously in Ms. Marvel #24

Confession: I had to take a bit of a break from comic books. A few of the titles I’d been reading weren’t as good as they’d once been and Marvel’s latest event left me fatigued. After the completion of the fantastic Destroyer by Victor LaValle, I let go of some of my subscriptions and decided I’d start again after the holidays.

Boy, am I glad this issue of Ms. Marvel welcomed me back. It had everything I love about the series (except Kamala Khan), and was genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. The fact that this issue had all of the heart you’ve come to expect from the series without featuring the main character is a testament to the wonderful supporting characters created by G. Willow Wilson.

As the Legacy event attempts to get to the core of what it means to carry the title of Iron-Man, She-Hulk, Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, etc., Ms. Marvel nails what makes its hero so special. Kamala has gone off for some much-needed self reflection away from her duties fighting crime. In her stead, her friends have decided to take care of that responsibility on their own (without even knowing that while covering the missing Ms. Marvel, they’re covering for Kamala). It doesn’t matter that they don’t have superpowers; their love for their city and the willingness to protect it is all they need.

However, not everyone is content to let the real Ms. Marvel have her Me Time. Red Dagger feels responsible for her absence since the last time he saw her their encounter was pretty cold. And Kamala’s classmate Naftali goes as far as questioning her brother Aamir — who’s busy moving and preparing for the arrival of his new baby — about her absence from school. Wonder if anyone will piece together that both Kamala and Ms. Marvel are MIA at the same time.