Classic Review: Marvel Masterworks- Ms. Marvel Vol. 1

Quick Summary

Pros: Most of the battles are fun and Ms. Marvel’s powers give them a neat twist. Carol Danvers is a great main character and her personal struggles are compelling. The book is unique to the history of Marvel Comics in multiple ways.

Cons: Many of the volume’s stories flow poorly from one chapter to the next. The approach to feminism is clumsy at times.

Overall: The comic book origin of Ms. Marvel is a series of stories with a lot going for it. It treats readers to Ms. Marvel’s early days as a super hero, detailing adventures that are a bit choppy but still fun to read. The entire volume is also interesting to read from a historical standpoint, as it makes an evolution for this character and for Marvel’s approach to female representation. Anyone with an interest in Ms. Marvel’s early days or Marvel’s early attempts at feminism should consider reading this collection.

Story

With Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel playing such a huge role in Marvel’s modern comic and film landscape, Marvel Masterworks: Ms. Marvel Vol. 1, by Gerry Conway and Chris Claremont, is an entertaining collection of stories that witnesses the debut of Ms. Marvel as a superhero. Half of the comic’s draw comes from its storytelling. This storytelling feels fresh and compelling, whether it is detailing the exploits of Ms. Marvel or the human story of Carol Danvers. The other half of the comic’s draw comes from its place in the history of Marvel Comics. This collection shows the emergence of Ms. Marvel as a hero but also serves as a unique view on Marvel’s early attempts at feminism. Though the volume is flawed in a few places, overall, it is a worthwhile collection that many fans should be able to enjoy.

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The majority of Ms. Marvel has the newly introduced hero going head to head with one villain after the other, in a mostly unconnected series of conflicts. What makes most of these conflicts unique are the vague premonitions Ms. Marvel receives before each battle. From a narrative standpoint, they provide a sneak peek into what is coming up in the chapter and help build suspense leading up to the fight.

The only problem with this series of conflicts is how poorly they flow from one to the next. There are small teases or cliffhanger endings that go unaddressed for entire chapters at a time,\; a few actually end up going completely unaddressed. There are also some places where these teases seem important at the time yet are barely developed into anything worthwhile. Hopefully, the next volume will be able to construct some larger narratives with a bit more appeal.

The rest of Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 focuses on the titular character herself. Though most readers are well aware that Ms. Marvel and Carol Danvers are one and the same, watching these split personalities discover this hidden truth ends up being a more compelling human story than most comics from this era manage to create. It also helps that, towards the volume’s conclusion, some additional drama is added through the introduction of Carol’s parents and the conflicting ideologies they represent.

Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 also has a unique historical draw. Many of the first volumes in the Marvel Masterworks series are intriguing because they allow readers to peek into the early origins of their favorite characters. Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 fits into this category particularly well since her character has evolved so much since being introduced to the comic book landscape. Witnessing her origins as a magazine editor with a schizophrenic superhero identity provides an amazing contrast to the powerful character she is in the modern era.

However, Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 also provides a unique look into Marvel’s early attempts at feminism. If you’ve read any of ComicBookWire’s reviews into the earlier issues of the Avengers or Fantastic Four, you are aware that Marvel’s Silver Age featured several disastrously written female characters. With this in mind, Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 feels like a breath of fresh air. Though it occasionally comes across as clumsy in approaching feminist issues, it at least approaches them in the first place. Plus, Ms. Marvel herself ends up being written well and simply having a female lead like this is a big step.

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Art

The artwork in Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 comes from an impressive and talented array of creators. John Buscema and Sal Buscema both excel in bringing forward energetic action, making the battles here look even better. Jim Mooney is able to craft some wonderfully detailed settings. Carmine Infantino closes the book with a final chapter that still looks nice, even if it matches the book’s tone a little less. All of the artists here also do a great job in handling the subtle visual differences between Ms. Marvel and Carol Danvers, which helps with one of the book’s central plot points.

The only noticeable problem with the artwork is how ridiculous Ms. Marvel’s first costume looks. The weird hole in the front and back of her shirt simply looks strange and makes her costume look ridiculous. Luckily, these holes are patched up about halfway through the book.

Continuity

Marvel Masterworks: Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 is the first volume in the Ms. Marvel series. Though most of the concepts introduced here are new, the book’s main character has her origins in the Captain Marvel series. She played a role in that series from Captain Marvel #1-18, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Vol. 1 (Review) and Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Vol. 2 (Review). However, the important pieces from her role in that series are summarized here and, thus, new readers can feel free to jump into this volume without worry.

The story here continues in Marvel Masterworks: Captain Ms. Marvel Vol. 2 (Review).

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• Scorpion’s animosity toward J. Jonah Jamison started back in Amazing Spider-Man #20, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3.
• Doomsday Man was previously defeated in Silver Surfer #13, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Silver Surfer Vol. 2.
• Grotesk first appeared in X-Men #41-42, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men Vol. 4.
• Modok was recently defeated in Iron Man #70-81, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Iron Man Vol. 10, but regained power in Iron Man Annual #4, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Iron Man Vol. 11. 
• Ms. Marvel #11 references Supernatural Thrillers #10-15.
• Steeplejack’s death is referenced. This death took place in Power Man #18, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Luke Cage, Power Man Vol. 2.