Ms. Marvel #18 Review

Writer: G. Willow Wilson / Artists: Francesco Gaston, Ian Herring / Marvel Comics I have been waiting for the “What’s Bruno doing in Wakanda” issue for, what…8 issues now? Now we know. He’s been schooling up in Golden City Polytechnic Prep, studying engineering. How are things going for the only white boy in school?

Not so good. Remember that in the course of helping Kamala fight the junior Captain Marvel corp during Civil War II, Bruno was caught in an explosion and permanently lost the use of his left arm and leg (Issue #10-11). Here In issue #18, a story that is usually about a Pakistani-American learning to be happy in New Jersey is now about an Italian-American learning to be happy in Wakanda. Wilson brings the same themes and the same attitude to bear, letting the reader grow with Bruno as what he assumes to be true at the beginning doesn’t hold up by the end. Being the go-along to get-along type, Bruno quickly gets wrapped up in his roommate Kwezi’s pursuit of a girlfriend, which, mysteriously, involves breaking into the local Golden City Advanced Research center.

Woven into this adventure are tidbits of Wakandan history and culture, references to their famous arrogance and demonstrations of their science. If you’re the Ms Marvel fan who isn’t reading Black Panther, this is a good introduction to the outlines of the Golden City (Birnin Zana to the locals), and an invitation to pick up that comic as well. (We’ll just overlook the fact that you may not be reading BP…