Magnificent Ms. Marvel #5 Review

Writer: Saladin Ahmed / Artist: Minkyu Jung / Marvel Comics Bonus points to Eduard Petrovitch for a deliciously old school cover revealing the costume change on Magnificent Ms. Marvel #5. It’s a direct tribute to Secret Wars #8 (1984), where Spider-Man gets his Symbiote costume from strange technology on another planet. This week’s cover even mimics the original’s text, “Amid the chaos, there comes a costume”. A great opening to the conclusion of Ahmed and Jung’s first arc. Throughout the issue, Kamala’s inner monologue focuses on death as the prophesied Beast Legion attacks the alien planet, Saffa. Saffa is already under the stress of conflict between factions of the planet, led by the King on one side and his son on the other. The Magnificent Ms. Marvel can hold her own against a few purple beast monsters, especially when they threaten Ammi and Abu. A whole legion spread around a planet is a different story. Cue the forbidden space weapon that will drive you mad if you get too close. Sounds like a Deus Ex Machina to me, but let’s get it! Kamala finds out about the weapon’s origin and how it relates to her own. She also gets her “Spider-Man black glob” moment before saving the day with a giant laser destroying the mothership. As the death-conquering hero returns home, she is confronted by two unexpected twists as death shows it’s never so easily avoided.

This comic did a fine job walking that line between talking about death realistically without being gratuitously macabre…