MS. MARVEL #4 thoughts

[Van Plexico]

Much better. I enjoyed this issue a lot. A big improvement over #3 in every possible way.

I continue to think that Dr. Strange is one of the three or four most entertaining major supporting characters in the MU, along with Nick Fury and maybe Namor.

Carol actually got to have a little physical action (hey now-- nooo, I mean fightin', silly) and also engage in a bit of verbal jousting with at least three different characters, this time around. I do like the personality Reed seems to be giving her, in the issues where she actually has conversations (again, unlike #3).

All things considered, though, this book still has a ways to go to really reach the levels of entertainment and interest it will need to survive. Simply too little happens each issue-- as is the case with a lot of comics, these days, of course-- and what does happen just doesn't quite feel that significant, so far.

Compare MS. MARVEL to MOON KNIGHT, where, in the same space, all sorts of intrigue, mystery, tension, fear, horror, violence, and dread have been conjured up and left hanging off of every panel.

All told, this was a good improvement, but Carol still has a ways to go to be the best of the best.

Van's Rating: **1/2 (out of five)

[The Night Phantom]

Van, I agree with your assessment. #1 was interesting, #s 2 & 3 were a letdown, and #4 gave me hope again. But more hope than excitement, and I consider this series as being on probation. I’ll probably stick around for the Civil War issues (#6–8)—for one thing, the second Spider-Woman is coming—but after that, Ms. M will have to work fast to convince me to stay.

In #4, I enjoyed the appearance of Doctor Strange (he’s a character I don’t have a strong attachment to, yet I enjoy seeing him interacting well with the rest of the MU) and the development of Warren Traveler as a major heavy for Ms. Marvel and possibly Marveldom at large (a potential Doom-like breakout villain). Simultaneously, though, it seems like an awful lot of this early issue is devoted to Strange and Traveler, with Carol entirely absent (four pages) or a relatively passive observer doling out recaps. If I’m to remain reading a comic called Ms. Marvel, I need to be shown why Ms. Marvel herself is worth reading about.