Ms. Marvel, Vol. 9: Teenage Wasteland

Summary from Goodreads:

Kamala Khan has vanished! But where has she gone, and why? Jersey City still has a need for heroes, and in the wake of Ms. Marvel's disappearance, dozens have begun stepping up to the plate. The city's newest super hero Red Dagger and even ordinary citizens attempt to carry on the brave fight in Kamala's honor. Somehow, Ms. Marvel is nowhere...but also everywhere at once! Absent but not forgotten, Ms. Marvel has forged a heroic legacy to be proud of. But when an old enemy re-emerges, will anyone be powerful enough to truly carry the Ms. Marvel legacy - except Kamala herself?

Review:

This was not my favorite installment. It kind of reads like the okay necessary book 2 of a series. It’s the filler that has to happen for the rest of the story to fully take place. Kamala is MIA for the first half of the book. Her friends all step in to make it seem like Jersey City is still protected. They dress as Ms. Marvel, fight off easy villains dressed as her, and work together to do their part. That being said, they are not her, and all look a little worse for wear.

A review I read on Goodreads really summed up how I felt about this whole part of the story well. It’s kind of like that episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where the Scoobies all fill in, attacking vampires, when Buffy is MIA. They are nowhere near as good as she is at defending Sunnydale, but they feel obligated to do something. And this all works fine until a super big villain comes to play, and it becomes clear that Buffy, or the real Ms. Marvel seriously needs to come back.

I think this part of the book was meant to be fun and kind of fluffy, and it kind of was. I just wasn’t that invested in the story. It wasn’t holding me captivated and took me a few-sit downs to finish. I was hooked though when Kamala comes back. And so does Bruno!  There’s this super fun, almost love triangle moment between Kamala, Bruno, and Red Dagger. Oh, and another triangle with Bruno’s ex. I loved all these YA-type moments.

Kamala also becomes an aunt in this installment. She goes to a religious leader for some clarity. And she has a serious discussion with Bruno. It’s a book of homecomings, of talking things through, and I guess of growing up a bit and taking charge of one’s own responsibilities. I ended up liking the second half of this installment a lot more than the first. It held all of the deeper stuff, I’ve come to expect from the plot. Some stuff does finally get resolved. Though, of course there’s still so much romantic stuff that’s left wide open, keeping me hooked.

All in all, I give this one an 8/10. And I definitely look forward to continuing my reading of this fun comic.