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A review by saucy_bookdragon
Ms. Marvel, Vol. 6: Civil War II by G. Willow Wilson
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Here we see the Ms. Marvel series getting disrupted by a crossover storyline that was only created to tie into the bullshit movie Captain America: Civil War.
I really liked how Ms. Marvel came to a roadblock with her friends in this volume, it makes sense as she's continually sidelining them for superhero business. I also liked that this volume dealt with Partition and Kamala's family back in Pakistan and I hope we get more about the Khans in later volumes. And Zoe's coming out is going to be living in my head rent free from now on.
However, the Civil War II storyline is shoved in so awkwardly. I really liked how volume four managed to tie into Secret Wars because it felt like an event, handled like the apocalypse and with everyone in character. Kamala being so pro-Captain Marvel went on way longer than it should've. The story wants to deal with police profiling, but isn't willing to give it the time or depth needed. It's also a bit odd to make a Muslim character the one profiling people given the history of the US profiling Muslims, also odd that it's not taken seriously as profiling until a white guy gets profiled, though I suppose it's realistic that it wouldn't be cared about until a white guy gets hurt.
There's also the fact that Civil War II is driven by a false dichotomy. Why is it either use Ulysses to arrest people before they commit a crime or just not use him? What about using him for restorative justice? What about using his visions to find the criminals, figure out why they're considering crime, and find the peaceful option to stop it? What about instead of arresting people they minimized the danger and moved people away from places of catastrophe? Who's the third team, cause neither Carol nor Tony are right.
With all that said, a falling out between Kamala and Carol does make sense given Kamala's relationship with Carol is parasocial. It could be a 'never meet your heroes' kinda thing. Civil War II could've worked too as a thought experiment into how would criminal justice look if you could correctly predict crime. But it needed to be done without interrupting the flow of the Ms. Marvel story and it needed to be given more time to flesh out.
I really liked how Ms. Marvel came to a roadblock with her friends in this volume, it makes sense as she's continually sidelining them for superhero business. I also liked that this volume dealt with Partition and Kamala's family back in Pakistan and I hope we get more about the Khans in later volumes. And Zoe's coming out is going to be living in my head rent free from now on.
However, the Civil War II storyline is shoved in so awkwardly. I really liked how volume four managed to tie into Secret Wars because it felt like an event, handled like the apocalypse and with everyone in character. Kamala being so pro-Captain Marvel went on way longer than it should've. The story wants to deal with police profiling, but isn't willing to give it the time or depth needed. It's also a bit odd to make a Muslim character the one profiling people given the history of the US profiling Muslims, also odd that it's not taken seriously as profiling until a white guy gets profiled, though I suppose it's realistic that it wouldn't be cared about until a white guy gets hurt.
There's also the fact that Civil War II is driven by a false dichotomy. Why is it either use Ulysses to arrest people before they commit a crime or just not use him? What about using him for restorative justice? What about using his visions to find the criminals, figure out why they're considering crime, and find the peaceful option to stop it? What about instead of arresting people they minimized the danger and moved people away from places of catastrophe? Who's the third team, cause neither Carol nor Tony are right.
With all that said, a falling out between Kamala and Carol does make sense given Kamala's relationship with Carol is parasocial. It could be a 'never meet your heroes' kinda thing. Civil War II could've worked too as a thought experiment into how would criminal justice look if you could correctly predict crime. But it needed to be done without interrupting the flow of the Ms. Marvel story and it needed to be given more time to flesh out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Islamophobia