Ms. Marvel #6

Written by Brian Reed

Pencils by Roberto de la Torre

Cover by David Mack

 

Ms. Marvel gets saddled with a Civil War tie-in, and hopefully it’ll help out with the sales. There really isn’t any big ongoing story in Ms. Marvel so the whole focus is on her involvement with the Civil War—she is Pro-Registration for anyone that didn’t know.

 

Funnily enough, this is Reed’s best issue so far, what with two things going on at once for us to sort through. It certainly is the most interesting so far. Part of that may be its unique role of giving us an insight into the heroes that are fighting alongside Iron Man. Spider-Man is too focused on just him and the Fantastic Four comic has the ‘superhero family’ fighting amongst themselves, so this is the de-facto book for looking into those ‘Marvel Heroes’ types.

 

Ms. Marvel and Wonder Man (such great names huh?) meet up with the old West Coast Avengers’ Spider-Woman (the one with the black suit) and each get assignments.

 

Spider-Woman is to go after the Shroud, but she is secretly in love with him and has been acting as a double agent within the Pro-Registration camp, warning Shroud whenever she can. Iron Man has been keen on this for a while now and even got it confirmed by a captured hero. Fight ensues, but the Shroud and Julia escape so that they can be fought by Ms. Marvel and Wonder Man next issue.

 

For Ms. Marvel and Wonder Man’s assignment, they were to go after Araña. They run into her completely by accident when they are buying dinner at a Chicken-Cow where she works. Trivia Time: The Chicken-Cow was once a horrible villain of Spider-Man’s and was truly just a chicken-cow hybrid animal. The ‘accidental run-in’ scene is a tad predictable but cute nonetheless so it really doesn’t detract from the issue.

 

I never followed the horribly marketed Araña, but when did she get an insect-like carapace for a costume? Whatever the reason, she has one here, looking ridiculous and like a B-movie monster. Definitely not a very ‘teen girl’ look for a superhero, the original targeted audience for the character.

 

The issue is decent (like all the Ms. Marvel issues so far) yet it never really gets past that average status. The title isn’t bad, but neither is it all that great. The sales are sliding heavily still, but it isn’t close to being canceled, give it a year.

 

Rating - 6