Ms. Marvel gets a serious case of the fangirls

As it turns out, a new superhero stretching her legs in Jersey City attracts a bit of attention from other heroes, as Kamala realizes in Ms. Marvel Volume 2: Generation Why.

Note: Ms. Marvel Volume 2: Generation Why is the second volume in a series. For the review of Volume 1: No Normal, click here. Otherwise, read on!

Redemption, loyalty, and a terrible choice

Doctor Stephen Strange is one of those oddball superheroes that the mainstream moviegoer might not have heard of. Trained as a doctor, and once one of the most skilled surgeons in the world, a car accident stole the steadiness of his hands from him. As he searched for a cure for himself, he met Earth's Sorcerer Supreme and apprenticed under him. Now, a slightly more humble man, he uses his new found skills to aid the Avengers in their mission to protect the Earth.

In Doctor Strange: The Oath, we meet Strange in Night Nurse's waiting room. Someone's shot him, but that's not Strange's biggest worry. His assistant, partner and friend Wong is dying, and even Strange is wondering whether he'll be able to save him.

The story goes backwards and forwards in time, showing the reader his arrogance and disregard for the suffering of those around him, the accident that sent Strange down his new path towards sorcery, and more recent events as he's searched for a cure for Wong.

And Strange is so very close to a cure. The elixir that he traveled to another dimension to find is said to 'erase what troubles the mind of man." But what if this doesn't simply cure Wong's tumor? What if it is the cure for everything?

And what if some people don't want everything cured?

Brian K Vaughan is one of the most popular comic writers in recent years, and with good reason. After wrapping up an amazing run with Y: The Last Man, he started his award-winning series Saga. With The Oath, Vaughan brings his amazing characterization and storytelling to a character who has quite a bit of depth to him. The Oath is a wonderful introduction to a character who is Earth's greatest defender against all that the other dimensions can throw at us.

Highs: Night Nurse deserves her own comic, hands down.

Lows: I'm glad how the story eventually resolved, but I wish Strange would eventually grow out of a bit more of his selfishness.

Verdict: The Oath is a great place for new fans to start, especially those wanting to get a feeling for the character before the movie comes out.

Further Reading: Ms. Marvel, Loki: Agent of Asaguard, Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers

A new superhero debuts!

Everyone is used to the X-Men addressing issues of alienation and rejection, of feeling like a freak and not fitting in. But there are more ways to not fit in than to be crawling up the walls or calling the weather. 

Nowadays, perhaps one of the most common problems facing teens and their parents is the dilemma of the first-generation American immigrant. As the parents do their best to raise their children in the culture that they themselves grew up in, the kids are torn in a different direction by their peers. Marvel takes this on, with remarkable results, in Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal.

In most ways, Kamala Khan is just a normal teenager growing up in Jersey City. She bickers with her protective parents and older brother, she sneaks out her window to go to parties, and she writes Avengers fanfic. She struggles with blending her Muslim religion with the secular culture of America, and has friends who support her whatever she chooses. She has a pretty decent life, and she knows it.

But while she's out at that illicit party (with BOYS), she's exposed to the Terrigen Mist, and everything changes. Now, she has powers she can't control, a new responsibility to protect those around her, and no idea how to go about it.

And she's grounded.

Ms. Marvel Volume 1 shows us perhaps the most relatable superhero in comics today. G. Willow Wilson brings a fresh perspective to comics, and her empathy shows. Kamala is neither a caricature of a rebellious Muslim girl, nor a perfect daughter. She is a human being, with all the flaws that brings, and the reader loves her all the more for it. Bringing to light social issues without beating the reader over the head with them, and showcasing the most human characters I've read recently in any medium, Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal is a comic with broad appeal.

Highs: Watching Kamala make her costume (with puffy paint!) is absolutely excellent.

Lows: The villains are fairly one-dimensional so far, but there will be plenty of room for them to develop later.

Verdict: This is a comic that no one, even those who aren't as familiar with superheroes in general, should miss.

Further Reading: Alif the Unseen, The Complete Persepolis, Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers

When one of their own goes missing, the Avengers assemble

When the Pet Avengers Throgg leave this plane, they assemble to find their lost comrade in Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed.

Note:  Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed is the sequel to Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers.  The review of Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers is here.  Otherwise, read on!

Who said that superheroes needed to be humaniods?

Superheroes team up all the time.  Marvel has The X-Men and The Avengers.  Likewise, DC generally has a Justice League and a Justice Society active, with revolving rosters of members.  Even the sidekicks occasionally strike out on their own, forming the Teen Titans and Young Justice and the like.  But why should the humanoids be the only ones with friends?  And so, The Pet Avengers was born.

Meet the Pet Avengers!  When Mr. Fantastic goes to the Inhumans  to look for the Infinity Gems, Lockjaw happens to have found the Intelligence Gem.  With his boosted smarts, he decides to go find the Gems for Mr. Fantastic himself.  But he knows that he'll need help, so he goes and finds more Avengers to help him.

Enter Throgg.  Formerly a human, he was turned into a frog by a gypsy and took on the name Puddlegulp.  He found a shard of Thor's hammer, and used it to help defend his colony of frogs from a group of rats.  Taking on the mantle of Thor, and using the name Throg, he is the first animal Lockjaw goes to for help.  Because of the Intelligence Gem, Lockjaw is able to project his thoughts to Throg, who becomes the second-in-command and voice of Lockjaw.

Hairball is another of the more outgoing members of The Pet Avengers.  The pet of Speedball, he too has the power of kinetic energy.  He also has the traditional hatred of dogs (except Lockjaw) that a cat has.  

So, of course, Lockjaw includes the rather...airheaded Ms. Lion.  Ms. Lion means well, but as simply the puppy owned by Peter Parker's aunt May, he doesn't have the intelligence or powers of the rest of the team.  His heart is in the right place, though, and if the intelligence-augmented Lockjaw says that he's needed, he must have a role to play in all this, too.

Along with Kitty Pryde's companion dragon Lockheed and the falcon Redwing, the Pet Avengers head off to find the rest of the Infinity Gems.  They end up travelling to all sorts of places, thanks to Lockjaw's teleportation powers, from the underwater domain of Sub-Mariner to the Savage Lands.  Along the way, in the spirit of team-ups of any species, the learn to appreciate each other and work together as a unit.  It may have started as a novelty, but the Pet Avengers certainly end up deserving their place in the Marvel universe.

Being compressed into a four-issue miniseries, the story of searching out the gems itself gets a bit lost under the banter and character development of our team.  A few points get a bit confusing, but the ride is fun enough to go along with it.  What is almost better is the one-shots that follow, which each deal with a different Pet Avenger on their own.  Watching Throg go back to his colony and see how having a protector has affected them is one of the best issues in the book. 

Following the one-shots is an encyclopedia of Marvel animals.  The reading is a bit dry, but it's certainly a reference that Marvel fans might want to have.  Some entries are more interesting than others, but it's a great place to pick up the little bits of trivia that fans love.

Highs:  Ms. Lion's introduction to the team.  And the clarification of his gender.

Lows:  Without a general idea of who the pets 'belong' to (and the term pet is used rather loosely here), some of the subtext is lost.

Verdict:  A hilarious, fun treat that comes along once in a great while.

Further Reading:  GLA - Great Lakes Avengers #1 (Misassembled)