Well, the cat’s out of the transparent bag. Ms. Marvel from Marvel Comics will be resurrected a mere three months after she died in Amazing Spider-Man #26 in a new mini-series called MS. MARVEL: THE NEW MUTANT.
Ms. Marvel’s return to life and the announcement of a new, self-titled mini-series isn’t shocking in and of itself. What IS shocking is just how poorly her death was orchestrated, how obvious her resurrection would be, and the major spoiler contained in the new comic’s title, which proved the most basic fan theory surrounding a change to the character’s nature.
In effect, the biggest surprise about this announcement is how unsurprising it is.
Ms. Marvel’s Death
To understand how we got her, let’s recap how it all began. I promise this will be brief.
The “What Did Peter Do?” arc began in Amazing Spider-Man #1 when Zeb Wells took over the writing duties from Nick Spencer under the direction of the now-infamous Nick Lowe as editor. As the arc progressed over ~thirteen months, no clues were given as to how it would end, but as the arc neared its conclusion, Marvel touted the finale as the most shocking development in Spider-Man history since the death of Gwen Stacy.
The ending of the “What Did Peter Do?” arc was a shocker but for all the wrong reasons. Ms. Marvel was stabbed in the back during the climactic battle with Rabin. Her death ended the fight, but no matter which angle you look at the sequence of events, Ms. Marvel’s death came out of nowhere through a case of mistaken identity. There wasn’t anything particularly heroic or self-sacrificial about it.
The big reveal created quite a backlash for Marvel for a number of reasons.
- Ms. Marvel appeared briefly and on sparse occasions during the arc, having no pertinence to anything Spider-Man was going through. It looked like Ms. Marvel was killed in ASM to give her death attention when she isn’t popular enough to sustain her own title.
- Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man have no deep connection to each other. They don’t know each other’s identities, and they’ve only fought side-by-side on a few occasions in group combat.
- Again, Ms. Marvel’s death could rightly be described as accidental since she didn’t see it coming and would have no way of knowing her death would stop the villain, effectively eliminating the “hero’s sacrifice” label.
- And for you culture warriors out there, the death came during AAPI Heritage Month. Not a good look for Marvel, which publicly presents a posture of cultural awareness and sensitivity.
There are many more problems with how the “What Did Peter Do?” arc ended, but those are the big points related to Ms. Marvel. So the question that pops up in the midst of Marvel’s mess is, “Why!?”
Synergy with the MCU
The answer to the “Why!?” question becomes obvious and predictable when you look at what’s happening with Ms. Marvel outside of comics.
In comics, Ms. Marvel is Inhuman, but for whatever reason, in Ms. Marvel’s Disney+ series of the same name, the origins of her powers are described as a “Mutation.”
In comics, Ms. Marvel is now dead, but The Marvels film, which co-stars Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, is set to release on November 10th, 2023. That’s the same month Marvel will publish the above-mentioned mini-series finale issue.
In comics, Ms. Marvel’s powers are “stretchy,” similar to Reed Richards but not exactly so, but in the Disney+ show starring Ms. Marvel, her powers are crystal constructs, as you might expect from a Green Lantern (but pinkish/purplish). It’s unclear why the Disny+ series chose to change the origin of Ms. Marvel’s power or how they work. Theories range from “stretchy powers look uncool for a teenaged girl” to “she would look too much like Reed Richards, which will create confusion with an eventual Fantastic Four film” to “stretchy special effects are too costly for a streaming show.”
In effect, the MCU version of Ms. Marvel is significantly different than the comic version of Ms. Marvel. The obvious reason Ms. Marvel’s death would be hastily concocted and executed would be to create a scenario in the comics where Ms. Marvel could be changed to align with her MCU version.
The Obvious Strategy
When you put those external pieces together, you can practically map out Marvel’s editorial strategy without stepping one toe in their New York headquarters.
Ms. Marvel isn’t a popular-enough character to maintain her own ongoing comic. Ever since Marvel’s editorial allowed Ms. Marvel to engage in unsavory behavior during the events of Civil War II, her popularity has never recovered to the levels she reached during her debut series.
Marvel’s editorial needed a way to bring the comic version of Ms. Marvel into alignment with the MCU version of Ms. Marvel, so they concoct a scenario where Ms. Marvel could be killed and reborn.
Ms. Marvel’s death is rushed through in Amazing Spider-Man #26, using Spider-Man’s popularity to bring attention to her death.
Like clockwork, Ms. Marvel will be resurrected in the comics using Krakoan (read: Mutant) technology to make her a mutant (just like the MCU), to revise her powers (just like the MCU), and right on time for her movie premiere… in the MCU.
Almost immediately after Ms. Marvel’s death was made public in Amazing Spider-Man #26, you could see this strategy coming from a mile away, dispelling any sense of anticipation or surprise.
Yes, Ms. Marvel’s death scene was a surprise. The reasons behind it are not. Once the shock wore off and readers applied the slightest amount of critical thinking to the bigger picture, Ms. Marvel’s death lost all impact and meaning.
You could easily predict Ms. Marvel would be resurrected.
You could easily predict when and how Ms. Marvel would be resurrected.
And, you could easily predict how Ms. Marvel would be changed as a result of her resurrection.
This week’s announcement turned those predictions into fact, so the only surprise in this whole mess is how Marvel’s editorial thought anyone would believe Ms. Marvel’s death would stick.
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