Ms. Marvel #22 *Spoilers*

[Schuimend Mormel]

The issue's been out for days, why hasn't this been posted earlier? I searched for it, but couldn't find it.

Monster Island, Carol and Cru are lying unconscious, connected physically and mentally as Cru is taking back the parts of her that are in Carol. Carol awakes from the trance and sees a cadre of Brood warriors looming over them. The Brood identify Cru as an enemy, but they don't recognise Carol. Carol rips herself free of Cru's body, but still can't access her powers. She fights off the Brood until she gets hold of one of their blasters and starts shooting. The Brood retreat, but succeed in abducting Cru. However, Cru's consciousness remains within Carol, through residual parts of her body.

On the Helicarrier, Rick Sheridan gets a magnetic disk that allows him to fall asleep for a while so he can activate Sleepwalker at will. Agent Sum pinpoints Carol's location to Monster Island, and Wonder Man says the minicarrier has been repaired so that the Lightning Strike Team can get there, but repairs aren't complete, so they need to travel slowly.

Carol travels to the Brood's lair. The Brood have started infecting Monster Island's Moloids. Cru begins to change Carol's body in her image, much to Carol's chagrin. Cru claims to have every right to take control of Carol, and expresses her resentment of Carol's indecision and refusal to live up to her potential. Carol is locked in her own mind; she sees Cru's memories of the invasion of her home world by the Brood, and also sees visions of Ms. Marvel, Warbird, and Binary. Binary shows her how Cru -after losing her family- volunteered to be turned into a living weapon, a monster. It's not unlike what Carol herself turned into, Binary states, but Carol refuses to see the resemblance.

In the real world, Cru uses Carol's skills (not her superpowers) to battle the Brood, but she loses nevertheless. Carol awakes, still unable to access her powers, and she can't contact Cru anymore either. She is brought before the Brood Queen, who is pleased to have captured her two most dangerous nemeses... but didn't Carol already kill the Queen?!?



A great issue. It just feels like good old-fashioned superhero action and fantasy, and the art by Lopresti is beautiful. The supporting characters didn't hog the spotlight this issue, but they did have some little shining moments. We get a little more of the dichotomy between Carol/Ms. Marvel, and how she experiences this herself; and Cru harshly criticising Carol cut to the core in a way, though Carol seemed to shrug it off for now.

The Brood Queen seems to be crystallised or at least shiny... she was crystallised all those years earlier. Or maybe she's just wearing a different exoskeleton for the occasion.

(Just one minor fail: the Brood says 'So small and pink. This is a human, yes?' AAHHH! We're not all of us pink. I know I'm not. But nevermind, it doesn't ruin the issue.)

This ish was well worth MY money. I'd give it an 8.5 on a scale from one to ten.

[DDM]

Carol's confrontation with the Brood Queen should have happened earlier in the series considering they last met in Contest of Champions 2 when the Brood attempted to transform Carol back into Binary & implant her with a Brood Queen egg.

I loved the Greg Horn cover though.

[Schuimend Mormel]

Carol's confrontation with the Brood Queen should have happened earlier in the series considering they last met in Contest of Champions 2 when the Brood attempted to transform Carol back into Binary & implant her with a Brood Queen egg.

I loved the Greg Horn cover though.

Me too. I especially liked the way he drew Ms. Marvel in her original costume. But that costume seemed to be replacing the Warbird costume on the cover, and it didn't appear when Carol was going through Cru's memories.

Was the Brood Queen in 'Contest...' the Brood Queen (the one that appeared in the original Brood saga reincarnated) or a Brood Queen? I was under the impression that Brood -like bees- breed new queens. I mean, Carol faced a second queen the issue right after she defeated the first one, so why would she be so surprised to see another Brood Queen?

I loved the short battles of Carol -and later Cru- vs. the Brood in this issue. I like the idea that, even without her powers, Carol is in perfect physical shape because of the bonding of Kree DNA to hers.

[Fatguy]

I liked the issue, as I usually do. I'm kinda glad that Lopresti is going to be leaving the book here soon though. I dont have any real issue with him, his art is solid enough, but he's pretty unexciting. Especially with action sequences.

I wonder who they'll ending up replacing him with.

[Harlock]

I enjoyed the issue. I am happy to see Carol out away from her team. I hope the team doesn't end up rushing in at the last minute to save her. I'd rather see Ms. Marvel kick some ass.

[Will.S]

I don't know, the art is good and the writing is decent but it doesn't really do anything for me. Especially with the recurring Cru stuff, I may decide to drop the book and maybe just get it for some of the Secret Invasion tie-ins since Brian Reed is good with the Skrull stuff.

[Monty_Cristo]

i wasn't too interested in this particular story arc. i've seen all of the Aliens movies, so the Brood don't really hold my interest for very long. and Cru is just too alien for me to empathize with as a villain. i still like Carol but i think i'll sit this one out.

[Tobias Drake]

I'm actually more interested in the team. Sleepwalker is kinda forgettable in that I often forget he is present :p, but Arana, Aaron, and Agent Sum hold my interest more than Carol herself, oddly enough. This feels, to me, like a title carried more by the supporting cast than by the lead.

[Omega Alpha]

Brian Reed is good with characters, but his plots are awful. I'll probably end up dropping this book.

[Schuimend Mormel]

i've seen all of the Aliens movies, so the Brood don't really hold my interest for very long.

The funny thing for me is, when I saw the cliffhanger of the previous issue, thought 'Oh, look, the Brood. YAWN!' But then, somewhat surprisingly, they didn't bore me when I read this issue. I liked the naiveté some of them seemed to display. Though I saw the Brood Queen coming from miles away.

I'm actually more interested in the team. Sleepwalker is kinda forgettable in that I often forget he is present :p, but Arana, Aaron, and Agent Sum hold my interest more than Carol herself, oddly enough. This feels, to me, like a title carried more by the supporting cast than by the lead.

That's an often-heard sentiment. I would like to know why that is.

I think the story wouldn't suffer if Sleepwalker and Machine Man moved on to do other things, though I like both of them. Wonder Man is awesome, but the occasional guest appearance should suffice. Araña being Carol's young ward is something I am very fond of, however.
Ms. Marvel is -apart from Iron Man- the highest profile pro-registration superhero. I think Reed is successful in portraying the humanity and moral struggle of a pro-reg superhero, and helps make her viewpoint a bit easier to sympathise with.

[DDM]

Was the Brood Queen in 'Contest...' the Brood Queen (the one that appeared in the original Brood saga reincarnated) or a Brood Queen? I was under the impression that Brood -like bees- breed new queens. I mean, Carol faced a second queen the issue right after she defeated the first one, so why would she be so surprised to see another Brood Queen?

As Binary, Carol killed millions of Brood since she is responsible for releasing the Acanti's Soul from the Brood planet. Since the Brood Queen was transformed into crystal then completely obliterated, leaves little room for her being kept alive somehow.

I believe the Brood Queen she faced in Contest of Champions 2 is a separate Brood Queen. The Brood Queens may have shared memories in some way that may have not been revealed.

I'm not sure about the current Brood Queen. Brian Reed has a very shaky grasp of Carol's character; therefore, I'm not surprised Ms. Marvel's villains are stupid such as Cru, the Puppet Master, etc al.



I like the idea that, even without her powers, Carol is in perfect physical shape because of the bonding of Kree DNA to hers.

This was established in Uncanny X-Men #158 by Doctor Moira MacTaggert & Doctor Corbeau after running several tests on Carol against the Starjammers.

[DDM]

Brian Reed is good with characters, but his plots are awful. I'll probably end up dropping this book.

Ms. Marvel is going in a completely new direction with Ms. Marvel #25. I'm not sure if Brian Reed is off the book though.

[mikekerr3]

I'm liking this.Here she can be a sympathetic hero. In the CW she spent too much time following her orders not her soul. I like Sleepwalker a lot also as a hero who is forced to serve under her who ties his best anyway.

[Harlock]

I'm actually more interested in the team. Sleepwalker is kinda forgettable in that I often forget he is present :p, but Arana, Aaron, and Agent Sum hold my interest more than Carol herself, oddly enough. This feels, to me, like a title carried more by the supporting cast than by the lead.

I am just the opposite. I wish we'd start seeing less of the supporting cast. In particular Sleepwalker and Machine Man. I can see Carol fulfilling the mentor roll with Arana and frankly, Agent Sum just has my curiosity piqued at this point. I am hoping we can get back to Carol's dubious PR agent and the handsome guy she was dating.

[Harlock]

Ms. Marvel is going in a completely new direction with Ms. Marvel #25. I'm not sure if Brian Reed is off the book though.

Oh, I hadn't heard anything. What's the scoop?

[schmevil]

Oh, I hadn't heard anything. What's the scoop?

The rumor is a new creative team, but the actual announcement was that the book would be going in a different direction. For one, the Greg Horn covers are gone, which is fantastic news in my opinion. Horn's Carol looks like a soft-core porn star with a pathological fear of washing her hair.

[Harlock]

The rumor is a new creative team, but the actual announcement was that the book would be going in a different direction. For one, the Greg Horn covers are gone, which is fantastic news in my opinion. Horn's Carol looks like a soft-core porn star with a pathological fear of washing her hair.

This has me awaiting the next Marvel previews with a nice dose of anticipation then!

[drwho]

Forget about Carol. Did SleepWalker do anything this issue? I dont see what is wrong with the current direction. The only character that sucks is Ms. Marvel and she is the star of the book. Agent Sum is even more interesting than her.

[DDM]

Forget about Carol. Did SleepWalker do anything this issue? I dont see what is wrong with the current direction. The only character that sucks is Ms. Marvel and she is the star of the book. Agent Sum is even more interesting than her.

Hence, the new direction for Ms. Marvel in #25...

Ms. Marvel should be a blend of action adventure & pure Science Fiction considering her link with the original Captain Marvel. The concept should be with broad strokes to give Carol enough stories to last at least 50-60 issues with a mix of old villains (between Carol's Ms. Marvel, original Avenger days, & her time with the X-Men & Starjammers as Binary) & new ones.

Brian Reed seems to be just burning the paper he writes on with no real purpose.

[drwho]

Perhaps they should give Chris Claremont a shot on this book. :evilsmile

[DDM]

Perhaps they should give Chris Claremont a shot on this book. :evilsmile

Chris Claremont would more than likely write Ms. Marvel again if given the chance. He does like Carol Danvers. Claremont would be 100 times better than Brian Reed...

[Fatguy]

Claremont would be 100 times better than Brian Reed...

That sentence burned my eyes to read.

[davros42]

I'm actually more interested in the team. Sleepwalker is kinda forgettable in that I often forget he is present :p, but Arana, Aaron, and Agent Sum hold my interest more than Carol herself, oddly enough. This feels, to me, like a title carried more by the supporting cast than by the lead.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

Seriously, I only get like one page of Aaron in this book? Lame. We've already done doppelganger Ms. Marvels at various points in her career at least twice already. Write her out and let the others have a shot.

[XPac]

Seriously... there are times I honestly feel the Ms. Marvel book would be more interesting without Ms. Marvel in it.

She's only doing a so-so job in keeping my attention.

[DDM]

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

Seriously, I only get like one page of Aaron in this book? Lame. We've already done doppelganger Ms. Marvels at various points in her career at least twice already. Write her out and let the others have a shot.

Seriously... there are times I honestly feel the Ms. Marvel book would be more interesting without Ms. Marvel in it.

She's only doing a so-so job in keeping my attention.

However, the book is called Ms. Marvel. Brian Reed has been wrong for Ms. Marvel from the beginning due to his wrong villains & writing the right villains--such as the Brood--all wrong. He seems to possess no clear vision for the Ms. Marvel. When the supporting characters are more interesting the main character, something is terribly wrong with the book's direction. "The Best of Best" theme is not right for Carol Danvers. And I don't like the idea of her identity being publicly known as well (with the plethora of most of the other heroes becoming publicly known & less heroic in the process).

I think that is why the book is going to get a major revamp as of Ms. Marvel #25.

[Alphaxman]

Well I find Coral interesting. I find her a conflicted hero who second guesses herself a lot. That is what the alien that is bonded to her said. It’s hard for her to have a direction because she never was someone whom stayed on one course for a long period of time.
She was the Chief of Tactical Operations and superhuman liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, a former freelance writer and magazine editor, the former Security Chief of Cape Canaveral, and a retired US Air Force Colonel and CIA operative. That’s a lot of jobs. And high powered jobs at that.
And she didn’t have an emotional connection with anything on Earth. Every since she rejoined the Avengers she has steadily tried to find her way and I think that’s interesting to see.

[Mark_S]

Ms Marvel is kind of intersting to me because before cw I wasn't too fond of Carol and after cw I really didn't like her at all. I started picking up her title in the hopes that she would be beaten up a lot, and I was disapointed when the Puppet Master didn't make her a slave for more than a few pages.
On the other hand the book is so well written I can pick it up for the stories and the supporting cast even if nothing bad happens to Carol. I'm growing very fond of Machine Man/Woman and some of the others.

Mark_S

[Monty_Cristo]

if Carol is going back to the Binary look full-time, i really think she should start grooming Suzanna Sherman as the runner-up-Ms. Marvel. they've got too much in common not to be in some kind of mentor-mentoree relationship. it would make more sense than her instructing Arana (although i like the character being around).

However, the book is called Ms. Marvel. Brian Reed has been wrong for Ms. Marvel from the beginning due to his wrong villains & writing the right villains--such as the Brood--all wrong. He seems to possess no clear vision for the Ms. Marvel. When the supporting characters are more interesting the main character, something is terribly wrong with the book's direction. "The Best of Best" theme is not right for Carol Danvers. And I don't like the idea of her identity being publicly known as well (with the plethora of most of the other heroes becoming publicly known & less heroic in the process).

I think that is why the book is going to get a major revamp as of Ms. Marvel #25.


would you buy it if Tamora Pierce were writing? just curious, because i thought her "voice" was completely wrong for White Tiger was possibly suited for Carol.

The rumor is a new creative team, but the actual announcement was that the book would be going in a different direction.

i'm crossing my fingers that she doesn't become a bail bondsperson.

[DDM]

It’s hard for her to have a direction because she never was someone whom stayed on one course for a long period of time.
She was the Chief of Tactical Operations and superhuman liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, a former freelance writer and magazine editor, the former Security Chief of Cape Canaveral, and a retired US Air Force Colonel and CIA operative. That’s a lot of jobs. And high powered jobs at that.
And she didn’t have an emotional connection with anything on Earth. Every since she rejoined the Avengers she has steadily tried to find her way and I think that’s interesting to see.

Carol Danvers still has a direction if you have been following her character development from Ms. Marvel #1-23, The Avengers #183-200, Avengers Annual #10, Uncanny X-Men #150-174, etc al. After Rogue destroyed Carol's life by absorbing the totality of her psyche & powers into herself to the point Ms. Marvel, ironically, existed as the second distinct personality deep within Rogue's mind; therefore, Carol has to still deal with not possessing any emotional connection to Earth & her family. Carol's memories & emotions all belong to Rogue until the "Ms. Marvel" psyche was given flesh from the Siege Perilous & died in Uncanny X-Men #269. Carol should still feel disconnected from the Avengers & her family. True, Carol can move on with her life, but it will NEVER be the same again. The same applies to Rogue.

As Binary, Carol's warrior skills came up as she mercilessly killed any Brood she encountered. Carol knows she's one of the best. I think one of Carol's book themes should be trying to rebuild her life on Earth with the shadow of what Rogue did to her in Avengers Annual #10. I think Carol can never have closure since Carol's soul was ripped to shreds by Rogue. In many ways, it would have been better for Carol to have died that day.

if Carol is going back to the Binary look full-time, i really think she should start grooming Suzanna Sherman as the runner-up-Ms. Marvel. they've got too much in common not to be in some kind of mentor-mentoree relationship. it would make more sense than her instructing Arana (although i like the character being around).

I would prefer Carol to have full access to her cosmic powers as Binary & being able to shift into her cosmic form at will while still using her halved Binary powers as well as Ms. Marvel.

I hope the next writer makes it clear Ms. Marvel is dead since her encounter with Rogue in Avengers Annual #10. She may keep the Ms. Marvel name, but she still uses her halved powers of Binary.


would you buy it if Tamora Pierce were writing? just curious, because i thought her "voice" was completely wrong for White Tiger was possibly suited for Carol.

I'm not familiar with Tamora Pierce.

[schmevil]

i'm crossing my fingers that she doesn't become a bail bondsperson.

*shudder*

Ms. Marvel should be a blend of action adventure & pure Science Fiction considering her link with the original Captain Marvel. The concept should be with broad strokes to give Carol enough stories to last at least 50-60 issues with a mix of old villains (between Carol's Ms. Marvel, original Avenger days, & her time with the X-Men & Starjammers as Binary) & new ones.

I don't think there's anything wrong with Reed's stories, per se, but there's definitely something missing. Ms. Marvel doesn't have to be a Sci Fi book - Carol's time in the Avengers proved that the character works in a range of situations.

Reed's Traveler arc had a lot of fish out of water potential - she has all this power but it's not especially effective against a magician. It forced her to use her brain and her contacts, not just her fists.

I've also enjoyed Carol trying to fit into a military organization. She left the Air Force on bad terms and though she's worked with the DoD and Homeland Security, she hasn't been rank and file since her NASA days. Being an Avenger is very different from being a soldier. I'd love to see more of the fallout from the book she wrote about NASA - is she seen as a whistleblower? an outsider?

Anyway, that's all to say that I don't think you have to stick her in space, regardless of whether she goes Binary again. Even at cosmic levels she works well on earth because she's a pragmatic thinker, not a dreamer. She's extremely down to earth. ;-)

[DDM]

I don't think there's anything wrong with Reed's stories, per se, but there's definitely something missing. Ms. Marvel doesn't have to be a Sci Fi book - Carol's time in the Avengers proved that the character works in a range of situations.

Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel & even The Avengers are heavily dipped in Science Fiction given the nature of their enemies such as the Supreme Intelligence, Ronan the Accuser, all the time travelers from Kang, Immortus, & the Scarlet Centurian...

Reed's Traveler arc had a lot of fish out of water potential - she has all this power but it's not especially effective against a magician. It forced her to use her brain and her contacts, not just her fists.

Traveler is a poor man's evil Doctor Strange.