Teenagers are easily influenced by the people they idolize, and Kamala “Ms. Marvel” Khan is no exception. As part of Civil War II, Carol “Captain Marvel” Danvers asked Kamala to lead a group of Carol Cadets responsible for bringing in people prophesied to commit crimes in the future, and despite Kamala’s misgivings about the mission, she went ahead and joined Carol’s teen Gestapo. It was an obvious mistake (pretty much all of Civil War II is based around obvious mistakes that make the characters look foolish), but unlike Carol, Kamala has seen the error of her ways and refuses to continue participating. Kamala is fighting back against the Carol Cadets in next week’s Ms. Marvel #10, and it’s refreshing to see at least one of the Marvels get her act together and realize the flaws in her recent actions.
Writer G. Willow Wilson has embraced the profiling metaphor at the heart of Civil War II to explore the personal impact of Captain Marvel’s actions in this tie-in arc, and she’s managed to bring much more nuance and emotion to the conflict than the main miniseries. Artists Adrian Alphona and Takeshi Miyazawa split art duties on this arc, with Alphona drawing touching flashbacks exploring the life of Kamala’s ancestors in Pakistan while Miyazawa draws the superhero action in the present, and these issues have showcased just how well these artists fit with Wilson’s writing. The series has survived its Civil War II crossover without losing sight of what makes it engaging, and even though Kamala’s relationship with her idol has taken a bit of a hit, maybe a split from Carol Danvers is exactly what Kamala needs to continue her own heroic evolution.