Ms Marvel: Crushed

In the third volume, Kamala deals with first love, first betrayal, and a sudden expansion to her world view. The first issue takes place at the Valentine's Day dance, which Bruno invites her to and Loki crashes. There's some really cute stuff about the disappointment of finding out that your best friend doesn't want to be romantically involved and how friendship isn't a zone to try and get out of, but a great thing in its own right.

Then the book moves on to the bulk of the story, which introduces an old friend of Kamala's family. A good, smart, successful Pakistani boy they're trying to set her up with. And when he turns out to be just as geeky as Kamala and an Inhuman to boot, she starts to think this could be the future for her. Unfortunately he's part of a faction of Inhumans who would rather rule over the humans, who think their mutations make them better. This isn't a terribly novel story line, especially for anyone with even a passing familiarity with X-Men. It's handled well, though. Kamala is pretty amazing at sticking to her convictions. I wonder what will happen when they really get tested.

Ms. Marvel is definitely my favorite ongoing comic. Not that I'm reading all that many. But it handles so many familiar story-lines with depth and emotion, adding just enough of a twist to keep things interesting. I'm excited to see what happens next, with both this particular story and with the character in general.

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