Comic Review: Ms. Marvel #15

I feel the need to start off with a disclaimer, because I really like this series as a whole, making it all the more difficult that I do not like this issue. I liked the first issue of this storyline, the second was not as good but still solid, but this one just does not really work, which I don't like associating with this series.

A lot of my problems stem from this: Ms. Marvel should stay with smaller storylines for now. Not that she should never be in large, Marvel Universe spanning storylines, but right now, she doesn't really belong there. For this story, the title page even notes specifically where this takes place in the larger Inhumans storyline, but Kamala's part in it is unclear and insignificant, making it hard to care. I don't even know if following the larger storyline helps this story make more sense, but I don't know what Kamran's motivations are for selling out Kamala, and while that doesn't make it right, it feels less like a development in the story than something that just happens, and that's a lethal mistake for this story.

The way it's written, it seems the focus is on how Kamala is affected by Kamran kidnapping her and forcing her to do what she doesn't want to, but his betrayal feeling forced means that it doesn't really hold together all that well. Instead, this is told through her dialogue and internal monologue, which starts to feel preachy as it goes on. If the rest of the story worked, then dialogue like this would not feel as preachy. This happened wth the occasionally clunky lines at the end of the Inventor story arc, but the rest of the story all built towards that point clearly, so it felt like part of the story rather than something added to try and give the story substance.

Then we have Bruno, a character I keep forgetting is in Kamala's world. He's really more of a support character, and the little bits we have gotten outside of that have mostly revolved around his being attracted to Kamala, which is getting closer to the surface. The fact that it's hinting towards Kamala starting to be attracted to him too feels more like he's a designated love interest, that the development is deliberately directed that way rather than coming naturally from the characters. It doesn't feel earned, and seems more like a bad direction for these characters to go. I might be proven wrong, but so far it's pointing in that direction, and it would take a lot of development to make it feel more natural and like it really belongs in the story.