We are back in Avengers world, and Dark Reign is marching on. 17 months of Norman Osborn being in every comic book. It’s too much. And Ms. Marvel is no exception. This title got weird during Dark Reign. Brian Reed, here since the first issue, had Ms. Marvel’s energy powers go wild back in issue 37, resulting in her first shifting uncontrollably into her old Binary form and then, seemingly, exploding. With Carol gone (I mean, still appearing every month in New Avengers, but you know, “gone”). her comic then shifted to following Moonstone-as-Ms.-Marvel. In issue 39, some kinda energy being shaped like a woman attacked Moonstone in her room in Avengers Tower, leading to her and the Dark Avengers fighting it in #40 until it disappears. Also, the real Ms. Marvel had… you know what, here’s a recap page from issue 41…
Kind of a lot! But, back to #40 for a second, near the end of the issue, rather out of nowhere on a page turn…
Whatever he saw, we didn’t. Previous issues were featuring multiple art teams as the schedule was clearly slipping, and issue 41 has a fill-in art team of Sergio Ariño on line art and Emily Warren “with Christina Strain” on colors. Deadpool has secured half the MODOK babies for AIM, but they don’t seem to know where the other half are. But who cares about that?
Deadpool doing the editor’s note is actually funny.
Captain America’s flat? Oi, alright then, guvnah!
Aaaaaalrighty! Cut to ostensible star of this book Moonstone also seeing one of Ms. Marvel symbols drawn on the side of Avengers Tower and getting a clue. She goes inside to get yelled at by Osborn, who has been informed Deadpool killed 107 of his goons while stealing those babies. Moonstone tells him she thinks Carol is alive, and it’s related to the babies, due to her mental link with them. Moonstone goes to the facility Deadpool attacked, and gets the energy signature off his teleporter, which leads her to LA, and to just yelling his name in the street and hoping he’ll appear? And it works??
Man, I hate Deadpool.
Moonstone flies Deadpool up in the air and throws him as hard as she can. I approve of that. Then the MODOK babies, talking in her mind, tell her where they are, underground. Where Spiders -Man and -Woman, Bucky, Luke Cage and Wolverine are taking the AIM goons apart.
Spidey hooks the babies up to some unexplained machinery. Moonstone tries to stop him, but Spider-Woman keeps her occupied. And then, the babies are somehow able to merge the energy ladies, and, I mean, obviously…
This leads to the above-mentioned War of the Marvels storyline, issue 42, and the return of regular artist Sana Takeda.
Takeda was drawing and coloring this. and, look, it’s not super great, but she was doing it monthly. She would later completely reinvent herself with a manga flavor and keep up the same work ethic for the long-running Image series Monstress.
The two Ms. Marvels proceed to have a nearly issue-long fight, with Moonstone growing more unhinged by the minute, eventually throwing Carol through a jet, which is saved by the Sentry.
Meanwhile, a 3rd woman who looks like Ms. Marvel watches the news about the fight, thinking she is Catherine Dovonan, Carol Danvers, and Ms. Marvel, and getting very confused. Me, too! That brings us to…
Which finds the art team from the issue before back. An increasingly crazed Moonstone narrates that she has come to love being a hero as she drops some guy she kidnapped to his death. Then we learn someone’s been breaking into Green Goblin safehouses, which is a weird subplot for this book. Then…
Carol has obviously been split into 2 people somehow. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Meanwhile, at Catherine Donovan’s house, bills are piling up outside. also, she has a cat.
Ms. Marvel’s cat. Did the whatever that killed Carol and then split her into 3 people also give this lady her cat? Isn’t that getting beyond the pale? She goes about her day for a couple pages, thinking she’s not anyone by Catherine Donovan, no matter what she was thinking earlier.
“Catherine” is compelled to fly to New York to try to make sense of her situation. In New York, the Dark Avengers are fighting… some big dudes. Are they Frost Giants? Big dudes.
An alarm tripping sends Osborn zipping off, leaving the team in the lurch. Moonstone then does the same, and makes it to a flaming building in time to see…
This is a lot of Avengers stuff to be confined to Ms. Marvel, and now we got Osborn/Lily Hollister stuff. This is surprising. Next post, another quick run through more Ms. Marvels.