Tower of Iron Will

Superhero origin stories used as a metaphor for adolescence has been done before but rarely this well. Making the character a girl growing up in a Muslim family in New Jersey raises the outsider status to epic level. Typical superheroes are either orphans or single adults without families to interfere with their costumed activities, but the new Ms. Marvel has a family that watches her every move because they actually care about her. If they end up being brutally murdered to provide her with crime fighting motivation I will be deeply disappointed.

DC and Marvel Comics have tried over the years to increase their diversity by replacing existing characters with more diverse versions. A male character may be replaced by a female character or a white character by an African American, Asian, or Hispanic version. Most of these attempts come across as editorially driven gimmicks and the old character is restored after a few issues. While Kamala Khan adopts the name and symbol of Ms. Marvel, it is an identity that has been abandoned by the former owner who is now adventuring under a new name as Captain Marvel. It makes it feel more like an homage than an appropriation.

All credit for the charm of this book goes to the writing of G. Willow Wilson and the art of Adrian Alphona, whose art is just cartoony enough to fit a shapeshifting character without looking like a children's book.