Writer: Saladin Ahmed
Artist: Minkyu Jung
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 9, 2020

I have been very vocal on our podcasts about my dislike of this whole Oulawed story. I love younger heroes, and throwing them into a “Civil War” type story takes away most of what I love. Yea, I’m sure it will end up showing how tough and resilient they are as well as giving them a new sense of solidarity. Still, putting Kamala in a coma while the government is hunting down the rest of my favorite characters is not fun in my book…and it’s not so much fun in theirs either! However, I still have faith that Saladin Ahmed will give me the family and friends angle I love so much from this book.

Since Kamala is in a coma after Outlawed’s events, I was guessing Ahmed was going to give readers an issue that shows how much everyone loves her. Maybe even get a clip show-like issue, even though I know he is way better than that. We get that, but we also get the anger at the Champions for putting her in this situation. That’s there to continue the Outlawed narrative, and as I said in the introduction above, that’s not my bag, though I will likely be forced into it more and more.

Saladin Ahmed then throws a bit of a changeup and sets most of the issue in Kamala’s mind (and spirit), where she works through a bunch of her fears and regrets. Being Ms. Marvel has forced her to lie to her family and put everyone she loves in danger. We see her working through her guilt, with the help of her many selves as spiritual guides.

The best parts are with Bruno and Miles. Bruno has his doubts about whether they should be dating, and we see that Kamala is upset that it may end their friendship. I love them being a couple, but I wouldn’t want them to go their separate ways if things didn’t work out. Miles shows up at the end of the issue and fills Kamala in on what the government is up and stresses her hero friends need Ms. Marvel. I won’t spoil the ending, but it sets up the Champions book coming out soon and also what will be happening in this book for the near future.

I don’t know the behind the scenes shenanigans at Marvel, but if Saladin Ahmed didn’t have a say about the Outlawed story, then his book got straight-up hijacked. Even so, with his main character in a coma, he still gave fans the things they love about Ms. Marvel. This isn’t the best issue of the run, but the art and story work well with the cards they were handed, and hopefully, things get back to a near-normal soon.

Final Thoughts:

The Outlawed story continues here, and Saladin Ahmed does a good job of moving the story forward while giving fans of Ms. Marvel an issue that still centers on what makes the character great. I still am not a fan of Outlawed, but I am glad to have one of my favorite heroes back.

7.5/10