Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #2 Review

Written by: Iman Vellani, Sabir Pirzada
Art by: Carlos Gómez, Adam Gorham
Colors by: Erick Arciniega
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: Sara Pichelli, Matthew Wilson
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: September 27, 2023

Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #2 finds Kamala Khan struggling with anti-mutant hate on campus while Orchis draws closer to trapping her in their surveillance net.

Is Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #2 Good?

Oof! Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #2 is the point where the writing team’s flaws start to create cracks in the story. In issue #1, you could take Ms. Marvel’s adventure as a repurposed mutant for what it was – a slice-of-life story with superheroes and little dramatic tension from the Hellfire Gala fallout on the side. In issue #2, the Orchis threat is too big to ignore, and trying to cram it inside a slice-of-life story just doesn’t work. You can forgive Vellani’s contribution as inexperience, but Pirzada is quickly proving to be unfit for superhero writing.

When last we left Kamala Khan, she settled into her dorm room at ESU to get a taste of on-campus life. Secretly, she searches the campus on behalf of the X-Men to discover why Orchis has a secret research facility on campus. Through it all, Kamala grapples with her new status as both Inhuman and Mutant, despite not manifesting her mutant powers yet.
Now, Kamala’s nightmare involving a Silver Surfer/Dr. Strange hybrid character persists, and Kamala’s act of on-campus heroism in issue #1 stokes anti-mutant protests. Meanwhile, Orchis figures out how to locate Ms. Marvel.

What’s great about Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #2? Despite the criticisms, Kamala is still an affable character. She has a good heart, energy, and spirit, so in the right writer’s hands, she can be elevated to a higher status.

What’s not so great about Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #2? nothing hurts a character’s elevation more than when a character is shown doing dumb things that don’t fit the situation. Ms. Marvel has been publicly exposed as a mutant, which puts her in the crosshairs of anyone with anti-mutant sentiment. Why is she running around campus with an X-Men costume on? Why is she having open-air radio conversations with Synch that anyone within close distance can overhear? Why are the X-Men putting so much faith in a single person to root out an Orchis installation when they barely know her, when she has no espionage training, and (for now) is a mutant in name only?

Orchis is killing or capturing mutants in every corner of the globe. If this Orchis research facility is so important, why is it not addressed with more experienced mutants or an ounce of urgency?

If the creative team wants to do a slice-of-life comic, do a slice-of-comic. If the creators want to integrate Ms. Marvel into Orchis’s mutant hunt, do it. Commit to one or the other. Stop waffling and wasting everyone’s time.

How’s the art? Overall, the art is great. Carlos Gómez, Adam Gorham, and Erick Arciniega produce bright, eye-catching visuals, decent action, and strong colors.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #2 is where the cracks in the writing team’s inexperience show. The creators are trying to blend a slice-of-life/YA comic with the Hellfire Gala fallout, but the tonal mix just doesn’t work. You can’t go from playing video games in a sleepover to an Orchis drone hunt and have the story make sense.