Ms. Marvel, Vol. 8: Mecca (2017)

This is a great volume, an engaging plot with interesting themes, high emotional stakes, and good character moments.  I’m pretty much continually impressed with the storytelling in Ms. Marvel, and this is an excellent one.  I know we’re still waiting for Captain Marvel next year, but how long before we can get Kamala in the MCU?  (A few spoilers.)

Hydra wobbles, but it doesn’t fall down.  Kamala beat back Chuck Worthy in a previous volume, but he’s reared his head again, this time galvanizing some of the more prejudicial elements of Jersey City to round up Inhumans; Kamala looks out for her people and confronts past mistakes as the Inhumans try to find sanctuary.  Later, Kamala is surprised by the appearance of a certain crime-fighting ally she met on her recent trip to Pakistan.

The whole anti-Inhuman rhetoric is very familiar – the uniform baseball caps of the “Make Jersey City Great Again” crowd might be yellow instead of red, but they’re still quite on the nose.  However, I really like how the volume goes about it.  This is the best sort of “comic-book identity as stand-in for oppressed minority” storyline, because it tells it alongside real-world prejudice, not in place of it.  When Amir is detained as a suspected unregistered Inhuman, it has an extra ring of familiarity to it because he’s a young Muslim man, and since he’s also an immigrant, being an Inhuman puts him at risk for deportation.  I like that, that we see how being Inhuman creates additional barriers for those who are already marginalized, as well as brings those who are used to having privilege (such as those who are straight/white/cis) prejudice they haven’t experienced before.

This is an especially good volume for Amir, and he embodies this theme wonderfully well.  In particular, he has an amazing monologue in the second issue, two full pages of him talking about being profiled as a Muslim, the image of terrorists vs. the reality, and the issues that create a breeding ground for terrorism.  One of the best things I’ve seen in a comic that’s had a lot of great stuff in it.

The plot in the final two issues, with Kamala encountering Red Dagger again, isn’t as good as the first story, but I still like it.  It explores some neat ideas about how Kamala feels about being a public her0, and I like that the problem she and Red Dagger are facing isn’t some sort of evil plot.  Instead, it’s a random, almost mundane quirk of circumstance that nonetheless poses a major threat, as well as being something Kamala can’t punch her way out of.

Warnings

Comic book violence and strong thematic elements.

Top Five Interactions: Infinity War

There’s a lot to appreciate about Infinity War, but I’d say that its best asset, most easily, is in the opportunities it takes to introduce characters to one another from heretofore-separate franchises, creating new dynamics galore.  While these scenes obviously get the job done in terms of giving us the plot, they also provide endless fan service and moments of sheer nerdish joy.  Here are my favorites from the film (spoilers.)

Doctor Strange, Iron Man & Spider-Man Walk onto a Spaceship…

I said in my review that Infinity War is the first time Doctor Strange has really worked for me as a character.  Part of that, I think, is how the writing for him has been tweaked a little, but a big part of it is also down to the company he keeps in this movie.  Putting Strange onscreen with Tony gives these two egotistical geniuses a fellow sharp mind to butt heads with, while showing the ways that they are different (part of my initial problem with Strange in his own movie is that he feels so Tony Stark Redux.)  When you add in Spidey (note:  I’ll use “Spidey” for Peter Parker and “Peter” for Peter Quill in this post,) the whole thing comes together in a nice way, with Tony-Strange both being strong-willed and sarcastic and Spidey cutting the tension by being equal parts over-excited, freaked out, and anxious to prove himself.  I adore Spidey introducing himself to Strange, and later, his cloak – ha!

Thor and Rocket on a Quest

Thor with the Guardians is awesome overall – Drax declaring him the love child of a pirate and an angel is too funny, and I like Peter trying to overcompensate around the hunky Asgardian.  The best part of the Thor-Guardian meet-up, though, is definitely Thor and Rocket (plus teen Groot) on a side mission to gain Stormbreaker.  It starts when Thor, spectacularly, assumes Rocket is the Guardians’ captain, and it only gets better from there.  While the humor of both characters is maintained in spades (Thor’s new eye, yikes!), their scenes together also allow for some good drama, particularly as Rocket slowly draws out Thor’s understandable not-okay-ness at all the horrible things that have happened to him since Ragnarok.  With Rocket’s help, Thor can drop the bravado, just a little, and allow himself a moment to grieve.

The Guardians Fight the Earth Trio

a.k.a. Tony, Doctor Strange, and Spidey.  It actually makes total sense that, encountering one another on Titan, these two groups would fight each other.  Neither group knowing the other, there’s no reason why they wouldn’t assume these strangers are more of Thanos’s goons.  Drax and Mantis are aliens, and with his helmet on, the Earth guys can’t tell that Peter’s humanoid, and on the other side, Tony and Spidey with their suits and Doctor Strange with his magic seem like they would fit in with Thanos’s crew.  It’s not until Tony realizes that Peter is from Earth (in a pretty hilarious exchange) that either side starts to let their guard down.

Wanda, Natasha & Okoye Team-Up

Oh snap!  One of Thanos’s faithful corners Wanda on the battlefield, sure that she’s going to kill Wanda (thus ensuring that Wanda can’t destroy the Mind Stone,) but little does she know, Natasha and Okoye are on the way, and they’re got Wanda’s back.  The ladies tear it up, Wanda with her powers and Natasha-Okoye with their weapons and mad fighting skills, and the baddie doesn’t stand a chance in the face of that much awesome.

Rocket Meets Bucky

Okay, so this one’s just for fun.  During the big final battle, Bucky and Rocket are next to each other on the field, and at a moment of particular importance, Bucky picks up Rocket by the scruff of the neck and spins around with him, giving Rocket and his big guns a 360 vantage point for blasting monsters.  The action shot is cool enough in itself, but the topper comes at the end when Rocket oh-so-nonchalantly inquires about Bucky’s arm – as we know, Rocket has a thing for acquiring other people’s prosthetics.  Bucky flatly replies that his arm isn’t for sale, leaving Rocket to mutter under his breath, “I’m gonna get that arm…”  Ha!

Honorable Mention:  Groot Meets Cap

Like the Rocket-Bucky scene above, this is just a fun moment, even briefer than the previous one, which is why it didn’t make the list proper.  Still, it’s way too much fun to leave off completely.  “I am Groot.”  “I am… Steve Rogers.”  Too cute!

Favorite Characters: Elijah Krantz (Girls)

This show was part of my Andrew Rannells filmography tour – strange to get into Girls for one of the guys, but while I found the show amusing enough, I loved Elijah.  Even acknowledging my admitted bias, my enjoyment of Girls was often directly proportional to how often Elijah was on my screen, and I greatly appreciated his increasing presence over the course of the series.

Initially introduced as an ex-boyfriend of Hannah’s, we first see Elijah in the context of an awkward conversation (very much par for the course for that show.)  Hannah has gotten back in touch with him to discuss STDs, but he, mistakenly assuming she’s already heard rumors about him, “confirms” that he’s now dating a man.  Hannah is of course blindsided, and the cordial get-together quickly devolves into arguments and sniping.  Their paths cross a bit more over the course of the first season, and somehow, by the end of season 1, it makes a weird sort of sense when in-need-of-a-roommate Hannah suggests he move in with her.  After the first look we get at them, it doesn’t seem like they’d make good friends, but their own particular brands of awful are surprisingly compatible together.

Because, truly, Elijah is awful.  I know that’s an odd thing to say in a Favorite Characters post, but it’s undeniable.  He’s vain and selfish, frequently unreliable, and mostly aimless (when he tries to get back into acting, his initial plan is just to “fuck [his] way up to the middle.”)  While he doesn’t shy away from telling his friends hard truths that they avoid about themselves, he definitely takes satisfaction in feeling superior to them, even when his own ducks aren’t in any sort of row.  That said, even though I’d likely want to avoid an Elijah in real life, on TV, he is a riot to watch.  He gets most of the best lines and delivers them with an infectious sort of relish that makes it hard to dislike him no matter how self-absorbed, petty, or bitchy he gets.

As the person who pretty much emerges as Hannah’s best friend, Elijah occasionally functions as her Magical Gay Advisor – again with the hard truths, pointing out the problems she refuses to deal with.  Just as often, however, he’s the devil on her shoulder, and together, they indulge in irresponsible impulses, affirm one another’s delusions, and encourage one another’s worst tendencies.  I like that Elijah is so often a complete mess who simply carries himself as if he has it all together (it’s not even that he’s trying to fake it; it’s that he can be so utterly self-assured despite being a mess.)  He’s a little hedonistic, has some definite arrested development going on, and is hugely self-impressed, and it’s just endlessly entertaining.

I also like that, while so much of Elijah’s character is just fun, he also has some depth to him.  He displays an unexpected level of vulnerability that bubbles to the surface at crucial scenes, mostly related to his romantic entanglements.  For a character who’s such a hilarious one-liner machine, I’m never prepared for those moments when he suddenly feels so young and so exposed.  There are a number of good ones (explaining his sugar-daddy situation with George to Marnie, trying to take things to the next level with Dill,) but the scene that gets to me the most is when, at Hannah’s urging, he addresses the way Pal frequently belittles him.  With his start-and-stop dialogue, it’s immediately evident how scared he is to do anything that might jeopardize his relationship with this guy he really likes, even if he’s bothered by how Pal treats him.  And then, the second Pal shrugs off his concerns with a dismissive remark about why Elijah would ever take advice from Hannah, you watch him silently crumble, only just managing to pull it together because he’s still so desperate to make it work.  For a character that usually walks around with such a high opinion of himself and sees most everybody else as utter disasters, it’s so important to get scenes like this with him.

Countdown to Thirteen: Hello Carter (2011)

Of the Jodie Whittaker shorts I’ve seen so far, this is the most straightforward.  It has more of a plainly-laid-out story, driven by the central character and a particular tumultuous day in his life.  First one that doesn’t have me going, “Wait – what?” at the end, which is a good place to start.

Carter is having a rough day.  It starts with his unceremonious firing and then leads into an awkward, prolonged encounter with an ex, still carrying the cleared-out contents of his desk in a box; he just can’t catch a break.

As I said, this is a short with a straightforward plot.  No heavy symbolism, no 180 twists.  Just a guy and a crazy day.  That gives it the feel of being a snapshot of a story, dropping into Carter’s life for a bit and then ducking out.  As such, there’s more int the way of dialogue and plot points this time around.  On the downside, it does feel a little “just there,” without a lot of spark.

Like Roar, the short is headed up by a former History Boy, one Dominic Cooper (who also plays young Howard Stark in the MCU.)  The short additionally features Ruth Negga (another MCU alum – Raina in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,) very briefly at the end.

As for Whittaker, she plays Susie, the aforementioned ex.  Bumping into Carter is at first mostly pleasant and a little awkward, but that ratio flips when an unexpected situation throws them together a lot longer than they’d been planning.

Accent Watch

Northern again – even though I was introduced to Whittaker through Broadchurch, where she does West Country, she uses her own accent a lot.

Recommend?

In General – Maybe.  It’s enjoyable enough.

Jodie Whittaker – Possibly.  It’s one of the larger parts in the short, and Susie’s increasing aggravation with Carter is amusing.

Warnings

Some swearing and mild sexual references.