Hi there!
With superhero movies introducing the world to two formidable universes, it was only a matter of time until we finally saw the women of both these worlds get their own movies, promising an exciting future for various characters. While we have seen a couple of them so far, they have all failed miserably (Supergirl, Catwoman, and Elektra), until the arrival of Wonder Woman in 2017. To give you guys an idea of a couple of interesting places (or not) to discover the stories of some of the women of Marvel, here are some starting points that I have visited in the past months!
This feature published at an undetermined frequency (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, who knows) will present a couple of mini reviews on anything that isn’t a physical book that I own (ebooks, comic books, TV series or movies).
Click on the covers to be redirected to their Goodreads page.
Anything presented in this feature doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t get a full-review treatment in the future. That will entirely depend on how much I loved it, how interested you are in hearing more on it, and how much I have to still say about it! 🤣
Black Widow: Deadly Origin by Paul Cornell.
Pages: 112.
Format: Digital Comics.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
With the next Marvel movie being delayed for over a year now, I thought it would be nice to feature her character in this post with a four-issue graphic novel exploring her origin story. Unfortunately for me, this too-short-to-be-relevant graphic novel misses the mark incredibly. Sure, you’ll get the historical background of her character and how she becomes a super-spy superhero, but this story strangely went on to focus on her love life, and, let me tell you, this femme fatale went on to sleep with A LOT of well-known superheroes, leaving you with a cringy impression of the character. The oddest part of this story is its story that also looks into the unrequited love that her father figure had for her and what he’d do to get his hands on her… I think there are better places for an origin story than this one. 😉
She-Hulk (Vol. 1): Deconstructed by Mariko Tamaki.
Pages: 136.
Format: Digital Comics.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Picking up after the events of Civil War II, the story follows Jennifer Walters as she begins a quieter life as a private lawyer and now attempts to deal with her PTSD, especially following a devastating defeat to Thanos.
In this intimate story, her mind is on the verge of cracking at any instant as she attempts to deal with the sudden panic attacks she has been having for a while. While she tries to help a young lady in her home eviction case, she’s slowly dragged into a destructive battle where she is forced to turn to her powers to avoid an ugly death. What this means is that most of the story-arc is focused on exploring her non-Hulk form and the psychological state in which she is nowadays, which is actually quite interesting.
If it wasn’t for the unimpressive final act, this volume could’ve been an absolutely fantastic take on Jennifer Walters character. This might be a fun place to start if you want to get to know the character, especially while waiting for Disney+’s upcoming TV series for this hero! 😉
Captain Marvel (Vol. 1): Higher, Further, Faster, More by Kelly Sue DeConnick.
Pages: 136.
Format: Digital Comics.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
This was a mundane story exploring Carol Danvers’ purpose in the world. Somehow feeling like she’s unhappy on Earth, yet has everything anyone could wish for, she sets off into space, runs into the Guardians of the Galaxy, and intrudes in other alien planet’s politics and warfare, trying to make use of her godly powers through carelessness and brashness. The artwork isn’t bad either but it somehow feels extremely static and uninspiring in the end.
Thor (Vol. 1): The Goddess of Thunder by Jason Aaron.
Pages: 136.
Format: Digital Comics.
Rating: ★★★★☆
A fantastic introduction to a mysterious lady proving her worthiness to claim the name of Thor while the man who once wielded it learns to let go of what he cannot possess anymore. There’s fantastic artwork to accompany this story that beautifully portrays this new Thor who’s internally cheeky and externally modest too. I can gladly recommend this one for anyone looking to learn about the female Thor character newly-introduced to the Marvel universe, especially those who want to be prepared for the upcoming Taika Waititi’s sequel, Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).
Ms. Marvel (Vol. 1): No Normal by G. Willow Wilson.
Pages: 120.
Format: Digital Comics.
Rating: ★★★★☆
This origin story for teenage Muslim superhero Kamala Khan is brilliant! It captures both the intrafamilial, social, and superhero pressures in one quirky kid while establishing her own colourful universe. The artwork is at times rough but it goes a long way to bring her character to life. I wholeheartedly think G. Willow Wilson does a fantastic job in capturing this character’s personality and to make her significantly different from other heroes while also setting up a world closer to what teenagers today are familiar with.
Shoutout to her character having a major lead role in the recent Marvel’s Avengers video game, despite the major flop that it turned out to be financially.
Have you read any of these?
Share your thoughts on anything and everything with me! 😁
TILL NEXT TIME,
Roars and Echoes 
I haven’t read any of these (yet) but the Black Widow one was something I was eventually planning on reading (as I have it on my digital Marvel comics app). I’m not in too big of a rush after reading this though. The other characters, I have not much interest in, with maybe the exception of Thor as I know very little about her, and want to catch up a bit before the movie comes out at some point. Also seems that it’s a good story and combined with great artwork, you can bet that one is going in my list. Seems these have been a bit of a hit and miss, but glad that at least some were enjoyable enough! 😀
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I do hope you’ll enjoy it a bit more than I did but I honestly don’t think it’s the best place to get her origin story. The others are fun and interesting in their own right, but I definitely recommend Miss Marvel though! She often appears with Miles Morales too, which is another fun character to check out! 😉 Same for Thor! You can either keep the surprise for the movie or check out this series to get some insight into the character! Thanks for reading, my friend! Always a pleasure to hear your thoughts on these. 😀
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I love the sound of the she-hulk comic (I have a weak for more ‘human’ stories of (female) superheroes). And the Thor comic has been on my tbr for ages! Great post 😁
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I definitely recommend it for that! It’s not often that you see it too. Especially that character since she’s often in her hulked out form prior to this comic book hahah Hope you get around to these soon! 😀
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Wouldn’t touch a single one of these with a 10meter pole.
I’m sure you are very surprised at that fact 😀
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Hahahahahah unsurprised at all. 😀
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Great post! Thanks for sharing. I’m not so familiar with the Marvel characters any more, particularly the newer ones but these sound cool.
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Thanks! I’m glad to showcase these for you to discover them then. Hopefully, you’ll be able to pick up those that interest you! 😀
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I’ve not read any of these, though I have enjoyed some Black Widow stories in the past. Too bad this one disappointed. And I’m obviously out of the loop with the Thor storylines as I don’t get this one.
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Definitely looking forward to exploring more classic Black Widow stories in the future; hopefully, they won’t be like this one. As for Thor, well, it sort of picks up on Jason Aaron’s Thor run where it ends and that’s where he finds himself unable to pick up his hammer anymore. Hence, comes this female Thor who is worthy enough to pick it up! and the mystery begins. 😀
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Great reviews! I was interested in Black Widow’s story ever since started watching marvel movies. I wouldn’t have expected book to focus on love story as well. It’s disappointing, book didn’t turn out good.
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Thanks, Yesha! I’ll definitely try and recommend some better ones next time to prepare those who want to be for the upcoming movie! 😀
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Fantastic reviews Lashaan! I’m very disappointed in the love angle for the Black Widow novel! Why do something to that to such a great character?!
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Thank you so much, Nicki! 😀 It’s definitely odd that it overfocused on it but I guess it wanted to pay tribute to her comic book history in just one story? It just really didn’t work in her favour hahah
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I haven’t read these but I so love all the girl power in this post today Lashaan! :-))))
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I’m glad that this theme appealed to you, Sophie! 😀 😀
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We’re in agreement on these, Lashaan! (I haven’t read the Black Widow or She-Hulk stories, but the rest of your reviews matches 100% mine – except that I’d give 1/5 to Captain Marvel :D! And now I won’t be reading these two rotten eggs, so I’ll rely on your opinion ;))
I was pleasantly surprised by Ms Marvel, which at the beginning I thought was a shallow attempt at enlarging the reader base (as it’s the case with Marvel’s Moon Girl, or DC’s Batwoman) – alas, it was not, and I loved reading about Kamala’s troubles with her parents and community! 😀 And I do appreciate how Aaron continued his Thor story with the new female character, and how he portrayed not only Odinson’s PTSD but also the very physical price superheroism exacts on (I’m-not-gonna-say-who-for-fear-of-spoilers!)
Great mini-reviews, Lashaan! 🙂
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I honestly would’ve went that low for Captain Marvel too but I think I get it an extra star from some subtler things. I can definitely see how it could get worse and maybe its sequel might get it! 😉
I totally understand for Ms. Marvel! I thought the same too and I’m glad to be proven wrong for it. It was a wonderful and versatile story that really establishes her character in a unique fashion.
I was stunned that the original Thor got such a brutal sentence in that volume though but it definitely worked fine! I look forward to exploring the rest now. 😀 Thanks for reading, Ola!
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With the Black Widow story, I feel like it can go in one of two ways. Black Widow sleeping with other men, this could be framed as her taking control over her sexuality? However, if not written well, it could be more appealing to men than anything else. It depends on the way that story was written.
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You’ll have to read it for yourself to find out! 😉 I just know that it was executed with so much rush that it just seemed to be unfair to her character’s history, unfortunately. Thanks for reading! 😀
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I’m quite new to the world of comics. Ms Marvel was the first comic I read. I absolutely loved it and am now so excited for the TV series.
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An excellent place to start, that’s for sure! Glad to hear how much you enjoyed it. I hope the TV series will do it justice though! 😀
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