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Marvel Masterworks: Ms. Marvel #2
Marvel Masterworks: Ms. Marvel, Vol. 2
Chris Claremont weaves complex plots and compelling characterization in our second Ms. Marvel Masterworks, concluding Carol Danvers' original adventures! The highlights are many: Ms. Marvel meets the Avengers for the very first time! Mystique makes her first appearance! A battle with Ronan the Accuser brings Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel together, and leads to an all-new look for our heroine! COLLECTING: MS. MARVEL (1977) 15-23; MARVEL SUPER-HEROES (1990) 10-11; AVENGERS (1963) 200, AVENGERS ANNUAL (1967) 10 AND MATERIAL FROM AVENGERS (1963) 197-199 AND MARVEL FANFARE (1982) 24
328 pages, Hardcover
First published July 26, 2016
11 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Chris Claremont
3,279 books892 followersChris Claremont is a writer of American comic books, best known for his 16-year (1975-1991) stint on Uncanny X-Men, during which the series became one of the comic book industry's most successful properties.
Claremont has written many stories for other publishers including the Star Trek Debt of Honor graphic novel, his creator-owned Sovereign Seven for DC Comics and Aliens vs Predator for Dark Horse Comics. He also wrote a few issues of the series WildC.A.T.s (volume 1, issues #10-13) at Image Comics, which introduced his creator-owned character, Huntsman.
Outside of comics, Claremont co-wrote the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy, Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999), with George Lucas. This trilogy continues the story of Elora Danan from the movie Willow. In the 1980s, he also wrote a science fiction trilogy about female starship pilot Nicole Shea, consisting of First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont was also a contributor to the Wild Cards anthology series.
Claremont has written many stories for other publishers including the Star Trek Debt of Honor graphic novel, his creator-owned Sovereign Seven for DC Comics and Aliens vs Predator for Dark Horse Comics. He also wrote a few issues of the series WildC.A.T.s (volume 1, issues #10-13) at Image Comics, which introduced his creator-owned character, Huntsman.
Outside of comics, Claremont co-wrote the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy, Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999), with George Lucas. This trilogy continues the story of Elora Danan from the movie Willow. In the 1980s, he also wrote a science fiction trilogy about female starship pilot Nicole Shea, consisting of First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont was also a contributor to the Wild Cards anthology series.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 30, 2019
Nice collection of this superhero's stories. With the new movie out it is fun to read these and see the changes made for the big screen. Recommended
August 27, 2018
The second Marvel Masterworks volume concerning Ms. Marvel contains the final issues (#15-23) of her first stand alone series as well as several followup comics related to Carol Danvers from the era (Marvel Superheroes #10-11, Avengers #200 and material from #197 & 199, Avengers Annual #10, and material from Marvel Fanfare #24). The intial series is written entirely by Chris Claremont.
There are very few standout issues in the second half of Ms. Marvel's stand alone series. She fights several unmemorable villains (Centurion or The Faceless One ring a bell?) and teams up with (mostly) various members of The Avengers while entertaining possible romantic relationships and working at a woman's magazine. There are some very iconic moments in these issues too though: the first appearance of Mystique, reveal of the updated Ms. Marvel costume (4 issues before the series was cancelled), and an excellent issue where Captain Marvel and Carol team-up against Ronan the Accuser. These are definitely a step up from the poor, dated showing in the first Masterworks collection, but you can see why this series didn't really hold up as well compared to a lot of the bigger titles being put out at the time.
The rest of the issues included here are basically the conclusion of Ms. Marvel's initial storyline . Up first is Marvel Superheroes #10-11, a two part Ms. Marvel story that was published in 1992, but was supposed to be issues #24-25 of her inital series. It has her battling a number of X-Men villains that include Sabertooth and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants while she's searching for the person who killed someone she was very close to. The end of this story ties it into the previously published Avengers Annual #10. It's an interesting story and quite well done for being done almost 15 years after the original series concluded.
The standout of this collection are the two Avengers issues here Avengers #200 and Avengers Annual #10. There are several bits of material from a few of the lead up Avengers comics to give you a bit of context for #200. In issues #197 & 199 we find out Carol Danvers is 3 months pregnant. In #200 she gives birth to a baby who is rapidly matures into an adult over the course of a day. While this is happening, time seems to be going crazy outside. I don't want to reveal too much here, but it's an insane story that has a really shocking ending. Avengers Annual #10, written also by Chris Claremont, picks up a year after the conclusion of #200 and features the return of Brotherhood of Evil Mutants led by Mystique along with an appearance by the Uncanny X-Men. As jaw dropping as #200 ends, the conclusion of Annual #10 left me straight up shook and, I think, really ushered the Avengers into entirely new more mature storytelling than had previously been done.
The final comic of this collection is a short one from Marvel Fanfare #24 called "Elegy". It concerns Carol attending a poker game at the Avengers Mansion and learning about Captain Marvel's death. It's a bit confusing if you don't realize she's an entirely different hero at this point named Binary who has a friendship (romance?) with Wolverine and has been tooling around with the X-Men for a bit at this point. I was in that camp as the two volumes of Marvel Masterworks were my introduction to Carol Danvers. Never the less, it's still a very powerful, dramatic and well done short comic.
It's hard for me to recommend this collection based on the Ms. Marvel stand alone series of comics. They aren't that strong and I much preferred her as a member of the Avengers. I will, however, recommend it for the powerhouse combo of Avengers #200 and Avengers Annual #10. Seeks them out if you can, otherwise this collection I think is for hardcore Ms. Marvel fans only.
There are very few standout issues in the second half of Ms. Marvel's stand alone series. She fights several unmemorable villains (Centurion or The Faceless One ring a bell?) and teams up with (mostly) various members of The Avengers while entertaining possible romantic relationships and working at a woman's magazine. There are some very iconic moments in these issues too though: the first appearance of Mystique, reveal of the updated Ms. Marvel costume (4 issues before the series was cancelled), and an excellent issue where Captain Marvel and Carol team-up against Ronan the Accuser. These are definitely a step up from the poor, dated showing in the first Masterworks collection, but you can see why this series didn't really hold up as well compared to a lot of the bigger titles being put out at the time.
The rest of the issues included here are basically the conclusion of Ms. Marvel's initial storyline . Up first is Marvel Superheroes #10-11, a two part Ms. Marvel story that was published in 1992, but was supposed to be issues #24-25 of her inital series. It has her battling a number of X-Men villains that include Sabertooth and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants while she's searching for the person who killed someone she was very close to. The end of this story ties it into the previously published Avengers Annual #10. It's an interesting story and quite well done for being done almost 15 years after the original series concluded.
The standout of this collection are the two Avengers issues here Avengers #200 and Avengers Annual #10. There are several bits of material from a few of the lead up Avengers comics to give you a bit of context for #200. In issues #197 & 199 we find out Carol Danvers is 3 months pregnant. In #200 she gives birth to a baby who is rapidly matures into an adult over the course of a day. While this is happening, time seems to be going crazy outside. I don't want to reveal too much here, but it's an insane story that has a really shocking ending. Avengers Annual #10, written also by Chris Claremont, picks up a year after the conclusion of #200 and features the return of Brotherhood of Evil Mutants led by Mystique along with an appearance by the Uncanny X-Men. As jaw dropping as #200 ends, the conclusion of Annual #10 left me straight up shook and, I think, really ushered the Avengers into entirely new more mature storytelling than had previously been done.
The final comic of this collection is a short one from Marvel Fanfare #24 called "Elegy". It concerns Carol attending a poker game at the Avengers Mansion and learning about Captain Marvel's death. It's a bit confusing if you don't realize she's an entirely different hero at this point named Binary who has a friendship (romance?) with Wolverine and has been tooling around with the X-Men for a bit at this point. I was in that camp as the two volumes of Marvel Masterworks were my introduction to Carol Danvers. Never the less, it's still a very powerful, dramatic and well done short comic.
It's hard for me to recommend this collection based on the Ms. Marvel stand alone series of comics. They aren't that strong and I much preferred her as a member of the Avengers. I will, however, recommend it for the powerhouse combo of Avengers #200 and Avengers Annual #10. Seeks them out if you can, otherwise this collection I think is for hardcore Ms. Marvel fans only.
July 2, 2023
This is the back half of the first Carol Danvers series (aka the first volume to be cancelled—but far from the last.) You may want to read them to compare good Claremont with bad Claremont. Everyone assumes young Claremont = good, old Claremont = bad, but reading these issues will disabuse you of that notion. You may also find here a deeper appreciation for the likes of Claremont’s collaborator’s, mostly John Byrne.
In these issues Ms. Marvel finally gets her sexy Cockrum costume. And that’s about the only interesting thing here. Oh, and she gets fired from her magazine. J Jonah Jameson wanted something like Good Housekeeping or Glamour and she gave them neither. What was the magazine like then? Women’s World Weekly? Shape? In the 616 world apparently women read Serious And Important magazines because Carol says it was a hit. (Now that I think of it is there such a thing as a “serious” women’s* or men’s magazine? I don’t think so. There are magazines that take themselves seriously and aren’t frivolous but none of those target either one of the sexes. Maybe George was an exception?)
Carol’s personality is all over the place, which is better than Mary Sue Jerk. She still peppers her speech with alien phrases even though she isn’t an alien and I think she even explicitly told The Real Captain Marvel that she doesn’t speak like him or something to that effect. Why is she appropriating Kree culture?! And sometimes she’s just “one of the guys,” sometimes she’s lecturing Iron Man about female superheroing. (Iron Man seems like a particularly dumb choice to cast in the “this ain’t the kind of work for a lady” role, given how long he’s been working with female superheroes.)
The final issues of the series are famous for being published much later than intended, and they’re more confusing than ever when read back to back with the preceding issues. One issue she’s falling hard for Sam Adams and the next he’s nowhere and she’s back with her shrink—what a confusing relationship that is/was—just so the guy could be “fridged” (not cool, CC, very misandrist (sp?) to off a fella just to give the heroine some unearned angst!)
Trust me, all the stuff about Mystique and the Brotherhood and Rogue and the Hellfire Club are more interesting in summaries than here. The art is just ugly and silly, and the whole thing is a confusing mess. I’m not sure Mystique’s motives from the earlier issues even line up with the Rogue stuff but who friggin’ cares. We all got the gist of it before these issues saw the light of day anyway.
I feel kind of bad ranking on these issues, and I guess that says a lot for how Carol Danvers was written after this series and before her ideological makeover. I feel almost like I’m talking smack about someone I know. And used to like.
*For shiggles and gits, re: Carol’s job, I just googled, with quotes, "more serious women's magazine" and the top hit is “Talking hot fudge and hot sex with Cosmo editor Kate White.”
In these issues Ms. Marvel finally gets her sexy Cockrum costume. And that’s about the only interesting thing here. Oh, and she gets fired from her magazine. J Jonah Jameson wanted something like Good Housekeeping or Glamour and she gave them neither. What was the magazine like then? Women’s World Weekly? Shape? In the 616 world apparently women read Serious And Important magazines because Carol says it was a hit. (Now that I think of it is there such a thing as a “serious” women’s* or men’s magazine? I don’t think so. There are magazines that take themselves seriously and aren’t frivolous but none of those target either one of the sexes. Maybe George was an exception?)
Carol’s personality is all over the place, which is better than Mary Sue Jerk. She still peppers her speech with alien phrases even though she isn’t an alien and I think she even explicitly told The Real Captain Marvel that she doesn’t speak like him or something to that effect. Why is she appropriating Kree culture?! And sometimes she’s just “one of the guys,” sometimes she’s lecturing Iron Man about female superheroing. (Iron Man seems like a particularly dumb choice to cast in the “this ain’t the kind of work for a lady” role, given how long he’s been working with female superheroes.)
The final issues of the series are famous for being published much later than intended, and they’re more confusing than ever when read back to back with the preceding issues. One issue she’s falling hard for Sam Adams and the next he’s nowhere and she’s back with her shrink—what a confusing relationship that is/was—just so the guy could be “fridged” (not cool, CC, very misandrist (sp?) to off a fella just to give the heroine some unearned angst!)
Trust me, all the stuff about Mystique and the Brotherhood and Rogue and the Hellfire Club are more interesting in summaries than here. The art is just ugly and silly, and the whole thing is a confusing mess. I’m not sure Mystique’s motives from the earlier issues even line up with the Rogue stuff but who friggin’ cares. We all got the gist of it before these issues saw the light of day anyway.
I feel kind of bad ranking on these issues, and I guess that says a lot for how Carol Danvers was written after this series and before her ideological makeover. I feel almost like I’m talking smack about someone I know. And used to like.
*For shiggles and gits, re: Carol’s job, I just googled, with quotes, "more serious women's magazine" and the top hit is “Talking hot fudge and hot sex with Cosmo editor Kate White.”
January 30, 2021
This book was all over the place, much like the first volume. Many of the villains were weak, but this run did introduce Mystique and Rogue, both of which become somewhat of a nemesis to Ms. Marvel. Those stories (especially Avengers Annual #10) were excellent reads. If Mystique's appearances and Rogue's stories were all that were in this collection, this would have easily been a 5-star review. Conversely, if the weaker stories in the run were all that were featured, this would be a 2-star review, so there is definitely some give and take. By the end of her eponymous run, she has really hit her stride, and it would have been great if issues #24 and 25 were featured as intended, and would have made a lot more sense to the original run if they were. All in all, this was (surprisingly) a great run of a great character! Bring on Binary (Uncanny X-Men Masterworks, Vol. 8)
November 23, 2020
This volume was even better than the first: art was still great, but the authorship was better. It was nice to see Carol evolve into a more well-rounded character, and grapple with some pretty human issues (instead of mostly having to punch bad guys all the time—which she did her fair share of in this volume as well). The intro by DeConnick is fire (as is everything she writes). And I completely agree: Avengers #200 is trash... but Clairemont's clean up in Annual #10 is stellar. I'm glad to understand Carol's original stories so that I can appreciate how far her books have come in the last decade. An awesome read! (Now I need to get ahold of the X-Men issues where she takes on the role of Binary—I feel like I still have a major Danvers hole to fill. See what I did there...? ;)
May 17, 2017
I love Ms. Marvel. She's one of Marvel's greatest heroes. And this is required reading for all of her fans. I'd love to see more Ms. Marvel collected in Masterworks editions but this marks the end of her Bronze Age material. It's very fine reading. Highly recommended.
August 15, 2018
I felt like this ended just as it was finding it's voice :(
July 1, 2025
A WONDERFUL COLLECTION. SOME REALLY EXCELLENT STORIES AND ARTWORK. CAROL DANVERS AND MS. MARVEL WERE SUPER. BINARY AT THE END WAS ALSO COOL.
November 21, 2019
Excellent
For fans of Me Marvel, this is an excellent book. Not only does it collect the last of the first series comics. It gives you stories that weren't published due to the books cancellation. Well worth having in your library whether you're an old fan of new.
For fans of Me Marvel, this is an excellent book. Not only does it collect the last of the first series comics. It gives you stories that weren't published due to the books cancellation. Well worth having in your library whether you're an old fan of new.
April 23, 2017
Issue 200 is the reason this got 4 stars. They corrected the issue in the following issue, but the last part of this was rough.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews