REVIEW: Marvel Team-Up Featuring Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel #1

The Marvel Team Up series is back, and in this issue we find classic Peter Parker Spider-man teamed up with Ms Marvel, Kamala Khan. After an incident at a science conference at Empire State University, our mismatched heroes find that they have swapped bodies, and it is here that we find our duo. This isn“t the first time old pro Spider-man has been in this trope of a situation, but having only been around since 2014, coming in at 5 years compared to the half a century Spidey has under his spandex, this is new territory for this iteration of Ms Marvel.

Body swapping is a classic narrative device, dating back to 1882, 90 years before even the first ”˜Freaky Friday“ story by Mary Rodgers, and first used by Marvel in Issue #37 of Daredevil in 1968. Peter and Kamala must find a way back to their own bodies, while dealing with the issues arising from it ”“ Peter has a job interview, Kamala has a presentation, and of course, their powers don“t quite work right, as neither is used to using the others abilities. Though there is a moment when Peter, as Kamala, experiences a moment within her high school that opens his eyes to a harshness experienced by many across the world, particularly in a post 9/11 America.

The artwork is solid, as to be expected from a Marvel comic, and commendations must be made that it hasn“t completely abandoned the comic book art of stippling. As one of the juggernauts of comic books, it is pleasing to know they do not forget their roots. This is also highlighted in a page with reference to Stan“s Soapbox, a short letter-to-the-audience, which was once a monthly column written by Stan Lee within Marvel“s Bullpen Bulletins, which ran from 1965 to 2001. This issue“s features a Stan“s Soapbox from July 1968, and is accompanied by a small drawing of Stan in the lower left corner. This little moment of comic book history is worth reading.

A solid entry into the Marvel Team-Up series, it is interesting to see a long standing quipmeister like Spider-Man connect with a newer superhero, particularly one so young who is dealing with issues both similar and dissimilar to himself when he first started webslinging his way through New York City. While the narrative device may be old, the narrative itself doesn“t feel contrived, and sets up an interesting dynamic going forward.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Eve L. Ewing (A) Joey Vasquez (Col.) Felipe Sobreiro (Let.) Clayton Cowles