Marvel Rising: Ms. Marvel/Squirrel Girl #1
Writer: Devin Grayson, Ryan North, and G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Irene Strychalski and Ramon F. Bachs
Colourist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Review by Melissa Prange
In Marvel Rising: Ms. Marvel/Squirrel Girl #1, Ms. Marvel’s knowledge of videos games comes in handy when she, Squirrel Girl, America Chavez, and Dante Pertuz are dropped into a fantasy MMORPG with no way out. The team must find a way to break the game–without losing their lives in the process. Squirrel Girl is more than ready to collect all the loot and cause all the grief with Ms. Marvel by her side, but the rest are less than thrilled with the video game shenanigans.
Meanwhile, Ember (a.k.a. Emulator) is still following the instructions of the mysterious KingOfPWN. The machine meant to enhance her powers is almost complete, but she’s having second thoughts about stepping inside. Supervillaining hasn’t turned out to be as great as she expected (which means this might not be her villainous origin story after all).
In this issue, we also finally meet the mysterious figure who’s been texting and influencing Ember since the beginning. Squirrel Girl’s handy dandy “Deadpool’s Guide Super Villains” makes an appearance as the heroes try to find a way to defeat the newly revealed threat. Of course, with one issue left, they can’t possibly save the day quite yet (even with the team building skills they learned in the MMORPG). There’s still Marvel Rising: Omega #1 to go.
The Verdict: Buy It.
Marvel Rising: Ms. Marvel/Squirrel Girl #1 doesn’t disappoint as the penultimate issue of the Marvel Rising series. The story is full of action and humor and has just the sort of heart you would expect from a Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl comic. Ms. Marvel, Squirrel Girl, and America Chavez make an excellent girl gang with Dante Pertuz thrown in as an added bonus. The comic makes fun use of video games and gives the two title heroines a chance to use their geekiness to save the day. With only one more issue to go, it’s bittersweet to see the series start to wrap up. Still, it’s been an excellent adventure and here’s hoping Squirrel Girl and Ms. Marvel will have plenty of chances to team up in the future!
