A fun and colourful girl power Marvel comic.
I wanted 'Marvel Rising' the moment I heard of it, in spite of the mixed reviews. I mean, it's a Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl team-up book, how could I resist?!
As it turns out, I enjoyed it.
There are a lot of video game references (it's a hundred times more fun, more relevant, and funnier than 'Ready Player One'), as well as references to its toxic male-dominated community. It has an interesting and memorable villain in the form of the teenage gamer Ember, aka Emulator, and it has themes of friendship, community, coming together and never being alone.
The artwork can be a bit of a varying mixture, especially on Squirrel Girl, but overall it's appealingly cartoony and fresh. Kamala Khan is so cute!
I think one of the things that sets 'Marvel Rising' back is the thickness of the volume, and the technobabble. Oh jeez, the technobabble. As if there needs to be grounded, scientific explanations on how someone can make video game characters come to life in the real world, and how other worlds, virtual or not, can exist - in the freaking Marvel Universe! There is a plethora of computer and coding talk in this. Which is understandable, since the majority of the five issues in this volume is set in a school (which keeps getting destroyed, naturally), and in a computer programming class, and it is very clever - a teaching method, as it were - for a comic for kids. But it can get too much, and too bloated, when 'Marvel Rising' is supposed to be a fun and funny superhero action comic book for young readers.
But some boring explanations of computer software and video game data (which can sound entertaining when Squirrel Girl is the one explaining them) don't detract from 'Marvel Rising''s level-ups and plus points. The heroes are in-character and great fun to read about; Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan and Squirrel Girl/Doreen Green get along splendidly, as is to be expected. And Doreen is Kamala's elder and superior! As her volunteering school teacher! There is good dialogue and witty banter. The plot is suspenseful and interesting, leading up to a fitting, action-packed and clever climatic battle. I cared to see what would happen to Emulator (love her design).
I'm not sure about the guy, Inferno, though, when I'd thought that 'Marvel Rising' would be an all-female Marvel superhero team-up book. I don't much care for America Chavez either, at least compared to Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl, but she plays her role, does her job well.
Shame on the publishers and cover artists for the false advertisement of including Captain Marvel... when she isn't in any of the actual issues of this. Same goes for Spider-Gwen. Don't set up for a sequel on the covers of your first volume!
'Marvel Rising' is fun, however. Adorable, funny, and cool, I still recommend it. I've yet to see the animated film, 'Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors' (Kamala Khan's first film appearance! She is a major inspiration), and I can't wait.
Final Score: 4/5
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