Beginning of the Claremont Era
Chris Claremont takes over the run at issue #3, subsequently writing Carol for years in different series. Claremont is best known for his 16 year long run of Uncanny-Xmen (1963), a wildly popular comic that Carol eventually has a very fun role in. (Fun fact: Uncanny X-Men was a major influence on Buffy the Vampire Slayer!)
Ms. Marvel (1977) #3 - #4
Now that we're past the earliest / most establishing issues, this will be more structured (still with panels) than a play-by-play recap. I'll mix up the format as needed, depending on what I'm reviewing.
Chris Claremont writing, with Gerry Conway credited for the plot.
Kids
Early in #3, Carol has a sweet moment with some kids she saves. I always like it when Carol interacts with children. If you're a big Carol fan and you haven't yet read the recent Avengers Academy* (2024) run, I'd recommend it. She's a relatively minor recurring character, but I adore the author's take on Carol's characterization. Draws a lot from Carol's experiences being a kid and how that might shape her perspective and style of care for them as an adult.
*The very long and full name of the comic is... "Avengers Academy: Marvel's Voices infinity comic (2024)"
Salia Petrie
Welcome to Salia Petrie ♡, Carol's astronaut pal. We'll see more of her in future issues.
Carol's Strengths
Carol and Jonah's interactions have been a highlight for me. Unlike in Spider-Man comics around 1977, Carol is much more of a peer to Jonah (she even calls MJ a nice kid, highlighting her age difference from Peter). As such, the interactions she has with JJJ are able to be upfront and confrontational.
Jonah is neither an equal match, nor a source of overwhelming conflict for our lead (yet, at least). I think it's really fun that the main purpose of his appearances early in are to establish Carol as a tenacious, confident woman who doesn't concede easily.
We also establish (so early!) that Carol can be a bit of an asshole sometimes, slamming the door on her way out of Jonah's office after a taunting remark on her victory. But Jonah's more of an asshole than anyone, so it's a great place to set that up and keep Carol likeable.
This flashback is good as well; while at NASA, Carol blows the whistle on the creator of the Doomsday Man, confronting him and leaking his reports in an attempt to shut his project down. He's lucky that he got to deal with NASA Carol and not Carol in her previous, more violent job...
A fun sequence where we learn that Carol studied the Doomsday Man's schematics so carefully in her investigation years ago that she was able to spot a difference in the actual design of the robot mid-fight. Posits her as intelligent.
Also my Carol is Not Young agenda would like me to point out that she held a position of authority for "years" prior to becoming editor of a major magazine. Plus calling MJ a kid. More propaganda coming naturally over time, as Carol says a million other things that make her sound older.
Carol's Weaknesses
Carol's health is on the serious decline, and people are starting to notice something is wrong with her. She is experiencing horrendous pain in both of her personas, and comes out of her Ms. Marvel spells feeling horribly fatigued. This is superhero shenanigans related, but reads pretty easily as a disability metaphor as well. As a chronic migraine sufferer myself, that first panel is really how it feels sometimes, and I've always enjoyed that Carol could relate.
Throughout Carol's history, her mental and physical health tend to be her biggest weaknesses, even as she is increasingly one of the most powerful characters in Marvel comics.
A running theme in Ms. Marvel (1977) is in the contrast between Carol's undeniable skills and how her health is affecting her. We've just seen Carol flawlessly negotiate ownership of an exclusive story, but before she can actually get the scoop, her migraines are once again stopping her from, well, doing anything. They've already halted multiple attempts to connect with MJ, pulled her away from her job, and left her feeling depressed and confused.
In addition to her Ms. Marvel Migraines severely limiting the energy and time that Carol Danvers has, it is causing others to perceive her as unwell, unreliable, and difficult. Being Ms. Marvel will continue to test Carol's relationships with other people, something she doesn't always manage very well.
Art!
The art in these 2 issues is really fun. Also, her first SPACE BATTLE. Congrats, Carol, that rules. I know you've always wanted to do this.
Lastly... Claremont Retcon #1/?
Carol / Ms Marvel personality split.
By the end of Claremont's first issue, it's on its way out; didn't take long. Carol still feels the effects of the divide, for a little while, but this plot point will be gone soon, never to return.
(Except, I suppose, for the Catherine Donovan thing in like 20 years.)
Ms. Marvel was elated to learn she was Carol, but Carol seems pretty unfazed and disappointed to learn she's. Ms Marvel. I think this was approximately how I reacted when I realized I was gay. 1. "Yipee Yay I finally understand what tf is going on with me." 2. "......Wow wait this going to make my life more difficult, huh."
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Review: Cool visuals and less swooning... we are getting somewhere.
Overall, pretty good, but looking forward to getting to stronger comics of hers. Excited to have Claremont here, mostly because I know he has a fun vision for the character and will get into a lot of fun stuff later. Shoutout to Salia Petrie, who I will give more time to soon; she has some greater appearances coming up.
The Doomsday Man fight was really solid, visually and narratively. That, as well as Jonah's scenes fall firmly into good comic territory. Either could appear in a comic today, and I'd be satisfied.
