Carol Danvers and Ms. Marvel Fight Against A.I.M.: Ms. Marvel #10 – October 1977

Ms. Marvel #10: "Cry Murderr -- Cry Modok!"

The Ms. Marvel and Carol Danvers don’t realize that they are the same person saga continues.

This is issue picks up right where Ms Marvel #9 stopped. As if both Marvel Team-Up issues didn’t occur, even though they are both in the same continuity. Well you can’t expect a publicly stunt to make sense.

To refresh your memory, in Ms. Marvel #9, the issue ended with Carol Danvers being apprehended by A.I.M. after she investigated their New-York headquarter. She turns into Ms. Marvel when A.I.M orders her to be investigated and then killed. Then Modok, Death-Bird and their army stormed the headquarters.

However, when this issue opens Carol Danvers is still in her civilian clothes and she’s trying to run away from the chaos of the fight between Modok’s forces and A.I.M.’s.

However, Modok knows how Ms. Marvel looks like unmasked and he recognizes her. So, he sends Death-Bird to kill her. Danvers decides to try and make it out of this situation as herself and not as her “cursed Kree alter-ego!” You can just feel the love between Ms. Marvel and Carol Danvers.

Danvers takes on Death-Bird. She believes in herself, in her values and in her military training, she believes that that will get her through this fight. She even manages to deflect and take one of Death-Bird’s energy javelins. But, then the change happens.

Ms. Marvel says that: “I hated forcing the change on her. It’s as much a psychic wrench for me as it is for her -- but whatever possessed Carol to face Death-Bird as herself?! She may have gotten lucky once, but the second time she would have died. And I’d have died with her.” Ms. Marvel doesn’t have a lot of faith in Danvers’ abilities, even though they are the same person. This is getting really old. One moment they are fine with being a human and a superheroine in one body, and the next, they hate each other. All this back and forth fighting for no reason between the two of the them, makes their plot development feel stuck.

I think that it’s funny that Death-Bird calls Ms. Marvel a “careless, hatchling.” It’s better than “sister.” It’s like they truly belong to the same species. Ms. Marvel tries to tell Death-Bird that they are both human, but it’s not really affecting Death-Bird who doesn’t accept that claim.

In the meantime, Modok successfully takes over A.I.M. He steals a cassette that can control a missile in the Bronx. He believes this gives him the power to control the world.

Ms. Marvel’s and Death-Bird’s fight reaches the upper floors of Alden’s. A police officer tries to call it in, someone shoots him, and then someone more mysterious shoots the shooter, allowing the police officer to call it in.

Modok calls Death-Bird, so she must stop the fight with Ms. Marvel. She goes after Ms. Marvel with full force and her wings to stun her and disengage.

Death-Bird vanishes and the police shows up. For once, they actually do their job and rescue everybody, including Ms. Marvel. They recognize her because she’s become a famous heroine apparently, which is nice. The officer wants her to see a doctor, but there is not time to rest as a new wave of A.I.M. henchmen shows up. She is super angry as there are still costumers in the store and takes them all out, in one blow.

Ms. Marvel finds only one person alive in the complex. He tells her that Modok will use the missile to fly to space and take over the NASA facility which is running experiments on the cavourite crystal. This will allow him to take over the world. This crystal is surely popular.

Then the comic cut back to the office. Where we see that Danvers should be at work, and everything is falling apart without her. The good old, can you be a hero and have a regular life? And usual answer is generally no. Unless you’re rich or work for the government.

We switch to Modok, who is about to launch the missile and board it with Death-Bird. When suddenly, one of her own Javelin hits the control board. It’s Ms. Marvel of course.

She punches Death-Bird away and goes after Modok. Revenge for the fact that he tried to brainwash her into obedience in issue #7. Then after a few good punches, Death-Bird recovers and grabs Ms. Marvel by the scarf. Yes, that cursed scarf again.

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These two panels of Death-Bird and Ms. Marvel fighting are just embarrassing. Way, way too much focus on their groin. What the hell are those positions? This is seriously terrible drawings. No wonder Chris Claremont was unhappy it.

Modok enters the missile, without Death-Bird, thinking that igniting it will kill both women.

While they are fighting. For the first time, we get a small piece of Death-Bird’s background story. She is of the Aerie people, though we still don’t know what it means. But we know that she has an uncontrollable temper, that made her kill one of her own kind, one of her own her sisters. Ms. Marvel notes that she says this with pain in her voice. Ms. Marvel feels sorry for her, and that angers Death-Bird, she yells: “I don’t want your sympathy, woman -- or your help! I don’t need it!” A tragic villain. Better than one which we know nothing about.

Ms. Marvel is at her best here, showing some sympathy towards her enemy. But Death-Bird loses it, and doesn’t care that she’s minutes from death by fire as long as Ms. Marvel dies. We are to assume that she died, even though no one dies in comic books.

Ms. Marvel managed to survive by flying into the control room. Then she flies after Modok capsule, tears a hole in it, walks in, and there is no one there.

She knows that as long as he lives Carol Danvers is in great danger. She swears that next time they will fight, only one will survive.

The continuity makes no sense. It’s like the Marvel Team-Up’s didn’t happened and Carol Danvers was in her Ms. Marvel outfit by the end of Ms. Marvel #9, but now she’s dresses as Danvers and as if nothing happened. I don’t like such inconsistencies. I also don’t like that Carol Danvers suddenly has a problem with being Ms. Marvel, again. I thought that they were finding a balance. This conflict is being stretched too long. In fact, one of the fan letters that are always published with this issue is complaining about this problem, and it’s talking about two issues ago.

I really like Death-Bird as an enemy. She’s not just a good fighter who also respects Ms. Marvel, she has a rich background. One which we will learn more about in future X-Men comic books. Modok as a villain doesn’t impress me, and the cavourite crystal has become a regular McGuffin. Modok is not the villain of the week, because it’s not the first time we see him, but I don’t find him to be a worthy or interesting villain. By far the most interesting part of the issue was seeing Danvers trying to fight Death-Bird by herself, and her work place falling apart without her. Because I think that Carol Danvers is more interesting than Ms. Marvel.

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