Ms. Marvel: What's In A Haircut (Well Hair Mostly)?

Marvel recently announced that they are going to be “bumping up” Ms. Marvel to the Captain Marvel mantel. Kelly Sue DeConnick (Castle: Deadly Storm) will be writing this series while Dexter Soy (Army of Two) will be penciling the book.

While this, in my opinion, is long over due, many fans aren’t to happy. Because she got a haircut….yes a haircut. The first thing my brain went to when seeing the complaints was the “My New Haircut” video on YouTube. Jager bombs everywhere….

While not all people are bashing the new look, it’s surprising that many are just focusing on the haircut. When looking at the history of Ms. Marvel though, it isn’t surprising. Carol Danvers has always been a very independent and strong woman. I refer to Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #47 to prove this. The issue focused on Carol and Peter Parker going out on a date. And while Peter Parker has never been the most manly of characters, it’s clear she is strong and can intimidate men. The same came up in the one shot Siege: Spider-Man #1, where she clearly has the pants on in this relationship. And with her appearing in Avenging Spider-Man #9, this will no doubt make an appearance. Plus the ol’ Parker luck has come back and he is single again.

But why care about the haircut? In an age where everyone focuses on the negative aspects, since they need something to complain about, it’s saddening to see such a promising book not get the right attention that it should be. DeConnick clearly knows the character and her history, and wants to change this. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, she said,

“Show me that a female-led book about the power of the human spirit, about the many guises of heroism, a book wherein no one gets raped or puts her cervix on display, can break six issues, won’t you?”

That quote alone got me very excited for this book. But my cervix quota for the month won’t be.

I have seen a few complaining on message boards about how the haircut makes her look like a lesbian, thus advertising towards women, and only women. While I’m sure this series was green lit on the premise that it COULD attract new female fans, that’s not the only reason. Comic books have a predominantly male fan base, so advertising only women isn’t a good strategy. It’s a style choice that I’m sure DeConnick and Soy thought hard about. We should respect the decision and wait for the book to come out until making a final opinion.

This problem of focusing on one thing and using it as a reason to say this entire series will be bad. For the first time in a long while, I have a really good feeling about this series. I got this excited when I heard Mark Waid will be writing Daredevil.

The first issue of Captain Marvel comes out in July.

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Do you think that the iconic look of Carol “Ms. Marvel” Danvers should have stayed?

What are your feelings towards this? Do you like the new look? Let us know in the usual place!

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MrComicBook

Senior Writer, Entertainment Reviewer & Editor at ComicBookTherapy

Kevin Finnigan is long time comic fan. He studied American History in college, wanting to become a teacher. As you can see, it didn't work out. He reads books by all the big publishers, and dabbles in indie publishers as well.

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