Kapow! Bam! Wham!

Abstract

In this article, I discuss how educators can use comic books, like Marvel’s Ms. Marvel, to shatter adolescent stereotypes and constructs. Using a modified version of Petrone et al.’s (2015) Youth Lens analysis, I analyze Ms. Marvel, Volumes 1 and 2, focusing on characterization, images, and themes centered on relationships between adolescents and adults, as well as adolescents and their inner struggles to play an important role in their world. I identified four themes: (a) adults serving as guides, (b) adults and authority, (c) the careless and reckless teen, and (d) adolescents as social change makers. Findings suggest comic books like Ms. Marvel can help adolescent readers become aware of the power they have to change stereotypes while addressing social issues.