Ms. Marvel #6
Ms. Marvel #6 marks the first appearances of Lynn Anderson and Frank Gianelli, two supporting characters who would anchor Carol Danvers's civilian life at Woman magazine throughout Chris Claremont's defining run on the series. The issue also deepens one of the Bronze Age's most unusual hero conceits — Carol's split consciousness, where Ms. Marvel identifies as a separate Kree persona — by having that fractured identity play out in real time during a crisis involving the world-threatening Cavorite crystal. Though it does not carry the weight of a debut issue, it is a foundational building block in Claremont's effort to give Carol Danvers a fully realized supporting cast and personal life, an approach that would later shape how Marvel wrote female-led titles. The cliffhanger ending — Grotesk declaring Ms. Marvel dead in the burning ruins of a factory — represents one of the series' earliest genuine dramatic stakes, demonstrating Claremont's willingness to put his protagonist in authentic peril.
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By issue #6, Chris Claremont had already taken firm hold of the scripting duties he assumed from series creator Gerry Conway starting with issue #3, with Conway having plotted the third issue and Claremont fully scripting from there onward. Claremont worked with penciler Jim Mooney on breakdowns and finisher Joe Sinnott on finished art, a team that had been providing the visual backbone of the Claremont-era issues; the cover was penciled by John Buscema with alterations by Marie Severin, inked by Frank Giacoia. Editor-in-Chief Archie Goodwin oversaw the issue, which was released in June 1977 with a cover date of the same month. The series was consciously positioned as Marvel's flagship feminist-era title, a context that Claremont took seriously in developing Carol's professional world at Woman magazine as a meaningful setting rather than mere backdrop.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Lynn Anderson, a supporting character on the Woman magazine staff who recurs throughout Claremont's entire run on the series.
- First appearance of Frank Gianelli, Carol Danvers's reporter/photographer colleague at Woman magazine, who becomes a recurring presence and brief romantic interest in later issues.
- Story title: '…And Grotesk Shall Slay Thee!' — scripted by Chris Claremont, with pencil breakdowns by Jim Mooney and finished art by Joe Sinnott.
- Cover art penciled by John Buscema with alterations by Marie Severin, inked by Frank Giacoia and Marie Severin — a modified version of an existing Buscema image.
- The main plot involves Ms. Marvel attempting to prevent Grotesk from obtaining the Cavorite crystal, a world-threatening object with ties to Carol's memories of her NASA career, depicted in flashback with Dr. Peter Corbeau.
- Ms. Marvel is left buried in burning factory rubble at the issue's end, with Grotesk declaring her dead — a cliffhanger continued in issue #7.
- Peter Corbeau appears only in a flashback sequence, linking the Cavorite crystal to Carol's pre-powers NASA history.
- The entire original run of Ms. Marvel (1977) #1–23, including this issue, has been collected in Essential Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 (black-and-white) and Marvel Masterworks: Ms. Marvel Vol. 1, which collects issues #1–14.
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Reprinted in Miss Marvel #3 (1980), Essential Ms. Marvel #1 (2007), Marvel Masterworks: Ms. Marvel #1 (2014), Captain Marvel: Ms. Marvel - A Hero Is Born Omnibus #[nn] (2018), Ms. Marvel Epic Collection #1 (2018)
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