Marvel Mockingbird: Strike out, by Maria Lewis

You might have read Marvel Comics, and the chances are really high that you’ve seen Marvel adaptations on the big or the small screen – now get ready for the written version! Follow me into the narrative version of the Marvel universe.

This time, we’re following Bobbi Morse, as part of a Marvel heroines novel. I’ve never read a comic starring Bobbi (or Mockingbird, as her hero alter ego is called), but I’ve seen her in »Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.« (AOS for short), played by the wonderful Adrienne Palicki, so I immediately knew she was a badass hero. I was kind of surprised, though, to learn that this novel is actually the 8th installment in the Marvel heroines series. Every book follows another heroine, and none of them are what you would call a “mayor player” in the Marvel Universe. They include Dominion, Rogue, Squirrel Girl – and now Mockingbird.

So the real question here is: can this work? Every other Marvel medium was highly visual, either the graphic novels or the movies and series. We know from the MCU that the screen writers are able to catch their audience (although the movie plots are starting to get really repetitive, and you can see that they are recycling a lot of tropes forever and ever). But the series have been different, more creative in my opinion – including AOS. And that gave me hope, because here we are with one of the agents, and the fact this novel centers around one of the lesser known heroines is a strong point, in my opinion. Because if I had to write a story for a Marvel hero, I would hate that be one of the stars. Everyone knows them, and everyone has an idea about how that hero should work. Using one of the lesser known heroes gives you more leeway to make the character interesting.

Read my interview with Maria Lewis to learn more!

Although there are differences between the Bobbi you might know from AOS and the one in this novel. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Clint »Hawkeye« Barton has a family and maybe a hint of a romantic connection to Black Widow. I’m the comics universe – which this novel is connected to – he’s the former husband of Mockingbird. The novel actually starts with their divorce negotiations. Fun facts: Her lawyer is She-Hulk, while Clint got Daredevil. Kind of makes you wish that they would hash it out in the arena.

Back to topic, then. Like I said, using Mockingbird gave Maria Lewis the chance to define the character her way, especially as she caught Bobbi at a transitional point in her life, going through divorce. I’m my humble opinion, she rose to that challenge! And since Bobbi is something like a regular human (with a wee drop of super soldier serum in her, but far from Captain levels), she’s a wonderful main character, one the reader can identify with. Her inner monologue is represented well.

So, what about the story? It’s less superhero, more spy work, but we’re still talking about Marvel here. That means suspension of disbelief is necessary as our first person narrator navigates her way through some shenanigans to find and save her missing mentor. She even has a knight on a horse to help her! (Okay, agent Lancelot is riding a Ducati, but at least he has a very knightly name.) If you’re really into spy thrillers, you might end up a tad disappointed – were not talking about authentic spycraft here, rather the one with so many gadgets, even James Bond would be jealous. If you want the other kind, read some John Le Carré.

But you probably knew that beforehand, because it IS a Marvel novel and S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t known for low tech equipment, after all. With regards to these parameters, it’s excellent entertainment! Don’t focus on the details, just go with the flow, and you’ll have yourself a great old time, batting bad boys beside Bobbi.

The mandatory thriller twist is there, but to be honest, it kind of underwhelmed me. First of all, the true villain behind the kidnapping was teased multiple times, and for any thriller aficionado, it was kind of expected, a classic genre trope. It works, just not with a bam.

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I’ll give this 4 stars. Solid entertaining, fast paced, with enough humour to lighten up the action. I think the tie-in to the Marvel universe (with the divorce going on) burdened the story a little bit (it would have been more fun as a stand alone without having to integrate some metaplot), but Marie was able to keep up the pace nonetheless. And it was fun to see the inside thoughts of Mockingbird up close!

Disclaimer: I’ve received a free Advanced Reader’s Copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.