Is it weird that Bruno and Miles have not interacted much?

[u/LL_Cool_R]

I could see the two being great friends, to the point of Kamala being comically jealous that her two closest male friends have great chemistry haha. I imagine that their banter is hilarious.

[u/AcisConsepavole]

Science-inclined young men from "rival" cities. Bruno's a rare example of an actual Neapolitan-American in a diasporic sense rather than a simply settler colonial one. Mile's household is strongly Boriquan. Combine those two. The Morales family and the Carrelli family would definitely be in on that food exchange deal that the Carrellis and Khans were shown practicing in the Ms. Marvel Disney+ show. Miles and Bruno do seem to at least be aware of each other, separate from the superhero thing. Remember the first issue of the Civil War II arc?

I also think Bruno and Kareem would have a healthy relationship if amatonormativity is gotten out of the way -- I talk about it a lot, but amatonormativity is basically this focus of "the only relationship that matters is a romantic one". Who they are as people isn't really dependent on who "gets" Kamala. This can also apply to Miles, because Kamala and Miles do have fantastic romantic chemistry (but they tend to get shoved together more on a commercial basis of "the audience wants it at a surface level and they're two of the most popular new characters of the 2010s").

[u/LL_Cool_R → u/AcisConsepavole]

I definitely agree on the food exchange haha. Yeah I remember them being aware of each other, just feels overdue for the two to have more significant interactions. Hope that he and Kamala appear in Miles' new comic in August.

I completely agree with you about amatonormativity. Also for Miles and Kamala, nowadays I see as platonic soulmates. Kind of like Nightwing and Donna Troy. It was one of the reasons why I did not like the Spectacular Spider-Men series, it felt off for Miles to have that deep of a crush on Kamala still. I believe that he grew out of the crush. (Especially with him having his girlfriend for the last 6 years).

[u/AcisConsepavole → u/LL_Cool_R]

I actually did end up liking Spectacular Spider-Men, and I didn't think I would. Following Kamala had it in my TBR for a while, but hesitant because I had preconceived notions from what I heard about it. I wound up reading it because I wound up rereading Hickman's Avengers World again to actually understand it this time, and for Nightmask (Adam Blackveil). The writer for Spectacular Spider-Men wrote a short series for Starbrand & Nightmask of the 616 going to college back in 2016, and then Spectacular Spider-Men continues that story kind of.

Once I finally read it, I thought the fantasy was more of an examination of subconscious, with a bonus commentary on AI selling uninhibited fantasies. A romantic relationship with Kamala is an ideal, not so much a desire, in the recesses of Miles's mind. It would be easier, especially because it's a fanfiction version of Kamala, instead of it really being her. The point is that it's a dodging of responsibilities, so he can overcome it. The story also gives the real Kamala the opportunity to have feelings about all that. I respect it, plus I liked the OC Elementary. Also, Kamala is in Ziglar's "Brooklyn's finest" Miles series on Marvel Unlimited, right now. She appears in #15, #16, and will appear in #17 at least.

[u/LL_Cool_R → u/AcisConsepavole]

I definetly have to reread Avengers World at some. I got to check out the  Starbrand & Nightmask series so thanks.

That's a good evaluation of it. I think ultimately I just wasn't a fan of how Miles was written by the writer in the series. Especially when Miles' girlfriend caught Kamala and Miles in that conversation after the fantasy adventure. It just made Tiana look like the 'disposable black girlfriend trope' and making it look like Kam and Miles could be endgame (which I know is not necessarily the case. The writer probably just ships Kamala and Miles over Miles with Tiana).

Thanks for reminding me about Ziglar's "Brooklyn's finest" Miles series. Got to get back to it after the Inari arc.

[u/AcisConsepavole → u/LL_Cool_R]

I never knew personally that a critical component of understanding Avengers World was knowing about Jim Shooter's canned New Universe from 1986. Someone mentioned Nightmasks when I was discussing Somnus/Carl Valentino (another character I would like to see interact with Kamala) and his design, and learning about Keith Remsen sent me down a rabbit hole that made me go "Oh THAT'S what was happening. Yeah, I was -8 years old in 1986. So that's what all that Builder and White Event stuff was about. Hell, the Builders were actually more riffing off of the 2006 Newuniversal series, which never even finished because its writer's computer crashed and deleted his notes".

I only ever read Hickman's Avengers World and Infinity because I read Kamala first and wanted to know about the Terrigen event that released the cloud that activated her origin story, and Avengers World was promised to be a build up to understanding 2015's Secret Wars, but I just didn't know enough about navigating comics to really get what was going on anywhere. Ultimately, it's not like either Infinity nor Secret Wars was super relevant to someone who was just interested in Kamala's story anyway.

Starbrand & Nightmask was pretty bland as its own series. The highlights are Greg Weisman's own OCs, who continue in 616 through his Spectacular series. I do have to agree that Miles's portrayal in Spectacular is less than flattering, even as character examination, and Tatiana is barely present except as a reminder that she exists. For a story that I loved for how much it felt cozy as a sort of coffeehouse AU focused on community, Tatiana totally could have had more presence and that does leave a sour taste in my mouth.

But one thing I will say for Weisman is that it doesn't feel like personal shipping. It doesn't feel like he's making a definitive decision for what should be, but exploring something that has been pre-established. Miles does have a romantic interest in Kamala -- the AN, AD Avengers annual has him catching heat from Kamala on a fanfic forum about his shipping story, after all. I agree they're soulmates, at minimum, but I also think that's everyone who Kamala has a potential future with -- Bruno, Kareem, etc. I don't know if I've expressed this to you, but my ideal story is seeing a future where -- whoever Kamala ends up with -- Miles, Kareem, and Bruno are beloved uncles to each other's children. That demonstrates community care for Kamala more than "she has to be mine" ever could, and each of them is entirely predisposed to be written that way. Give me the positive masculinity/community care rep!

I need to read Brooklyn's Finest too. I saw Kamala advertised for the latest one and jumped back in after stopping after the second issue since there is a plot and I'm reading a lot of other stories right now. I know there's a character named Inari, but that's something I inadvertently skipped over.

[u/todavis__]

Ask much as I would love to explore KaMiles or whatever tf they'd call themselves... The idea of Miles, Kamala, and all their little friends just getting together and going bowling or to the movies sounds like something I'd buy four copies of.

[u/LL_Cool_R → u/todavis__]

I agree. Love slice of life moments.

[u/CamiThrace]

I mean, Kamala has civilian friends who know she’s Ms Marvel, but her hero friends don’t really know she’s Kamala. So it’s not so strange that Miles doesn’t know Bruno.

[u/gangler52]

I feel like it's pretty normal? Bruno is a part of Kamala's supporting cast. He doesn't interact much with Thor or Iron Man either.