The story of the forgotten
Ms Marvel deserves to be told.
The daughter of a career officer in the United States Army,
Sharon Ventura’s childhood was filled with disruption.
Her mother died when she was young and she had to get used
to being shipped to various towns when her dad was transferred.
The relationship with her father was difficult,
as he’d wanted a son and never praised or encouraged Ventura.
Wanting to prove herself to her father, Sharon Ventura joined the military, only to be kicked
out when she refused to testify against a roommate who was accused of cheating on exams.
Her dad refused to forgive her and died a year after the incident, with the two of them never reconciling.
Ventura spent the next few years training to improve her physical strength, earning a living as a
movie stunt double and motorcycle rider. This led her to join
the Thunderiders motorbike stunt team
and while part of the group she met Ben Grimm/
The Thing of
the Fantastic Four.
Around the same time, Ventura became interested in a career as a professional wrestler,
wanting to join a group of female wrestlers called
the Grapplers.
The manager of the team,
Auntie Freeze, offered Ventura a spot if she’d take part in an
experiment to give her superhuman strength that was provided by a man called the Power Broker.
This treatment was administered by the criminal
Dr Karl Malus as part of a scheme to make
the test subjects addicted to a new drug that would make them dependent on the substance in future.
Ventura realised she was cheating herself and refused to go through with the final experiment.
When Auntie Freeze found out, she ordered the Grapplers to capture Ventura.
Even though she hadn’t been injected with the final drug, Ventura gained
superhuman strength and was able to defeat the Grapplers with the help of the Thing.
It was during this time that Ventura called herself
Ms Marvel and dedicated herself to fighting crime.