Ms. Marvel
Next up in Phase Four, we get Marvel's first teen centered series. I kind of love how all the MCU Disney+ series so far have had a different vibe and a different genre. With "Ms. Marvel," the MCU dives in to teen drama/comedy. Kamala Khan made her Marvel comics debut first as a background cameo in "Captain Marvel" #14 back in August of 2013. Her first full appearance was in "Ms. Marvel" #1 in February of 2014. It was written by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Adrian Alphona. Since her debut, Kamala has become extremely popular and her various series critically acclaimed. She's played a major role in lots of major events in the comics and right now there is some controversy regarding her because of something that has recently happened to her. I won't spoil it, but if you want to know I urge you to Google. And I urge you to read "Ms. Marvel" comics.
"Generation Why"
Kamala Khan: "You trust me, right?"
Muneeba Khan: "No, I don't."
Yusuf Khan: "Of course she does."
Muneeba Khan: "No, I don't."
Kamala Khan is 16-year-old high school student from Jersey City, New Jersey. Kamala lives in a fantasyland. She makes barely seen YouTube videos primarily focused on her hero, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel. She routinely flusters and confuses her traditional Muslim parents, specifically her mother, Muneeba. Kamala is desperate to attend AvengerCon and show off her Captain Marvel cosplay, but it looks like that is out after she has a fight with her parents. Kamala and her best friend, Bruno, sneak out and during the contest a family heirloom bangle manifests powers in Kamala that turn her life upside down.
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| Marveling Out |
"Ms. Marvel" gives me everything that I really love about the MCU in general. It's bright. It's colorful. It's fun. It is filled with three dimensional characters that you are automatically rooting for. It focuses on teenage characters and they aren't annoying. Well, if they are, then that is on purpose. It also focuses on a culture and religion that still doesn't get a lot of play in mainstream media and feels really underrepresented. The series is created and ran by Bisha K. Ali a British-Pakistani writer. I've said it before, I'll say it again and I'll continue to say it. It's so important that when you are telling these stories they are spearheaded by people who are part of that culture. And "Ms. Marvel" has that in the writers room and behind the camera as well as in front of it.
I feel like I'm saying this a lot, but the casting on "Ms. Marvel" is impeccable. I think Marvel Studios is really great at finding the right actors to embody these characters and lead actress Iman Vellani is no exception. It's as if Kamala Khan stepped right off the comic page and on to the television screen. She is perfect as Kamala. She is full of energy. She is effervescent. She is a little cringey at times, which is fine because teenagers are cringey. Kamala is charming and lovely, but she is still a teenager. She does shitty teenage things like go off on her parents when they are just trying to relate to her in their way. But you never dislike her.
The entire Khan family is great. They gel well together. They feel like real family. You may not be from a Muslim family or Pakistani, but there is still a lot to relate to no matter who you are. Matt Lintz and Yasmeen Fletcher are wonder as Bruno Carelli and Nakia Badahir, respectively. They have immediate chemistry with Vellani and its easy to believe these three are lifelong friends.
I love the visual flourishes in "Ms. Marvel." They are so unique and really not anything we've seen in the MCU. It's established early on that Kamala has a rich internal world and has a lot of fantasies and the show does a great job of bringing them to life. I love how the various versions of her Captain Marvel animate across the buildings as she and Bruno talk about them. Or how the text bubbles are envisioned. Text bubbles are becoming more and more prevalent in today's media and the way "Ms. Marvel" shows them are perfect. Whether they are the stars on Kamala's bedroom ceiling morphing to form words or the neon sign of the Circle Q where Bruno works it makes something humdrum fantastical.
One of my favorite moments in this first episode is when Kamala details her plan to sneak out of the house with Bruno. What kid hasn't had these elaborate fantasies where they swing from a tree branch or hop on top of a bus. A fantasy where everything goes according to plan. Of course, this doesn't work out at all how the two of them envision it, but they still make it to AvengerCon, so all's well that ends well?
This first episode is kind of light on action, but that is fine. The action that does happen is cool and in a setting that we haven't seen before. It also leads to the major change here for Ms. Marvel, which involves Kamala's origin. In the comics, Kamala is an Inhuman. During that time in the comics, they were making a major push with the Inhumans. That push is now over and it's been over in the MCU ever since the "Inhumans" television series flopped hard. So, instead of having elastic, Mister Fantastic-like powers, Kamala finds a bangle sent from Pakistan by her nani aka grandmother. This bangle seems to give her the ability to create hard light constructs that sometimes mimic her comic powers. She uses these powers to save a social influencer classmate, Zoe, from an accident that Kamala caused.
I know some comic fans are not cool with this change, but honestly, it doesn't really bother me. I don't usually get my panties in too much of a bunch when it comes to the MCU changes. What I care about is that the character still feels like the character and this definitely feels like Kamala Khan whether she is stretching or not. I'm willing to go for the ride and find out if there is more to this bangle than meets the eye and spoiler alert... there is.
This first episode gives us a brief mid credits scene. It seems that agents P. Cleary and Sadie Deever from the Department of Damage Control have taken an interest in this new Jersey meta. You may remember Agent Cleary from "Spider-Man: No Way Home." This isn't looking good for Kamala.
Grade: A-
"Crushed"
Yusuf Khan: "Trust me, even a cover band of Bon Jovi's gonna get people to talk for a long time. Moreover, your mother loves Bon Jovi."
Muneeba Khan: "Mmm-hmm."
Aamir Khan: "Why?"
Muneeba Khan: "Hey, don't question my love for the Captain Kidd. It it wasn't for "Slippery When Wet," your father and I may have never met."
Aamir Khan: "That was gross. I don't wanna know. I-I'm done."
After her adventures at AvengerCon, Kamala feels like a brand new person. She's more confident at school and after she and Bruno test the limits of her new powers. Bruno discovers that the bangle isn't the source of Kamala's new power, it resides inside her, the bangle just triggered it. Things are looking up for Kamala. She meets and seems to have a mutual attraction to an attractive student named Kamran. She's encouraging Nakia to run for the mosque board. She's learning little by little about the bangle. But when "Night Light" makes an appearance at an Eid Mubarak celebration to save a young boy, things take a turn.
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| BFF's |
Now that Kamala has the bangle and she is the talk of Zoe's socials after saving her at AvengerCon, Kamala has a new outlook on life and a spring in her step. I love how this opening is kind of a mirror of the first one, but this time it features Kamala doing all the things you wanted her to do in the last episode. She's correcting the gym teacher who's apparently been mispronouncing her name for a while. She moves the two girls who are blocking her locker. Things are good. And though we know that this new attitude can't last, it's great to see Kamala in this light. She even decides that she is going to go to Zoe's party, dragging Nakia and Bruno along with her. She's even willing to overlook the unfortunate superhero that Zoe gives her, "Night Light."
At Zoe's party, Kamala falls immediately in lust with Kamran. I mean, who can blame her. We first really meet him as he's shirtless, jumping off a roof in to Zoe's pool. That is pretty impressive. Plus, he's got a dope car. He seems to enjoy all the things that Kamala does and he even offers to give her a driving lesson much to Bruno's chagrin. Iman Vellani and Rish Shah have immediate chemistry and you are rooting for these two crazy kids even though you know something has to be up with Kamran. I enjoyed their Bollywood discussion particularly because they included the Eternal, Kingo. This is the kind of interconnectedness I want with the MCU.
The series continues to tweak Kamala's powers and origins. Kamala is creating hard light constructs and according to Bruno, the source of the powers are not the bangle. The power comes from inside Kamala and the bangle just awakened that. This kind of keeps things in line a bit with Kamala's comic book origins. She may not be an Inhuman, but its clear that Kamala is some sort of enhanced individual.
I enjoy how the show is entwining Kamala's origins with her Muslim heritage as well. At dinner, Yusuf tells the story of Muneeba's mother, Sana. Sana was on the last train out of India during the Partition. She was separated from her father and somehow made her way back to him. Her only explanation for this is that she followed stars. The bangle is from Sana's mother Aisha. Kamala tries to find out more information about Aisha but no one is very forthcoming. Sana blows her off and when she speaks about Aisha with the Illumin-Aunties at the Eid Mubarak celebration they tell her stories of how Aisha brought shame to Muneeba's family. Aisha was a woman who had many affairs, maybe had secret family and potentially killed someone according to who you ask.
There is more of a focus on Kamala's Muslim heritage this episode and we see many facets of it. We learn more about Nakia this episode. It seems that Nakia is bi-racial and feels the pull from both worlds. I enjoyed the conversation that Kamala and Nakia have in regards to the hijab. Nakia wears the hijab because it makes her feel complete. She embraces her Muslim heritage and due to some prodding from Kamala decides to run for the Mosque board. I loved how the episode highlighted the differences between male side and the female side. The female side is falling apart and things are getting stolen while the men's side is kept pristine.
The interrogation scene at Damage Control between Zoe, Deever and Cleary is also extremely telling and feels like it will become a theme of "Ms. Marvel." Deever doesn't even seem to be trying to hide her inherent racism as she goes after Zoe. And Cleary is clearly weary of it, but still sends her out to investigate a number of places where brown people congregate.
We get our clearest look at Kamala's powers at the end of the episode when she uses them to save a boy who falls out of the tower trying to take selfie. It seems like things are going well, but Kamala sees a vision of a woman that causes her to lose focus and she barely saves the boy from getting seriously injured. I like that they don't make Kamala a whiz with her powers right away. That never feels realistic and it creates stakes. Kamala ends the episode running from Damage Control and getting picked up by Kamran who has a woman in is backseat. She is his mother and the woman that Kamala saw in her vision.
Grade: A-
Next up, Kamala learns more about her powers from Kamran and his mother and takes a family trip to Pakistan for more answers.
What do you all think of "Ms. Marvel?" Clearly, I really love it. It feels different from other Marvel properties in the best way. Are you cool with the tweaks to her powers and origins? Wish they were a little more comics faithful? Do you love Iman Vellani? Let me know in the comments.
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