Fans of the MCU have been in a bit of a dry spell since the finale of Moon Knight and the release of Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness a few weeks back. While this isn’t the first drought we’ve had to endure, it certainly felt a lot longer than it needed to. But, thankfully, a new hero has arrived to save us from our boredom in the form of a brown girl from New Jersey, Ms. Marvel.
As usual, the following is chock full of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched yet, proceed with caution.
The Next Generation of Superheroes
The first episode of Ms. Marvel, titled “Generation Why,” finds Kamala Khan — Iman Vellani, who is perfect in the role — with her heart set on visiting AvengerCon, the inaugural convention commemorating Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Her plan gets foiled when she fails her driver’s test by backing into the instructor’s car.
The convention is important to her because of the Captain Marvel costume contest. Kamala is obsessed with Captain Marvel. She’s sure the costume she made will win, but she’s still looking for that one piece of flair to complete it; the thing that makes that costume unique to her.
She and her best friend, Bruno (Matt Lintz), concoct a plan to get to AvengerCon. Despite some setbacks, the plan works, and Kamala and Bruno have a blast. However, when Kamala puts on a bracelet she got from her grandmother (the personal touch to the costume), she discovers a power flowing through her. Kamala is unable to control the power, and she causes a scene at the convention. She almost gets her classmate killed, but luckily, Kamala is able to use the new power to save the girl.
Kamala isn’t so lucky when she gets home and discovers her mother waiting for her. Her mother explains that she just wants to protect Kamala from herself and leaves her to decide whether she wants to be good or some “cosmic, head-in-the-clouds person”?
I’ll be upfront and say that I haven’t read too much of the Ms. Marvel comics. I caught Kamala’s first appearance and the few issues after that, but I haven’t kept up too much on Ms. Marvel’s adventures.
I know that Kamala’s powers in the comics are much different than in the new show. In the comics, she got her powers after being exposed to Terrigen Mists, a vapor that activates the Inhuman gene in some people and gives them special abilities.
A Change In The Origin Story
However, in the series, a mysterious bracelet given by her grandmother gives her the powers. This adds an extra level to the character because Kamala’s mother is constantly telling Kamala that she knows what happens when people are obsessed with their fantasies. Though she never outright says it, this is likely a reference to her own mother who sent the bracelet.
Most of the episode deals with the tension between Kamala and her family. Kamala is a dreamer, but her family is very practical, especially her mother, and they want her to focus on her life so she can be successful.
But Kamala is more of a “live for the day” person. She wants to go to AvengerCon in her Captain Marvel costume to win the cosplay contest.
A Vibrant New Hero
Ms. Marvel is by far the most colorful series from the MCU yet. The cinematography is bright and vibrant, not washed-out and monotone like so much of the rest of the films and shows.
This cheerful tone is set early on by introducing Kamala and her obsession with the Avengers (specifically Captain Marvel) through a fun and engaging animation. The animations themselves are fantastic because they serve as a recap for the past Avengers movies as well as being diegetic to the story, showing Kamala’s enthusiasm for the heroes.
They’ve also managed to inject fun into other aspects of the show, like Kamala’s “Walter Mitty” like dream sequences and making character to character text messages part of the scenery. (I loved this aspect of the show because it was so inventive and made the text easier to read for someone with terrible eyesight like mine.)
The Importance of Family In Ms. Marvel
It seems that Kamala’s family life will be a major conflict within the show. She comes from a very protective family, one where gender roles are sacrosanct. As a result, she isn’t given much freedom. However, Kamala is one to focus on her dreams, even to the detriment of losing sight of her own future.
The family themselves feel real. As a white American male, I can’t weigh in on the intricacies of a Pakistani Muslim family living in Jersey City. But after scrolling through the #MsMarvel hashtag on Twitter, I found many people with similar backgrounds who could relate to Kamala’s home life. That the showrunners nailed this aspect of the character is important, as it helps to show the diversity of not only the Marvel Universe but superheroes in general.
Of course, this comes as no surprise seeing as the show’s creator, Bisha K. Ali, is, herself, of Pakistani descent. Plus it was always the goal of Kamala’s creators, Sana Amanat and G. Willow Wilson, to imbue Kamala Khan with a realistic view of the traditional Pakistani family.
Also, her parents are pretty adorable, especially her father, and how he wanted to dress as Pakistani-Hulk to take her to AvengerCon.
Bringing The Fun Back
But there’s more to Ms. Marvel than just conflicts with her family. A quick post-credits scene shows the return of Damage Control. Last seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Department of Damage Control gets wind of Kamala Khan and her new powers after the events of AvengerCon. How they play into the series is anyone’s guess, but it seems that D.O.D.C. is going to be Kamala’s main antagonist for now.
If Marvel planned to bring fun back into the MCU, they certainly succeeded. So many of the MCU shows on Disney+ have dealt with heavy themes, like Moon Knight, Loki, and WandaVision, so to have a series that focuses on the fantastical elements of becoming a superhero is a breath of fresh air. My only hope is that Kamala maintains this optimism and doesn’t get dragged down into the depths of grimdark when the realities of what she can do hit her. As long as Ms. Marvel maintains this level of levity, I’m all in.
