Ms. Marvel Episode 1 Review
The most prominent trends surrounding this present era of storytelling appear to be magic, multiverses, and the consequences of the Blip — the in-universe disaster in which half of all living beings vanished for five years — with Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe now in full gear. Marvel is taking a step back into the more grounded with Ms. Marvel, the newest superhero series on Disney+, with an origin tale that feels far more sympathetic and real than anything they’ve done recently.
The first episode, directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah and written by showrunner Bisha K. Ali, begins with an adorable animated sequence told by Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), the upcoming Ms. Marvel who is currently just a Captain Marvel superfan. The movie, which Kamala created for her YouTube channel, goes into great depth regarding the Avengers’ battle with Thanos and, in particular, how Carol Danvers was instrumental in their victory.
While the lighthearted summary may seem repetitious to seasoned Marvel fans, it is crucial in establishing Kamala’s personality. Kamala is a fangirl at heart, like so many of us who appreciate larger-than-life stories and the characters who inhabit them. That fact is especially significant throughout the show, which has a driving tension straight out of an adolescent sitcom: get to AvengerCon without the parents knowing.
This influence from shows aimed at a younger audience distinguishes the series and prevents it from becoming “simply another superhero origin story.” Kamala’s concerns are the most grounded in reality than I’ve ever seen in an MCU tale, and they’re mixed in with the broader, cosmic components of the plot (which I’ll get into below). Her universe, like that of the kids who will presumably be watching her show, is confined to what is accessible via public transportation. Obtaining her driver’s license is a key life goal for her. Staying out late with her best friend — and, more crucially, obtaining permission to do so — is a significant challenge. Outside the Khan family home, no superheroes or supernatural powers had any influence on any of these events. At least, not in Kamala’s opinion (again, more on that below). Ms. Marvel is, at its core, a straightforward coming-of-age story. Kamala is rapidly approaching the stage in her life where she must begin to consider her future and recognize that her actions have repercussions. When superpowers are added to the equation, the situation becomes much more complex.
Aside from serving as an introduction to Kamala, the episode also does a fantastic job of establishing all of the people who have shaped her into who she is. Bruno (Matt Lintz) and Nakia (Yasmeen Fletcher) are Kamala’s most incredible friends, and they help her find her place in both the superhero fangirl world and the more community-centric world. While I’m forward to seeing how their roles and interactions with Kamala develop, the Khan family is at the center of the tale in the premiere.
Kamala Khan is the first Muslim superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the Khans are all devout Muslims. In the first episode, an unusual option demonstrates the varying degrees to which each family member observes their faith. Aamir (Saagar Shaikh), Kamala’s brother, practices more openly than his parents Yusuf (Mohan Kapur) and Muneeba (Zenobia Shroff), yet he isn’t completely defined by his religious beliefs, taking the time to be a sympathetic older brother to Kamala.
Yusuf and Muneeba, on the other hand, come dangerously close to the caricature of inflexible, too harsh immigrant parents at times. The only saving grace — at least for now — is that their fear appears to derive in part from concerns about their daughter’s behavior and appearance. Muneeba’s mother brings the family a box of antiques, one of which is the bangle that gives Kamala her powers later in the episode. Muneeba, seeing her daughter take the bracelet from the box, rushes to take it away and hide it in the attic, a panicked expression on her face. The Khan’s protectiveness of their daughter appears to be based on a combination of that reaction, Yusuf’s declaration that Kamala is not normal, but rather special (played off as fatherly affection), and the constant assertions that Kamala is similar to her grandmother in that both are dreamers who can’t keep their heads out of the clouds. It’s impossible to tell if this is the planned path based purely on the first episode, or if I’m simply giving the tale too much credit.
Given the amount of time spent on Kamala’s arm getting the bracelet on, there isn’t a lot of time spent on her figuring out what her powers are and how they’ll affect things, but if the trade-off is more time spent learning who the characters are and why we should care about them, then the choice was the right one. With Agent Cleary (Arian Moayed) from Spider-Man: No Way Home showing interest in studying this as-yet-unknown superhero that has appeared in New York in the post-credit scene, it seems that the lines between Kamala’s real life and her superhuman life are about to get quite blurred.
