Exciting, fun, and heartfelt, the first season of Ms Marvel is a delightful adventure that not only proves origin stories can still work but also portrays South Asian culture and heritage in all its vibrancy.
A Captain Marvel super fan, Kamala Khan is an ordinary Pakistani-American teenager living in Jersey City… until her great-grandmother’s mysterious bangle unlocks superpowers within her and sets Kamala on a journey to discover her secret heritage as well as become a hero like her idol.
As I said in my First Impressions, I’m not sure I need to convince anyone to watch anything from Marvel Studios these days. You’re either interested and already invested or you’re not. Very simple really. However, I wanted to take another opportunity to express just how much I enjoyed this show and how delightful and charming the series is.
I also had previously likened the series to the after-school kids shows I grew up watching back in the 90s (but with a bigger budget and better production values, obviously). Yet unlike a lot of the more nasty and critical voices (who were invoking “Disney Channel kids show”) I was using that comparison as a positive because that’s the type of mood and tone I was enjoying from Ms Marvel.
MINOR SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT…
There are a small handful of reminders I keep bringing up about what Marvel Studios has been doing for the last 15 years and one of them is the constant dabbling in various genres in order to keep the stories fresh (just this year alone Multiverse of Madness was a horror film and Love and Thunder was a comedy). I’ve enjoyed all the Marvel Studios-produced shows on Disney+ to varying levels and degrees because each show offers me something a little different to the next. Ms Marvel is the relatable high school adventure where the usual teenage dramas are made all the more difficult to navigate because super powers. That basic premise, obviously, tends to skew younger but it also fits with the second aspect of Marvel Studios formula: their appeal to as broad an audience as possible.
The high school setting is merely the beginning of that premise, as this show expands and does so much more than that by framing it around a Pakistani-American girl. It shows the South-Asian diaspora in a vibrant, lively, and most importantly matter-of-fact manner. It’s not about the struggle of being Muslim in America, even if it does nudge at the edges of such (more on that later) but instead it’s more a celebration of a culture that has often been portrayed as alien and even negative. We see the local mosque as a community centre, the Eid al-Fitr (the “lesser Eid”) block party, the wedding of Aamir and Tyesha, all of this is gorgeous and colourful and just slice of life stuff, which I appreciate seeing on screen.
It’s all done so seamlessly without stopping to explain everything either. I think my favourite way they do that is how Urdu is woven into the English dialogue (a lot of immigrant families do this regardless of country of origin). For example “beta” is a term once used by Indian and Pakistani parents to address their sons but these days it’s a gender-neutral term, especially in the north (traditionally it’s “beti” for girls) and you hear that a lot when Kamala’s parents are talking to her.
My other favourite aspect of the show is how it avoids othering Kamala and her family to any extreme as would be the obvious and tempting trope (in terms of being Muslim at least – if anything the allegory is shifted to Kamala being a wanted super-powered person, again, more on that later). Kamala isn’t bullied per se but there are micro-aggressions that can still make a teenager feel out of place, the Khans themselves live in a very vibrant and stable community depicted like any other.
But what about the story itself? Well, as far as origin stories go this one is a lot more layered and nuanced than simply “gaining powers and being responsible with them”. It’s more so a story about Kamala discovering her heritage and coming to terms with it and the life she wants to live. That is often the common and eternal struggle that most second generation immigrants have. For many its a balancing act and it made harder by carrying the weight and expectations of parents but when it doesn’t entirely fit with the goals you have for yourself it can cause conflict.
That’s very well illustrated with the relationship between Kamala and her mother, Muneeba (and in turn with Muneeba’s mother, Sana). Kamala’s a bit of a dreamer, idolising a super hero and wanting to do things normal teenagers do to the disapproval of her overbearing mother who just wants her to be safe and do well in a very narrow and traditional sense. Along with Turning Red, we’re going to see a lot more stories from respective diasporas in the coming years as the children of immigrants work on their unresolved family issues.
Obviously, actual South Asians would be much better to get feedback regarding the accuracies, overarching themes, and stereotypes being portrayed. I’m South-EAST Asian and I will admit to seeing some overlap in the immigrant experience, which helped in the relatability to the story and characters. I felt more with this series than the other Disney+ shows.
But I think the most important aspect of learning about Kamala’s heritage may be from the actual depiction of the Partition of India in 1947, a major and traumatic event in the history of India and Pakistan. It’s an insightful and educational look at an event in history that most of the rest of the world have little to no knowledge of but still has ripples across so many that were affected. And the way it comes about is very Doctor Who in its usage (coincidental considering Doctor Who also did an episode on the topic not that long ago).
Although I said it isn’t specifically about the struggles of being Muslim in America, there are moments that allude to such but that has mostly been shifted over somewhat, more as an allegory of being a super-powered individual and being serveilled and hunted by Damage Control. Some may see it as a cop out but it becomes a much more palatable element especially for younger audiences and also fits in the MCU.
Of course there’s the usual Marvel comic book adventure flair of action and humour and it’s all done rather well for the small screen, depicting the neighbourhoods of New Jersey to the streets of Karachi gives the show a global and rich look. The way it depicts text messages as well as Kamala’s imagination is also very cute and gives the show its own visual style. While the visual effects looks great, a lot of fuss was made in the lead up about the change to Kamala’s powers from shapeshifting and stretching in the comics to a “hard light” projection in the show and personally I think the change is a good one even before the finale showed us that her powers were still developing.
I honestly do feel for the fans who feel disappointed by certain changes but one of the other constants of the MCU has been distilling what works from decades worth of comics and making it fit what has been established on the big screen while still telling a good story. The “hard light” look to her powers better resembles the “photon blasts” that Captain Marvel has but of course as we see in episode 6 it’s not as simple as that. Also having read the first few issues in parallel with this series, I’m actually really amazed at what the writers and showrunners have been able to adapt and make fit from the comics and made work even better.
And if I’m honest, I think I prefer the show to the comic but that’s personal taste.
The cast are all very wonderful, their performances really bring to life some very likable characters (and even characters you are meant to love to hate). Yusuf Khan (Mohan Kapur) is such a delightful immigrant dad, a rather different take from the comic with his more strict sensibilities transplanted over to his wife Muneeba (Zenobia Shroff). She’s really doing a lot of the heavy lifting in balancing the overbearing mother who means well and wants what’s best for her daughter but perhaps lays it on a little too thick. Kamala’s older brother Aamir (Saagar Shaikh) was the surprise for me as he was a lot more relatable and supportive than one expects from a television sibling.
Kamala’s friends also are a great group too with Nakia (Yasmeen Fletcher) offering up an alternate take on the Muslim teen and showing the audience that followers of Islam aren’t a monolith. Kamran (Rish Shah) is actually somewhat refreshing, defying the usual trope by being a bit of a “himbo” (Cameron… get it?). And Bruno (Matt Lintz – who previously auditioned to be Peter Parker) is the “token white guy” for the most part who’s not necessarily there to play off a love-triangle so much as he’s there to show white people how to interact with POC (that sounds blunt but the fact that he knows Urdu and Muneeba pack him and his family a going home pack without fuss says a lot). Similar with Zoe (Laurel Marsden) who isn’t the bully or the “mean girl” as may have been implied in the trailers but more just someone that needs to be more aware and learn those lessons and she comes into her own toward the end.
Special mention in the casting of big name Pakistani actors in the form of Fawad Khan and Mehwish Hayat as Kamala’s great-grandparents, Hasan and Aisha (such an attractive couple – my goodness), who did a stellar job in the flashback. As well as Nimra Bucha as the Clandestine Najma, who has the tough role of playing a desperate villain but with a reason. It’s actually becomes an allegory in of itself of some of the more strict relationships in some immigrant parents and their sacrifices. Farhan Akhtar adds some necessary gravitas too in his brief role as Waleed, the leader of the Red Daggers.
Of course the standout is newcomer Iman Vellani as Ms Marvel/Kamala Khan herself. Her performance is so sweet and charming that it enhances just how out of her depth she must feel in regards to her new powers but also she’s able to bring a real heart to the story in how she interacts with her mother and her Nani. Her being a Marvel super fan in real life really comes through as Kamala being a fan of the Avengers and idolising Carol Danvers in the show and it’s an infectious enthusiasm you can’t help but relate to and get caught up in (I mean it’s a direct aim at the fanbase so…). She truly is the heart of this story and offers some real potential going forward.
Now I haven’t written much about the other Marvel Studio produced series but the one thing most of them have in common is the observation that their finales are all rushed. While one of my gripes about a lot of long-form story telling is that there’s too little story being stretched over too many episodes (think Netflix Dardevil or more recently, Obi Wan Kenobi) the nitpick I have with Ms Marvel is that there aren’t enough episodes to let the climax of the story breathe. Some of that perhaps bled over into how fragmented the penultimate episode 5 was.
Episode 5 was the Partition “flashback” and that was actually really well done up until its resolution, which should have had more impact but felt a touch weak. That wasn’t helped by the rushed and contrived resolution to the “present day” calamity that simply happened and not that well played out. And then back in Jersey City we get a cliff-hanger out of nowhere and it all makes what could have been an outstanding episode feel slightly scattershot.
There’s also a “One week later…” scene in episode 6 that feels like a tacked-on reshoot and the revelation it features feels much more heavy-handed than it should be. I mean, I did like it but then again it’s not anymore heavy-handed than your standard Marvel post-credit scene (the musical sting was subtle but definitely amusing). There’s also the whole nonsense about Kamala being a “Djinn” that I don’t think was properly explained away. Waleed clarifies that had Thor landed in the Himalayas he’d be called a djinn as well, implying that it’s a generic term or even nickname and not necessarily a definite thing. Story-wise, it was done to make Kamala panic and doubt herself (think how you would feel if you found someone in your family tree was… hugely problematic?) but I think some people missed that.
I don’t know if it’s because it’s new and still fresh in my mind or not but out of the Marvel Studios series we’ve seen so far, Ms Marvel has become my favourite, or at the very least tied favourite with WandaVision at the top of the list (by the way there is a post-credit scene just in case you don’t sit still long enough and not notice the “we recommend this” hasn’t popped up yet).
A little like Thor: Love and Thunder this show remembers that there is a young audience that consume these stories so it knows how to pitch it at the broadest level possible for young fans and older ones but also to South Asian diaspora so they finally feel like they are seen and belong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and to educate everyone else about the beauty of South Asian culture. Ms Marvel is fun, heartfelt, and most importantly she means something to so many people.
I cannot wait to see Kamala on the big screen in The Marvels next year.
All 6 episodes of season 1 of Ms Marvel are streaming on Disney+
If you enjoyed this review then please consider contributing to my tip jar at: ko-fi.com/oldtrenchy