Disney+ has been creating a bunch of Star Wars and Marvel/MCU series over the last couple of years. This is Disney+ bread and butter. The latest MCU series is Ms Marvel. Here is my perspective.
I am a big fan of the Ms Marvel comics. I find her character to be refreshing and fun. I enjoy how she is navigating the tough chore of being a teenager along with being a superhero. Will I enjoy the MCU adaption of this character as much as I love her comics?
Plot:
(There will be major spoilers– be warned)
Kamala Khan is a 16-year-old Pakistani-American Muslim from Jersey City, New Jersey. She is a geeky podcaster and fangirl of the Avengers but specifically of Captain Marvel. Her parents are strict with Kamala but she is a bit of a mild rebel. She asks to attend the first ever Avengers Con and to cosplay as Captain Marvel. Her parents decide she can go but only with her father and both cosplaying as the Hulk. Kamala plots a way to sneak out with her bestie, Bruno.
Kamala receives a package from her grandmother in Pakistan that contains a bangle. Her mother tells her that it is just junk and to put it in the attic. Kamala keeps the bangle and decides to use it with her cosplay. The bangle activates Kamala’s powers. Her powers come out by accident at Avenger Con, which both caused a disaster and saved people from the disaster, including saving the better than you schoolmate podcaster, Zoe. This does alert agents of Damage Control to Kamala’s existence. Zoe gives Kamala’s superhero alter ego the name “Night Light”.
Kamala goes on a hero’s journey to determine who she is and her abilities. She saves a boy from falling to his death but doesn’t have good control over her abilities. She has to run from what we assume is Damage Control and is saved by her crush, Kamran. He introduces Kamala to his mother, Najma. Najma explains to Kamala they they belong to a group called the Clandestines. Najma claims they are actually Djinns (aka genies) stuck on earth and from another realm. They reveal to Kamala that her great grandmother was a Clandestine and only Kamala could help get them home.
Kamala initially agrees to help them. She asks Bruno to help with the math on how to do it. Bruno reveals how dangerous that could be to the world to open a portal like that and a lot of things could go “boom”. Kamala is torn about what to do and busy with her brother’s wedding. The Clandestines are not a patient people so they try to take Kamala and force her. This ruins her brother’s, Aamir, wedding celebration.
This leads to Kamala and her mom, Muneeba, to travel to Karachi and reunite with Sana, her grandma. Kamala teams up with the Red Daggers and they help teach her better control over her abilities. This is interrupted by the Clandestines, which leads to a fun chase scene. Kamala is confronted by Najma which leads to Kamala to time travel to the past and gives us the back story.
Najma confronts Kamala again. She forces the portal to open but Kamala tells Najma that she cannot control the portal and it could cause the destruction of everything including Najma’s son, Kamran. In a last moment decision, Najma sacrifices herself to save everyone but giving her spirit and abilities to Kamran.
Unlike Kamala, Kamran doesn’t seem to be able to control his new powers. It leads to blowing up the Circle Q and Bruno’s apartment. Damage Control comes after him. Bruno and Kamran try to hide in the mosque but Damage Control comes in and tries to find them. They escape to the High School to hide. The whole group of high school friends gather to help along with Kamala in her new costume. They set up a scene that feels very much like Home Alone to keep the agents busy. In the end, Kamran is confronted by damage control and his powers go crazy. Kamala comes in to rescue him and gets him out of the county and sends him to get help from the Red Daggers.
In a post credit scene, Kamala’s bangle glows and then Captain Marvel is standing her in place. It appears they switched places. This will lead into The Marvels movie coming out next year.
What I liked: (More Spoilers)
The essence of Kamala’s Ms Marvel is right on. They pulled her personality and who she is perfectly from the comics. She has the teen struggles and self doubts that are a key part of her personality (at least early on) in the comics. As a fan of the comics, this was the most important part to get right.
Her friend group is amazing and mirror’s close to the comics. Her best friend Bruno was nailed by Matt Lintz. You can see his desire for being more than just friends with Kamala while always having her back and being her rock. They pulled in Nakia and Zoe very well also.
I loved how they handled her family. Again, it flows right from the comics. It is fun and light but still showing strict parents that love their daughter.
I was happy they brought in the Red Daggers. They are interesting group that shows up from time to time in the comics. I didn’t think we would see them in this first series but it really did flow into the story.
The costume is really cool. It pulls from the comic and translates well on the screen. We don’t get the costume to the end but I did enjoy the evolution of it through the series.
When Bruno is talking to Kamala at the end about her powers, he states that she has a mutation. While telling her this, the X-Men theme music from the 90s cartoon starts to play. I loved this touch and detail that only fans of the 90s animated series would catch.
What I Did Not Like:
As a fan of the comics, I didn’t really like her origin. She is a DJinn? Really? I don’t see how that is better than making her an Inhuman as it is in the comics. I understand they are pulling the X-Men into the MCU and having Kamala is a nice touch. But I still don’t like it.
I didn’t like the change to her powers. Again, it seemed unnecessary to me. Change to powers and abilities can make sense to bring a character into the MCU. I get that. But this one didn’t seem to make a difference.
Review:
This series is more light hearted than some of the other Marvel series. It is a hero’s adventure with a minority that isn’t often focused on.
This series takes one of my favorite characters from the last 10 years and brings her to the screen. I loved seeing her character with her first adventure and knowing it will set up much more for this beloved character. At times, it seemed that this series tried too hard and to tackle too much.
I enjoyed it and I have watched it twice. It is not my favorite Disney+ series but I really enjoyed myself.
My Grade: B
Other Reviews
IMDB:6.2 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Rotten Tomatoes: Audience: 82%
Google: 68%
Stay Geeky!
