Review 665: Ms. Marvel

 

Ms. Marvel is, in a word, charming.

Based on the Marvel Comics character Kamala Kahn by Sana Amanat, G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona and Jamie McKelvie, Kamala Kahn (newcomer Iman Vellani) is a Muslim, American teenager growing up in Jersey City. An avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, Kamala is a mega Super Hero fan with an oversized imagination - particularly when it comes to Captain Marvel. Yet Kamala feels like she doesn't fit in at school and sometimes at home - that is, until she gets super powers like the heroes she's always looked up to. Life gets better with superpowers, right?

Given that Marvel have already tackled the coming-of-age genre with the Spider-Man: Homecoming Trilogy, there was a risk that Marvel repeating themselves but thankfully, Kamala steps out of this shadow and Ms. Marvel offers a fresh, new spin on the identity crisis that impacts almost every new budding superhero.

It also tells a very compelling minority story; from the opening of the premiere episode: Generation Why, Ms. Marvel wisely and intelligently integrates us into Kamala’s life as part of a Pakistani immigrant family, its history, culture and practices that comes with it. Given that Kamala is the first Muslim superhero in the MCU, it’s only fitting that her community is subject to the same racial prejudice as those in the real world. Atrocities like the Partition of India inform Kamala’s family past, but her present is not free from prejudice or snap judgments.

The coming-of-age, comedy angle and focus on Kamala's Muslim roots also means that Ms. Marvel is a little lighter on action, but when Kamala does unleash her hard light constructs, it's frequently exciting and dynamic. Notable among these set pieces is fast paced adrenaline fuelled foot chase through the streets of Karachi and a fun climax at Kamala’s high school that feels inspired by Home Alone and 80’s High School movies.

Rather than remain in Jersey City, by the fourth episode, "Seeing Red", Kamala's search for answers about her family history lead her to ancestral home of Karachi, Pakistan which adds to her family’s rich backstory.

Another noteworthy entry comes the penultimate episode “Time and Again”, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, which follows Kamala as she time-travels to India in 1947 during the Partition where she encounters her great-grandmother Aisha (a lovely Mehwish Hayat)

Where Ms. Marvel falls short is in the villain department; Kamala’s initial superhero activities attract the attention of the Clandestines, who were exiled from their home in the Noor Dimension and want to use Kamala’s powers to return home, but even with clear objectives and a few flashback scenes, they’re pretty thinly vailed overall. Thanks to her hijinks at AvengerCon, Kamala is also forced to contend with Damage Control which takes on a similar role to Homeland Security and their surveillance and searches of her families local mosque are not subtle in their parallels to the real world. The problem lies with the face of that storyline; Agents Deever (Alysia Reiner) and Cleary (Arian Moayed) feel more like stock characters than nuanced, three dimensional characters. 

Directors Adil and Bilall, Meera Menon and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy direction is  the cinematography is gorgeous and captures the beauty of New Jersey and Karachi and highlights the shows Pakistani roots; the colours and stylisation is significantly highlighted and vibrant giving the show a rich and warm look. The score by Laura Karpman (who also scored the first season of Marvel's What If...? animated series) is rousing  alongside Bollywood-leaning beats. The costumes are colourful 

Iman Vellani (in her debut role) confidently leads this origin story throughout this six episode miniseries with an infectious, irresistible charm. Kahn serves as a pretty funny commentary on fans of the larger MCU. This is most clearly demonstrated in the opening of the premiere episode: Generation Why which showcases her running her own YouTube channel dedicated to the likes of Captain Marvel, Iron Man and Thor. Ms. Marvel is one of the more recent additions to Marvel Comics roster  

Matt Lintz definitely impressed playing Bruno Carrelli, Kamala's best friend. He and Kamala have known each other for a really long time, share similar interests such a superhero content and have stood by each other sides through thick and thin. He’s among the first people to learn that she has powers and helps to master and understand them. Lintz brought a likeable charm to the role as well as channeling his inner frustrations of his crush on Kamala not being reciprocated.

Yasmeen Fletchaer also made quite an impression as Nakia Bahadir, a close friend of Kamala. She's the kind of character who speaks her mind and is confident in who she is. 

Through Kamala's family, we see something we rarely get to see in Superhero familes: A strong family support network that supports the hero.

Rish Shah playing Kamran, a new student at Kamala’s high school whom she (inevitably) develops a crush on. Whereas in the comics he’s an Inhuman, in this show, he’s a Jinn, a member of the Clandestine Kamran relates to Kamala because of his lack of belonging and community and he feels able to express himself culturally around her.

Another character that seems to have been overlooked is Laurel Marsden as Zoe Zimmer; a popular girl at Kamala's school who's also a social media influencer. Whilst she's basically a gender flipped version of Flash Thompson from Spider-Man, I appreciated that she's doesn't fall into the stereotypical mean girl trope and shows a great deal of loyalty and admiration towards Kamala after she saves her life at an Avenger con in the first episode.

Ms. Marvel is Marvel-ous, 4/5.

The Anonymous Critic.