“Generation Why”
What They Say:
Kamala Khan attends Avengercon only to discover that she herself might have superpowers.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The arrival of Ms. Marvel has been something I’ve really been waiting on, which may feel a little weird to say. I’ve only read the first two original trades from the series that introduced her and never read anything else with her in it from Marvel, since my comic reading for them is pretty basic. I really enjoyed the character of Kamala and how she took on the Ms. Marvel mantle and all the supporting cast. But the storylines were just not clicking for me at all and the opponents she was facing reminded me of the worst of the worst from mid-80s Spider-Man comics. So why look forward to a TV series? It’s the chance to take all the things that work and install it within the MCU framework and allow it to grow without all that the comics had to deal with.
Yes, the MCU is pretty crowded even as we get characters being put to rest, but there’s a lot more workable space in here. And this opening episode really did deliver completely for me in what I wanted it to do. Especially since it did the smartest thing possible in taking many cues from the recent Spider-Man trilogy with Tom Holland but tamping it down to something less frenetic and frantic. The result is that lead actor Iman Vellani is able to deliver what is probably the most teenage experience in the MCU yet without it being so overly dramatic. Yes, the parents are problematic as they’re overly protective. And oh my god I wanted to strangle whoever wrote the school cast and wanted them to act as they did because it’s just so on-brand 80s stuff. But away from the school side, Vellani is able to deliver us a character in Kamala Khan that really is enjoyable and engaging to watch because it is so believable. With this being her first role, she’s not trapped by all the usual things that many actors get taught and is able to be more herself, which is infused by the Kamala character just right.
The premise is simple enough. She’s a sixteen-year-old Jersey City girl with strict parents who are a lot looser on the rules with her older brother that’s getting married soon. You see that in a lot of families and it’s not presented as something to do with them being Muslim. Everything about that is just a part of the life, mostly bits of dialogue, things around the house, and some of the mannerisms. Having a good bit of family history from that area myself, I grew up around a lot of that in the 70s as a kid and it felt like they captured a lot of the basics without leaning hard into anything. A lot of what we get is that kind of immigrant/generation shift, presuming that her parents were brought over as kids or came over later in their lives, with Kamala being the first-born generation here with her brother. She’s what you see in a lot of kids in this situation as they’re American but living between two worlds; their parents bringing their upbringing into the American culture that has so many variances to it. I won’t say she sees herself more American than her parents, but she’s not bound by the same upbringing and the way they’re protecting her is stifling her. But it’s not unique to this situation, just a lot more commonly presented.
While she has a fairly decent relationship with her brother, the other person in her life that matters a lot is Bruno Carrelli, a childhood friend that she’s very close to who is kind of like a Peter Parker type when it comes to using gadgets and low-tech devices to be something more. He’s able to come up with some creative stuff just beyond the confines of the basic tech and he’s a huge supporter of Kamala – though there doesn’t feel like a romantic interest subplot there, which is welcome. She’s all about attending the first AvengerCon that’s being held t the remains for Camp Lehigh and he’s keen on going himself, having designed some fun stuff for her very homemade costume. Of course, there are all kinds of trouble in her getting to the con, from parents that won’t let her to disappointing them because of how she reacts to them trying to be inclusive on it. So it’s no surprise that she sneaks out and meets with Bruno to head to the event, which is just a series of problems that make a difficult situation harder and more problematic when she gets home. So much of the core of the opening episode is establishing the setting, the family dynamics, the friend, and how Kamala is a dreamer who hasn’t found her place or thing yet, and is really quite simply enjoying being her age. Well, as much as she can because she does get bullied at school to a fair degree and it is, as it often goes, missed by those in charge.
What changes things for Kamala happens at the AvengersCon as she brings a bracelet that was sent by family members overseas to the house, which her mother had a specific look at before ensuring it was put away in the attic. With details to come as to its origins, it ends up being what sets things in motion when she hits the Captain Marvel cosplay content. She was already feeling very self-conscious about it because of her homemade costume and others are wearing very slick things, including being all these girls showing a ton of skin, the whole blonde/blue-eyed thing that reinforces her mindset of being “just” a brown girl from Jersey. But the bracelet is something more and it creates a unique energy that she shows off with after being surprised about it, which turns into a comical disaster of sorts because of course it does. It’s got the teen-comedy vibe going even though it’s something that could have gone a lot worse but it’s not out of the ordinary for this kind of project. And, of course, her being video doing it means that those in power are going to see it and start looking for her, which is what will surely drive part of the series.
There are a lot of little bits to this that I like as it works to flesh out more events within the MCU in a fun way as well. Apparently, the reason that so many know what happened with Thanos is that after everything was said and done, Scott Lang went and said a lot in his podcast. And in a lot of interviews. It looks like they kept the time travel stuff secret at least. And Kamala being obsessive about Captain Marvel means she did a ton of reading, creates low-viewed Youtube videos about it, and basically is completely fangirling in a way that makes her happy. There are a lot of fun nods in those opening minutes as it traces some of the recent history and how your average person might understand it. Which is why things like AvengerCon makes sense, the fandom around various heroes and probably some villains, and all that comes with it from cosplay to gadgets and more. It’s one of the few times that it felt like the MCU was a really fleshed-out world because we spent so much time seeing it from a completely non-powered perspective for almost the whole thing. No point of view from the villain, not big secret bases, and so on.
Just Kamala. And that’s why it works so well.
In Summary:
Everything here is pretty much by the numbers and it’s working from what feels like a solid Spider-Man template, sans Tony Stark. And it works well because it has time to breathe, it’s not forced to just pure cliches and scenes like that, as it’s allowed to humanize its cast, including the parents. This kind of basic but welcome humanization of its characters and a sense of authenticity about it is among the cast as a whole but it’s exemplified by what Iman Vellani brings to the screen. She’s utterly charming and true here in a way that’s hard to get unless it comes naturally. This opening episode lets us get behind her in a way that other recent additions haven’t been able to, from the new Black Widow to Kate Bishop and more. I’m not surprised that it works as well as it does but I am surprised by how much I found myself invested in it. It’ll be interesting to see if they can sustain it as things get weirder as it goes on, and depending on how much they draw from the original series she debuted in, but the potential is definitely here and I can easily see her carrying her space in the Marvels film alongside the other leads just based on this.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Disney+
