The first episode of Ms Marvel, directed by Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Meera Menon and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, dropped on 8 June on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar and it traces the origin story of a Pakistani-American teenager Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) who is soon to become (you guessed it!) Ms Marvel.
Kamala, created by Sana Amanat, G. Willow Wilson, and Adrian Alphona, is the first Muslim superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and as it stands, the first episode (and hopefully the six-episode series) remains committed to reflecting her identity on-screen.
Ms Marvel perfectly captures the essence of many South-Asian or immigrant families especially through the well-intentioned but overbearing parents played by Zenobia Shroff and Mohan Kapur.
I completely get where Kamala is coming from but my heart goes out for her father in the 'Big Hulk-Little Hulk' scene. South-Asian parents are sometimes portrayed as just being extremely controlling and stifling but Ms Marvel also shows the emotional codependency and generational dissonance that arises within families.
The first episode opens with an animated sequence aided by paper cutouts of the Avengers and Thanos, in an explainer of the Battle of Earth. This sets the stage for Kamala Khan, who often uses her animated imagination to distract from or escape reality.
The show veers away Marvel and enters the life of a Pakistani immigrant family– Kamala’s brother asks her to say ‘Bismillah’ before her driving test for instance– and is peppered with South-Asian music like the classic Pakistani song ‘Ko Ko Korina’, the Coke Studio track ‘Peechay Hutt’, or Eva B’s ‘Rozi’ in the closing credits.
Ms Marvel retains the visual spectacle of MCU but imbibes it with the simplicity and desi-style that Kamala’s story requires. Marvel has had a good run with OTT shows like WandaVision and Moon Knight, and Ms Marvel seems to have set itself up for similar success.
The first episode, as the larger picture, is near perfect but even the little details– like Kamala’s face in a family photo cutting to her face at Avengers Con or the way text messages appear on boardwalks and streetsigns.
Ms Marvel is a refreshing change from the white, male-dominated superhero field and it's an interesting idea to see such a transformation through the eyes of a teenager.
How will she deal with her newfound powers and how will they factor into her search for her identity, which she already seems to be struggling with? The show ticks every box when it comes to a teenage girl’s coming-of-age story while taking us on her superhero journey. Five more episodes of this and I’m beyond excited!
Rating: 4/5
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