The first episode of Disney’s Ms. Marvel is winning hearts globally with its splendid portrayal of Muslims and a South Asian immigrant family’s experience in the US.
Iman Vellani, the 19-year-old Pakistani-Canadian actress, shines bright, as do Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, and Saagar Shaikh as her family.
The premiere episode saw insights into a Pakistani family, and their ideologies that hit the right nerve with realistic elements of an Asian household—not being allowed to go to an event, gossiping about women’s freedom, and sprinkles of internal misogyny.
Here’s a quick recap of Ms. Marvel’s premiere episode:
We start with Kamala Khan narrating a video on her role model’s (Captain Marvel) key participation in defeating Thanos. All this happens in the background of incredibly creative animations of doodles, speech bubbles, and comic-style graphics.
Kamala is a content creator on YouTube and her levels of love and appreciation for Captain Marvel are very clear.
We then meet the Khan family. Her father Yusuf, mother Muneeba, and elder brother Aamir give her driving test tips in their own, very Asian style. Muneeba reminds her to look at the mirror “every 15 seconds” and Aamir recommends she say Bismillah before starting the car.
The test does not go well as Kamala rams into her instructor’s car. In one funny incident (which reflects the very little knowledge general white people have of Muslims), Kamala mutters Bismillah and the instructor, a bit confused, says, “Bless you.”
As with all Asian parents, Muneeba and Yusuf blame the instructor for not teaching Kamala properly.
At school, Kamala’s called to a cabin where a teacher discusses her daydreaming and gives her a serious talk about her future plans.
We’re also introduced to Bruno Carrelli (Matt Lintz) and Nakia Bahadir (Yasmeen Fletcher), Kamala’s two close friends.
While on their way home from school, Bruno and Kamala discuss ideas for their cosplay outfits for the first-ever AvengerCon.
Kamala struggles to find the last piece that will help her put together her Captain Marvel suit for the first-ever AvengerCon. However, a bigger battle of getting permission from her parents awaits her.
Back home, Kamala finds her Nani’s (maternal grandmother) antique bangle. She asks her mother about it, who yanks it away and dismisses it as junk. The next task for Kamala is to assist her mother in shopping for Aamir’s wedding.
At the shop, Muneeba is deep in discussion with another woman talking ill about a girl who pulled the plug on her wedding because of “commitment issues.” These “issues” were actually about that girl wanting to discover herself and travel the world.
Meanwhile, Bruno introduces Yusuf, Kamala’s father, to his invention, Zuzu, an AI that would help him handle the house remotely. It also shows live footage of the household. As a happy Muneeba returns home, Bruno tells her that it is the perfect time to ask for permission—when both of them are happy.
After Muneeba gives Bruno multiple food boxes on his way out, there’s a tense atmosphere as Kamala gets ready to ask for permission.
Kamala explains how important it is for her and Bruno to attend AvengerCon. The parents exchange a stern look. Naturally, they refuse as they don’t want Kamala to wear a “tight suit” when she says she will dress up as Captain Marvel, along with a multitude of conservative excuses.
Kamala bursts the blissfully ignorant misogyny bubble as Aamir enters the door and expresses that they would have had no problem with letting Aamir go to the convention.
The next day, Kamala’s mother tells her she can go to AvengerCon on two conditions: Her dad will go with her and that she’ll have to wear a “costume” selected by Muneeba—a green and purple salwar kameez to essay Hulk.
What ensues is embarrassment and heartbreak, as Kamala says it would be cringeworthy and humiliating to go to the con dressed as Small Hulk and her father as Big Hulk. Yusuf leaves the room with a sad face, and Muneeba announces that if not with Yusuf, Kamala cannot go to AvengerCon.
Kamala meets Bruno and talks about the fallout. To cheer her up, Bruno reveals the glow-up gloves he had been working on. The gloves mimic Captain Marvel’s hands when she’s charged up for throwing punches.
With renewed passion for attending AvengerCon, Kamala makes an elaborate plan and we see her fantasizing about it. In her fantasy, she meets Iron Man and has the time of her life before she returns home at around 9:22 PM without anyone knowing she secretly left the house.
Unable to take her mind off the bangle and Bruno’s advice to find her talent, Kamala takes the bangle and makes it a part of her Captain Marvel costume.
D-day arrives and everything does not go to plan. Kamala falls off the tree while escaping. She and Bruno almost miss the bus and Kamala is forced to leave the cycle on the road as the bus door closes before she can load the entire cycle in.
However, the duo arrives at the con right on time. They have fun in the Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Hulk sections. The time for the Captain Marvel competition arrives and Kamala notices that Zoe (Laurel Marsden) has dressed up as a better version of Captain Marvel.
Still not wanting to lose, Kamala changes into her costume in the bathroom but unfortunately leaves Bruno’s glow-up gloves on the floor in a hurry. When she meets Bruno, he does look a bit disheartened, but he asks her to wear the bangles to complete the look.
The moment Kamala wears the bangles, energy surges through her, and she is transported to a different dimension for a few seconds. Bruno pushes the perplexed Kamala onto the stage.
Amid cheering and camera lenses flashing, Kamala, in a moment of anxiousness, activates the bangle’s powers, leading to superhero-esque moments where almost everything is destroyed.
Audiences clap as they think it was just a magic trick but a rolling danger towards Zoe has Kamala sweep in and save her. Throughout the entire period, Bruno looks at Kamala through confusing eyes.
Once the duo realizes that Kamala now has superpowers, they promise not to reveal it to anyone.
Towards the end, Kamala sneaks into her room through her window. Unknown to her, Muneeba had been waiting to catch her red-handed.
Muneeba’s disappointed yells fade in the background as there’s only one thing on Kamala’s mind—her newly acquired cosmic superpowers.
The second episode of Ms. Marvel will be released on June 15. It is a six-part series and is available to stream on Disney+.
About Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel is an ongoing American television miniseries created by Bisha K. Ali for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics character Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Kamala is a 16-year-old Muslim Pakistani-American from Jersey City who writes superhero fan fiction, particularly about her idol, Captain Marvel. Having dreamed about becoming a superhero herself, Kamala discovers she has superpowers and dons the mask of Ms. Marvel.
Ms. Marvel will serve as a setup for the film The Marvels (2022), in which Vellani will reprise her role as Kamala. The series is produced by Marvel Studios, with Ali serving as head writer and Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah leading the directing team. Iman Vellani stars as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, with Saagar Shaikh, Aramis Knight, Matt Lintz, Zenobia Shroff, and Mohan Kapur also starring.
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