Ms. Marvel

Ms. Marvel tells the story of teenager Kamala Khan who is a fanatic for superheroes, especially her personal hero Captain Marvel. Kamala feels like an outsider in every aspect of her life, from school to even her own family. She then gets her own superpowers and starts to gain a lot of confidence and tries to follow in the footsteps of all the other great superheroes who she admires so much. I have to admit I didn't have high expectations going in but the series is engaging enough that it held my attention throughout the season. It only has six 45 minute episodes so it's an easy binge. If you're a Marvel fan then give this a try, especially because she's starting to play a bigger part in the MCU...it started earlier this year in the Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels.

But so what? With the amount of content we get from Marvel who cares if we get something squarely aimed at kids? I thought it was fresh and fun - and WAY more enjoyable than Moon Knight. It's sad that a bunch of man-babies have to resort to review bombing because "Disney bad"

Even though I thought Ms. Marvel is the 2nd worst of all the Marvel shows, only She-Hulk was. Worse. I still think it's worth watching. It's actually gotten great reviews and currently holds a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. The cast is mostly made up of unknown actors and actresses, led by Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan. This is actually her first acting job ever and she does a pretty good job. She did such a good job that her next job is in the next Marvel blockbuster, The Marvels. I thought this show was only targeted for teens but I was wrong. While it is definitely aimed more for teens and children, that doesn't mean adults won't enjoy it. It's a fun show with plenty of heart.

Ms. Marvel has the look and feel of a Disney Channel program. That's not to say it is bad, simply quite different from the MCU miniseries we have seen before. It is clearly lower budget and appears to be targeted at a younger demographic. The best thing about it is that it shows Muslims in a positive light, celebrating Pakistani culture and history, although the depiction of the partitioning of India and Pakistan was very heavy-handed while leaving out much of the horror.

This is easily the least of the MCU series and most viewers would be just fine skipping it.

Plot

Kamala, a superhero fan with an imagination--particularly when it comes to Captain Marvel--feels like she doesn't fit in at school and sometimes even at home, that is until she gets superpowers like the heroes she admires.

Cast

Unusually not familiar with anyone involved, however Iman Vellani is excellent which is further impressive when you remember this is her first role.

Verdict

I remember when word got out that Ms. Marvel was happening there was a lot of unpleasantness, I remember when the trailer dropped there was even more but this time for different reasons. I however went in with an open mind and experienced quite the surprise.

Vellani knocks it out of the park as the titular hero in what most consider a tamer more light hearted Marvel outing, but is it? Different Marvel characters, different tones, some lighter and some darker. So why emphasize the lighter tone here? Is it aimed at kids? No, no more than Guardians of the Galaxy or Antman! Not everything needs to be gritty, not everything needs to have dark undertones. If that's what you want, go watch the tatters that is the DC universe!

Her powers? That complaint is valid and frustrating. The MCU has taken liberties with characters before, look at the Mandarin, look at Taskmaster, and though it's into the X-Men extended universe look at the original outing of Deadpool in the Wolverine movie! Yikes! So yes this isn't the Ms. Marvel you're used to in the comics and that I don't like, but I got over it so you can as well.

Ms. Marvel is a silly, fun, wholesome and oddly endearing tale that left me wanting more but also appreciating it simply wasn't needed. This was an origin story, an introduction and nothing more.

Bravo, I enjoyed it.

Rants

It's poorly written they bark to disguise the real reasons, weird when you look at the similarities between all these allegedly poorly written movies and shows. It's almost as if it's not about the wring at all. All the things in the world to get upset about, to be passionate about, to spew vitriol about and this is what you choose? No wonder the world is such a tribalistic mess.

The Good

Iman Vellani A lot of fun Really charming

The Bad.

The changes to the character.