The creative stylings of Ms. Marvel bring comic animations and street art to life in the live-action origin story of Kamala Khan, a Muslim Pakistani-American teen. The show also brings a plethora of culture to audiences, much like Moon Knight did with Egyptian culture.
Just in the first two episodes, the audience will learn about her struggles with body image, first crushes, and self-confidence that Kamala faces in high school. Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan is another perfect casting for Marvel. She embodies the heart and spirit of her character with a playful demeanor and fantasy making her a great superhero for the younger generation.
The series kicks off with a Sloth Baby Productions retelling about Earth’s Mightiest Heroes defeating Thanos, including Kamala’s personal favorite, Captain Marvel. Her love for Carol Danvers is what sets her on her journey to Avenger Con, a Marvel-themed convention to celebrate the heroes. Just like the rest of us, she wants to share her Captain Marvel cosplay with other fans. Kevin Feige even hinted at a Star Wars Celebration-style convention for just Marvel fans.
“We were definitely talking about that on the set,” Kevin Feige says. “We shot that right in the middle of COVID protocol, so there hadn’t been a convention for a very long time. And it was very cathartic for all of us to see that, and we were shooting Spider-Man No Way Home on the stage right next door, believe it or not, actually the scene with three Spideys. And a lot of that crew kept sneaking over to see and attend Avenger Con walking around. So I think that might be fun to do sometime. Yes.”
The creative style that the directors have chosen is reminiscent of Spider-Verse and brings Kamala’s imagination to life through art. Street art and doodles come to life at every corner to tell Kamala’s origin story through her vision.
“We always wanted to find a way to translate her imagination in a fantasy world in a cool way,” Bilall Fallah, co-director of Ms. Marvel, says. “That’s where we came up with the idea of injecting that animation aspect to it.” (Adil El Arbi interjects). “But we were a bit afraid that Kevin and the rest of Marvel would say no because it’s different from the other shows in MCU.” Fallah continues, “So we made a whole presentation, a whole dossier, where he even [had] YouTube videos and all that explaining why it was important to have those sequences. And surprisingly, he said, ‘Yes, don’t go overboard. Don’t do it every five seconds, but let’s see if it’s true to the story and the character. Let’s go for it.’ And that’s how we had that style that is very also inspired by Into the Spider-Verse.”
Some comic book fans may be hesitant about Ms. Marvel’s powers, but her biggun powers are still there. Marvel fans should have faith in the storytelling because they haven’t let us down yet in the MCU. I’m counting down the days of seeing Carol Danvers visit Kamala Kahn. Danvers takes her position as Kamala’s role model very seriously, and the next Captain Marvel movie isn’t called The Marvels for anything.
As the story unfolds and we learn more about Kamala’s family and how this bangle unlocked her powers we will see her confidence grow. Kamala’s father tells her, “if you save one life, you save the whole world.” This is a rendition of what the Muslim holy book the Quran, says in Surah 5 verse 32. Another great quote that shapes her is from her father, “Good is not a thing you are, Kamala. It is a thing you do.” This quote is taken straight from the comics and the games. Her family plays a special role in who she becomes much like Peter Parker does from the wise words of his Uncle Ben (and Aunt May for 616), “With great power comes great responsibility.” One of the most iconic sayings in Marvel history.
Ms. Marvel premieres weekly on Disney+ starting June 8th. Make sure to stay for the credits because even the Marvel shows like to get in on the end credit scenes.
Marvel Studios’ “Ms. Marvel” is a new, original series that introduces Kamala Khan, a Muslim American teenager growing up in Jersey City. An avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, Kamala is a Super Hero megafan with an oversized imagination—particularly when it comes to Captain Marvel. Yet Kamala feels like she doesn’t fit in at school and sometimes even at home—that is until she gets superpowers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Life gets better with superpowers, right?
