Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Anchor
Google PlayIntroductions matter. Sure, that’s an obviously reductive statement, but it’s a critical thought to keep in mind nonetheless. How something begins is just as important as how it concludes. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember how half of the various Marvel’s Dinsey+ series began, but I’ll certainly remember the inspired opening of Ms. Marvel. “Finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for,” Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) excitedly narrates as viewers are treated to a hand-drawn animation recapping the climactic battle between the Avengers and Thanos at the close of Avengers: Endgame. While these opening moments are yet another recap of a movie most of the world saw, it’s executed so charmingly that you won’t mind seeing it again.
How you respond to that animation short will likely determine whether or not Marvel’s latest Disney+ series works for you, as it functions as an aperitif to the show’s tenor. After first meeting Kamala in this voiceover, we are quickly introduced to the rest of her status quo; she’s a Pakistani-American living in Jersey City, New Jersey, among the city’s thriving Muslim community. As a high school junior, Kamala’s days are spent dealing with the typical realities of young adulthood; she obsesses over Captain Marvel with her best friend, Bruno Carrelli (Matt Lintz), attends service at the local mosque with pal Nakia (Yasmeen Fletcher), gets starry-eyed over Kamran (Rish Shah), scoffs at burgeoning social media influencer Zoe (Laurel Marsden), and tries to be a good daughter and sister for her family, including brother Aamir (Saager Shaikh), father Yusuf (Mohan Kapur) and mother Muneeba (Zenobia Shroff).
That’s not to say Ms. Marvel won’t eventually end up there—hopefully, it won’t, as the MCU is better when it’s focused on saving a single life instead of a whole universe—but for now, it feels content to stay in its corner of Jersey City. Equally refreshing is how dedicated Ms. Marvel is to exploring the Muslim American experience. While I can’t speak to each individual nuance in the show’s exploration of this culture, it feels like it’s an integral part of the show and not something tacked on for the sake of it, like Marc’s Jewishness in Moon Knight. It will be essential to see how the larger Muslim community feels about what the show accomplishes throughout its six total episodes.
After a few bumpy installments in a row of MCU/D+ shows, Ms. Marvel’s entrance into the MCU makes for an exciting new addition. It functions far more like an actual television series than it does as a cog in the ever-moving Marvel machine, allowing the space and pace to develop its characters with a welcome sense of lived-in reality. Ms. Marvel has nailed its first impression—let’s just hope it provides a conclusion worthy of its superlative start.
Ms. Marvel debuts on Disney+ on Wednesday, June 8.
