Commeting on Comic Things 1: Ms. Marvel Season One

Disney+, 6 episodes, created by Bisha K. Ali

Ms Marvel (created by Bisha K. Ali) comes to TV carrying much on its back.  As the first mainstream Muslim superhero both to headline their own comic book and TV series, Kamala Khan faces both the scrutinization of her own cultures, whether it's American Muslims or people of Pakastani origin or descent, or the exceptionally vocal bottom-feeding nerd-base who feel that any form of representation in the superhero genre of comics or TV is somehow a direct attack upon them and their fragile male egos and lack of any cultural identity.  But let's not talk about them anymore.  They take up too much of the conversational landscape as is and we need to neuter their voice, not amplify it.

The series, much like the comic book, centers around Kamala Khan, a Muslim-American teen who is a complete and utter superhero fangirl, idolizing the Avengers, but more explicitly, Captain Marvel.  Her Pakistani immigrant parents don't really understand the fixation, and wish Kamala would put more of that devotion into her schoolwork (despite doing quite well in school, though, often daydreaming).   In the comics, Kamala's origins as a superhero were tied to the Inhumans (this was during a time where Marvel corporate were really upset with not having the rights to make X-Men movies so they basically scuttled mutants and tried to promote Inhumans instead...it really didn't work) but here her origins are tied in large part back to her family's roots in Pakistan, and the Clandestine, a group of djinn who have been trapped on Earth for nearly a century.

Kamala finds, in a box of her estranged grandmother's posessions, an incredibly fancy bengal which she takes to wearing everywhere.  It's never expressly stated but its clear that Kamala is a bit transfixed by the grandmother she never knew, and that she desires some form of connection to her.  It's a superhero story, so of course the bengal is the source of Kamala's soon-to-be-discovered powers, and it embroils her in a content-crossing mystery.

It's a pretty drastic deviation in origin, but given how poorly the Inhumans TV show was received, doing almost anything further with them (other than the cute cameo in Doctor StrangeMoM) was not in question.  As well, tying Kamala's origins to Pakistani history (the show discusses extensively the impact of the partition of India, something that I wasn't really aware of.  This, very much like the Watchmen TV series are using the genre as a forum for education on events that seem to have otherwise been buried in the public consciousness) seems to be of personal interest to showrunner Ali, which carries with it both enthusiasm and passion for bringing this history into the story being told, and it works, mostly.  There's a strange time-travel detour Kamala experiences at the end of episode 4, which sets up the story of episode 5 (tying together the origins of the bengal, Kamala's grandmother's connections to the Clandestine, and the effect of the partition on her family), but this Russian Doll-esque detour doesn't quite pay off.

The opening episode is its strongest, incorporating a lot of creative use of animation in its live action world which, unfortunately, does not persist throughout the rest of the series.  I got a sort of Into the Spider-verse vibe out of this inaugural hour, and the show could have used more of this genre-bending spunkiness throughout, as subsequent hours trend a little closer to the expected.

The series ties Kamala's origins and powers overtly (but not explicitly) to the Ten Rings (see Iron Man 3, Shang-Chi), to heretofore unmentioned mutants in the MCU, and to the cosmic elements of Captain Marvel.  How exactly all these are connected remain to be seen (certainly the forthcoming The Marvels feature will manage the latter), but it shows that Marvel is not at all slowing down in its world/universe building and laying down a connective framework.  

There have been complaints raised towards the show of some cultural inaccuracies or misgivings, and though I've read about them, I'm not really in a position to comment.   I think the show is in that tricky position of having to be the first to represent its cultures in this big a forum and it creates the impossible task of having to be all things for all people.  There's no way to satisfy everyone.   The only thing I personally have difficulty accepting in the series is how different Kamala's powers are from the comics.  In the comics, her abilities are a sort of malleability where she can change her face or "embiggen" her body (stretching her body to 20 feet tall or throwing an elongated giant fist).   In the show, here more cosmic-oriented powers come in the form of temporary hard-light projections (sort of a Green Lantern-like vibe).  It's a real "power-up" for Kamala, the possibilities seem much grander, and as such we kind of lose the street-level hero sensibility that made her so endearing in her book.

But the show wins thanks to the impeccable casting of Markham-based Iman Vellani.  I'm always going to root for the local kid making it big, but it helps when they actually are supremely charming and talented.  Watching Vellani conduct interviews being so well composed, and endearingly upbeat, she's the perfect choice to embody Kamala.  She's a real treasure, and it's her presentation of Kamala that is so innately consistent with the comics that makes this show feel like Ms. Marvel despite all the deviations.  Vellani is a comics fan herself, and a fan of Kamala, so when it came time to portray her, she knew this character inside and out.  I'm looking forward to much more from her, as Kamala Khan and beyond.