Disney Plus Review: Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel is Enchanting!
Ms. Marvel is a fairly new character introduced to the MCU in 2014. Read on for a spoiler-free review of Ms. Marvel, streaming on Disney Plus!
Screener provided by Disney Plus, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) is a teenager growing up in a traditional Pakistani family in New Jersey. She’s obsessed with Captain Marvel and is looking forward to attending a comic-con-like event with her homemade costume. Kamala’s incredibly traditional parents think her comic obsession is ridiculous and discourage it.
In the first episode, viewers see Kamala’s love for superheroes in an animated story that Kamala has written for her vlog. The tension with her parents comes to a head when Kamala refuses to wear a generic costume and balks at going with her parents to the comic con (the horror!!)
At this point in the series, Kamala’s best friend Bruno (Matt Lintz) gets involved. The two concoct a plan to go to the event and be back at Kamala’s house before her parents figure out they are gone. Armed with a family heirloom (a golden bangle) from a family member, Kamala unlocks some powers and then….the real fun begins.
Simply put, Ms. Marvel is a love letter to Pakistani families. It’s a reminder that even awkward high schoolers can be superheroes even just for a moment. Ms. Marvel is a magical look at second-generation immigrants who want to retain traditions but also want to embrace everything about their current environment.
Iman Vellani is the key that makes this show such an enjoyable watch. Vellani’s comedic timing and pure joy show up in all three episodes I previewed. It’s so much fun to watch a girl geek out about the Avengers and create her own identity using parts of what she’s learned about superheroes and her own background.
Is Ms. Marvel perfect? No, and I don’t want this review to claim it to be.
There are some pacing issues in the first episode and Kamala’s parents and their nagging really grate on the nerves.
Still, Ms. Marvel is just pure fun which makes it so different than WandaVision or Moon Knight. I’m looking forward to seeing what adventures Kamala Khan dives into despite her overprotective parents and lack of popularity at school.
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