Due to a variety of things (holidays, buying my first flat etc.), it took me a while to get around to this show. And since I came to this show slightly later, I have heard some things about it, mostly how average it is and about MCU continuing its downward spiral. Well, I am either too easy to please or straight-up dumb (both options highly possible ;-)), but I thought as far as character introduction goes, Ms. Marvel kicked ass. And the whole show had this unique, young-ish look we had not seen in any of the MCU’s films or shows before. But most importantly, Marvel still gets how to cast their movies/shows because they won a jackpot with Iman Vellani. On the other hand, they, yet again, created some mediocre villains that are not only meh but one of them that was just straight-up confusing to me because there was no motivation…?

Let’s start with the positives, and the two best aspects of Ms. Marvel are the not-so-generic look and Iman Vellani. I would not hesitate to call the style of this show very Edgar Wright-ish in every sense, mainly the first two episodes “pop”. Everything from the fast pace to the brilliant use of white/negative space for text messages and how they blended them into the story. Sure, by the end, the show looks more “paint-by-the-numbers”, but I like the chances MCU takes with their TV shows, showcasing new things and ideas, letting different creators have their say within the MCU’s sandbox. Speaking of “fresh and exciting new blood”, let’s talk about the main star, Iman.

You can tell from every scene she grew up and genuinely is an MCU fan. Just like her character Kamala, she lives and breathes everything Marvel, and she took that energy and managed to transport it onto the screen. I hope we get to see Iman in many, many more films to come, and I am not talking about “just” Marvel films. I also loved the cultural aspect she brought to the MCU and how we got the chance to explore her Pakistani culture without having everything overexplained.

See, many films/shows find themselves in this “precarious” situation, where they want to tell a story about a different culture. But since everything must be easy to sell to the general audience (who is predominantly white), what they do is they feel the need to stop and explain every single foreign word, holiday, celebration, custom, you name it. And what the creatives behind Ms. Marvel decided to do was… well, not that. Because it wouldn’t make sense, the characters live it every single day of their life, so they would just drop it (whatever that “it” was) mid-conversation and move on. And it’s only up to the viewer whether they want to know more about any of these customs or not; we got a story to tell, massive thumbs up for that decision.

As I have hinted, my biggest (and frankly the only) problem with Ms. Marvel were the villains. And this is where I have to go into the spoilers to talk about it more, even though, if you have seen any MCU film/show, you won’t be surprised by who those villains are…

Beware, SPOILERS are coming!

I was “fine” with Kamran being the “surprise” villain even though we get yet again the “same vs the same”, the true MCU staple we all love…(?) But honestly, he was kinda… “meh” in this show. It’s almost like they were saving his character for some future project, so they didn’t want to give him too much…? But still much better than the “evil agent lady” portrayed by Alysia Reiner. I love Alysia from Orange Is The New Black (2013 – 2019), and her performance was also not the issue; she was perfectly fine. It was the writing, or specifically, the lack of it, as her character seems to lack any motivation as to why she does what she does. We get she has a grudge against; I guess, Muslims…? See, I watched the show, and I still don’t know because we don’t spend that much time with her, and the time we do, nothing is ever even hinted at. I will be the first to say I don’t need everything spoon-fed, but every good villain should have some sort of motivation, some “hint” of what makes them tick. And from the moment she steps onto the screen till her last moments, she is evil because… she simply is?

Ultimately that was my only real letdown with Ms. Marvel. I liked everything else, and I loved Iman’s performance/presence. For somebody so young, she can command the screen, and I can’t see what is in the store for her in the MCU and beyond. Also was pleasantly surprised when Brie Larson showed up towards the end for just a couple of seconds to set up The Marvels (2023). I am really excited about this film now, due to Iman’s presence.

Overall, Ms. Marvel was (mostly) a joy to watch. From the fresh POV of a small city to a culture most of us are not familiar with; to the perfect casting of Iman Vellani, the show had everything going for it. Too bad the villains were not up to par to match her “energy”, but given this is only the beginning of her journey, I am not even that mad. Sure MCU has done better shows, and this one objectively ranks slightly lower than most of them, but… I still had a great time. A large part of that was purely down to Iman’s sheer joy of being there. I would say Ms. Marvel is worth watching.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke