'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Marvel Studios is here with their latest installation for the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Ms. Marvel. The six-episode miniseries follows Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American high school teenager who obsesses over the Avengers and looks up to Captain Marvel as her hero.
The series is sure to be a fun ride, with Kamala being bestowed with the cosmic powers she used to dream of, and becoming a superhero just like Captain Marvel.
Here we look at a few reasons why Ms. Marvel is a must-watch.
5 Reasons why you shouldn't miss Ms. Marvel
1) Storyline
Ms. Marvel is a coming-of-age superhero drama adapted from the eponymous Marvel comic. Kamala Khan is a 16-year-old Pakistani-American teen leading a pretty average life with her family in Jersey City. She goes to Coles Academic High School where she isn't much of a popular girl and her only interest lies in the world of the Avengers. She looks up to Captain Marvel and fantasizes being like her one day.
Coming from a conservative family, she is often discouraged to pursue her fantasies. But when she finds a bangle that she intends to accentuate her Captain Marvel cosplay with, she discovers that the bangle gives her cosmic powers. Kamala is able to harness the energy into a physical form and use it at will.
This makes her years-long fantasy of becoming a superhero a reality. But she will soon realise that being a teen-superhero comes with its share of challenges: She has to tackle some of the classic issues of a teenager (school, boys, family, culture), all while trying to save the world. The series follows Kamala's journey as she navigates these obstacles and matures into the best version of herself.
2) The Ethnic Background
This is the first time that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced a brown superhero.
Ms. Marvel's Kamala Khan comes from a Pakistani background and lives in Jersey City with her family. Her family is quite conservative and does not encourage anything outside their moral code. This increases the relatability quotient in the show, especially for those hailing from similar family set-ups.
3) A Coming-of-age-story
Considering the huge success of its Spiderman titles, while this may not be Marvel's first adaptation of a coming-of-age story, it definitely is a unique one. Unlike Spiderman, a science whiz who becomes a superhero unexpectedly, Kamala dreams of one day becoming a superhero. The problems that the two teens face are quite different.
Spidey needs to hide his identity from his peers as he balance his superhero life with his school life. Kamala has much more on her plate. Her cultural background places much more restrictions on her, and she needs to play the hero while ensuring that those aspects of her life maintain status quo. In that sense, this series deviates from the traditional superhero coming-of-age story.
4) Getting her Powers
Among all the characters yet introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is one thing that sets Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel apart. All the superheroes are endowed with powers either from birth, or through a rite of passage. They were either destined to be a hero, or they faced an incident that changed them forever. But, unlike the comic, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has modified the source of Kamala's power.
As portrayed in the Marvel Studios series, Kamala gets her powers from a mysterious bangle that she found in one of the boxes that her grandmother sends for the family. She is fascinated and decides to use it to accessorise her Captain Marvel cosplay. However, in an unforeseen twist of events, that bangle ends up harnessing cosmic energy to give her superpowers.
5) Relatibility
With the release of Iron Man back in 2008, Marvel Studios started creating their Cinematic Universe based on Marvel comics. Despite the unparalleled craze for Marvel's films, thanks to their depiction of over-the-top fights, amazing sequences, awe-inspiring heroes and more, the MCU somehow always lacked a sense of relatibility. All the characters seemed too good to be true and destined to be heroes or someone extraordinary.
But Ms. Marvel has changed that, as the protagonist here is just like us - obsessed with the Avengers and dreaming of becoming a superhero, even though she knows that it is impossible. And even though she is another average kid from Jersey City's neighbourhood, her wish-fulfilment happens when she does go on to become a superhero. That sense of relatability her character brings, and the journey she embarks upon, promises to keep viewers hooked.
Ms. Marvel is sure to be a fun-packed journey of how Kamala Khan becomes the hero she looks up to, even as it explores other coming-of-age tropes like teenage romance and drama.
Ms. Marvel released on Disney+ on June 8, 2022 with its first episode, titled "Generation Why".
