Ms. Marvel

Starring: Iman Vellani (6 episodes), Matt Lintz (6 episodes), Zenobia Shroff (6 episodes), Yasmeen Fletcher (5 episodes), Rish Shah (5 episodes), Mohan Kapur (4 episodes), Saagar Shaikh (4 episodes), Samina Ahmed (4 episodes), Nimra Bucha (4 episodes), Alysia Reiner (4 episodes), Anjali Bhimani (4 episodes), Aramis Knight (3 episodes), Arian Moayed (3 episodes), Laurel Marsden (3 episodes), Sakina Jaffrey (1 episode), Brie Larson (1 episode)(uncredited)
Directed by: Adil El Arbi (2 episodes), Bilall Fallah (2 episodes), Meera Menon (2 episodes), Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (2 episodes)
Rating: TV-PG
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
2022

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) idolizes Captain Marvel, and sees her life upended when she obtains cosmic superpowers.

Review:
Tim: The Ms. Marvel miniseries is one of the outright success of the MCU's foray into television. As the years have gone on, I've become more and more vocal about Marvel's many missteps during the Multiverse Saga. While this series isn't flawless, it's one of the rare bright spots. I had a lot of of fun with this series and I loved the inclusion of multiple memorable characters into the MCU.

The brightest of the bright spots here is undoubtedly Iman Vellani. She tackles Kamala Khan with authentic energy and enthusiasm. Her performance is humorous, interesting, joyful. I have to believe Vellani channeled the excitement she felt at getting to play this character into her performance, and it's better for it. The idea of introducing Kamala is such a wonderful one- we get a series led by a strong woman character, we get a nice dive into her Muslim Pakistani-American culture. Khan was Marvel's first Muslim superhero, and the series leans into that distinction. The series never loses sight of who Kamala is, and it looks and feels unlike anything else in the MCU. This series reminded of why the MCU emerged as the greatest entertainment series in history- it's endlessly malleable, and it can deliver so many different stories under the same overall umbrella. This series explores a people and a culture we haven't see before in the MCU, and it's a wonderful ride. Of course, Vellani is the driving force behind this. Her joy and enthusiasm is contagious. Kamala is young, but she looks at the world with beautiful innocence. Her whole life is in front of her, which feels like a nice contrast to many of the "getting older" characters that have carried the MCU thus far. I loved Vellani's performance- she is one of the few actors that made their character a must-see in the MCU. Vellanni and Ms. Marvel succeed where Moon Knight, Echo, and several others fail.

The main appeal of this series is undoubtedly the character of Kamala. Her humorous family is part of the package, though, and it's wonderful to see a MCU miniseries that focuses so much on one family. It did feel like a sitcom at times, and you have to give credit to the writers and actors who bring her mother, father, and brother to life. Undoubtedly, Zenobia Shroff deserves immense praise for playing Kamala's mother. She can be exasperating, kind, difficult, and loving. She does yeoman's work to bring this character to life and further deepen and enrich the entire miniseries. Now, I'm writing this a few years after the miniseries ended- Marvel has been so coy with whether or not series are getting second seasons, so I waited too long to write this, in case we got season two (another immense frustration of mine). Since this is looking like a miniseries (sadly), here we are. A big issue I have with the series is that the characters are immensely memorable, but the narrative was only average. I seem to remember an antagonist, but I honestly can't remember anything about them. I remember Kamala getting her powers, going through the experimental phase, I remember her family distinctly. I remember so little about the Clandestines, the Red Daggers, and all the rest (I transparently admit I had to look that up). The series is wonderful at introducing characters, but the story is only average.

Still, the MCU television series era on Disney+ has been hit-or-miss. That seemed so unlikely at the start, but when you trade quantity for quality and perhaps let Disney into the decision-making process, that's what you get. I do think that if Ms. Marvel was an unqualified success, we would have gotten a second season. So, this series doesn't skate by without some criticism. However, on the long list of MCU series, I think this is one of the most entertaining, fun, and enjoyable ones we got. That does deserve respect and acclaim. I know Kamala went on to be a great character in The Marvels, which I thought was an underrated movie and didn't deserve to be the box office bomb that it was. That does cast some doubt on Kamala's future in the MCU, although Vellani's performance is so great that we'll certainly see her again. So, Ms. Marvel might not be a huge success, but it successfully introduced one of the most likeable new characters into the MCU, and that's good enough for me.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: Captain Marvel, The Marvels, Hawkeye, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law