Hello everyone it’s Zainab, welcome or welcome back! Today I’m posting another review – I did post a movie review last week however I knew I had to share my thoughts on the MCU’s latest show, Ms Marvel. This show means a lot to me on so many levels, so I’m really excited to share my thoughts today. Let’s jump into this!
Official Reviews
Ms Marvel received some incredible reviews from critics. It’s one of the best reviewed shows on Disney + which makes sense considering it received 98% from Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer as well as 8/10 from IGN with The Guardian calling it a ‘Glorious Debut!’
My Opinion
Ms Marvel is a series portraying Kamala Khan’s journey as she gets superpowers, all whole she’s just trying to be a normal teenager in high school. And I personally loved this! It’s not that often that the MCU creates coming-of-age projects, but it’s clear that they executed this one really well. Many people loved that they were able to relate to Kamala in so many ways in the growing up aspect, and as a teenager myself, it was very cool to see a superhero who had some of the same simple problems that I do.
Community is also a major part of this show. This is one of the only times in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that a superhero has a stereotypical nuclear family dynamic (as in her family supports her being a superhero instead of trying to kill her like many other MCU family members!) And the dynamic between her social circle and herself is so wholesome. The show did a great job on casting the perfect people, Iman Vellani and the rest of the cast had amazing on-screen chemistry! Since this show was targeting more younger viewers, it was a great way to showcase that family and friendships are vital to everyone, even for superheroes.
One of my favourite scenes is in the finale episode, in which after she saved her community, her community (even strangers) save her from Damage Control taking her. And this scene really speaks volume. It shows how much goodness can have an impact and even ‘normal’ people without superpowers can make a difference in the world!
Another cool part of this show is the comic-book accuracy. Despite the controversy over changing her powers from elongation (her original comicbook powers) to manifesting light which came from a bangle, Marvel fans still loved how much the rest of the show stayed true to the comics! Everything from famous scenes to the show’s art and aesthetics were very much true to the comics. This may have been them trying to compensate for altering her comic book powers, but regardless I thought it was done amazingly!
From Episode 3 onwards, the show begins to touch on some historical aspects of Pakistani culture regarding the partition between Pakistan and India. And I thought the show handled this very well as it’s a very harsh topic for many families as people became divided and unfortunately people died. And I was really happy the show made true historical context as a major part of this show and it is referred to a lot when discussing the origins of Kamala’s bangle.
I had to save my favourite part for last, which is the representation! Because I think it was done beautifully in this show. Pakistani culture was very well represented in this show (I can say this being Pakistani myself!) I particularly resonated with her interactions with her family, and the South Asian market scenes. It was very clear that the show had people behind the scenes who understood the culture – which really increases my respect for Marvel for hiring diverse creatives and cast. In a society with representation at the heart of it, seeing Muslims and Pakistanis being represented as protagonists and them being shown as just normal people doing fun family things such as dancing at weddings is huge! Even though some people did review-bomb this show as seeing a Muslim Pakistani as a superhero was not what they were into, I hope this paves the way for the beginning of positive representation for all minorities.
Representation of fan culture is also such a fun part of this show. Kamala is so relatable as a fan – she loves the Avengers, she posts theories and reviews while attending fan events, she cosplays! It’s exactly what many fans of the MCU do and to see that portrayed on the big screen is very exciting. I think it shows, despite that the MCU is fictional, the idea of being a superhero and making a positive difference to the world is so appealing – and I think this is the creators way of nodding to fans showing that anyone can be a superhero!
Therefore, I thoroughly enjoyed Ms Marvel! I’m really upset to see it go, I’ll miss the hints at culture, easter eggs and the humour from the incredible cast. But I’m hoping there’s a season 2! Any non Marvel fans reading, this is a great entry point into the MCU – I would recommend this to anyone!
Synopsis
Kamala is a superhero fan with an imagination, particularly when it comes to Captain Marvel; Kamala feels like she doesn’t fit in at school and sometimes even at home, that is until she gets superpowers like the heroes she’s looked up to.
Thank you all so much for reading this review – I really loved this show so please let me know your thoughts in the comments. I’d love to chat about what you think!
You want to see more of me and get exclusive updates on my blog? Well check out my socials!
Instagram – For exclusive updates on posts
Goodreads – You can see any books I’ve read or even recommend me one!
Contact Me if you would like to collaborate or have any other inquiries
Any suggestions or feel like chatting? Comment down below!
Have a lovely day everyone!
Zainab Chats 