Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Ms. Marvel’ On Disney+, Where A Teenager From Jersey City Becomes A Superhero Via A Family Heirloom

Everything in the MCU is connected, even a coming-of-age series about a teen learning about newly-acquired superpowers. So if anyone thinks Ms. Marvel is a one-off, you’d be wrong: This series’ star, Iman Vellani, is set to star with Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris in The Marvels next year. So lets sit back and find out just how Kamala Khan became Ms. Marvel, shall we?

MS. MARVEL: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Paper cutout animations of The Avengers, with a narration by a teenager named Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani).

The Gist: Kamala is 16 and lives in Jersey City with her parents Muneeba (Zenobia Shroff) and Yusuf (Mohan Kapur) and her brother Aamir (Saagar Shaikh). While the Khan’s are well integrated in the city’s Pakistani community and go to mosque regularly, Kamala is more interested in creating Avengers fan fiction videos featuring her favorite superhero, Captain Marvel. She has plans to go to the first ever Avengercon dressed as her hero, in a costume she’s been perfecting with her best friend Bruno Carrelli (Matt Lintz).

She’s not particularly popular at school, but she’s got Bruno and her other bestie, Nakia Bahadir (Yasmeen Fletcher) by her side. And she’s completely amped up for Avengercon. One problem: Her parents won’t let her go. Muneeba seems especially troubled about the “party” and the outfit that Kamala wants to wear. Plus, she knows something Kamala doesn’t, especially when it comes to a bangle that the family receives in a package from Muneeba’s mother.

Kamala and Bruno hatch an elaborate plan to get to Avengecron with more than enough time for Kamala to enter the cosplay contest, which she’s sure she’ll win. She even finds the bangle to wear as a personal token. In her scramble to get her costume on, she forgets the light-up gloves Bruno made, but when she puts on the bangle, something comes over her. She suddenly has the ability to shoot out crystals that become solid, which she deploys when runaway stage props threaten to squash Zoe Zimmer (Laurel Marsden), the popular girl who just happened to show up in a more, um, skimpy Captain Marvel getup.

So she has powers now. But powers are nothing compared to dealing with her mother’s disappointment, and when she sneaks back into her bedroom, Muneeba is waiting for her, telling her that she should get her head out of the fantasy clouds and just try to find out who she is.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Ms. Marvel, at least the version with Kamala Khan, is based on a Marvel series that started in 2013, though much about TV Kamala is different than comic Kamala. This show feels more like Never Have I Ever combined with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Our Take: Bisha K. Ali is the head writer for Ms. Marvel, and she does a good job not only capturing life as a teen in Jersey City, but also the conflict Kamala — and also Nakia — face between being first generation Pakistani-Americans who want to forge their own way. Nakia deals with it by running for mosque council, knowing that conditions for women in the mosque are inferior to those for the men. But Kamala is all about being a superhero, even before that bangle is attached to her wrist.

Vellani is a natural at communicating that angst. She wants to be a good daughter, but also knows that the traditional path isn’t how she wants to go; when one of the neighborhood aunties talks about a girl who traveled through Europe instead of settling down, Kamala expresses happiness for the one who decided to rebel.

As she figures out her powers, it’ll be fun to see the push and pull between Kamala’s desire to be a superhero and her loyalties to family, Pakistani culture, and her Muslim roots. Here is where Shroff, who plays Muneeba, shines. The powers that Kamala exhibits have a legacy, through Muneeba’s grandmother, who disappeared during the Partition of India 75 years ago, and with that comes waves of family shame. How is Kamala going to keep developing her skills in the face of her mother just wanting her to be a “normal” kid?

We really enjoyed the use of animation integrated into the everyday environment Kamala is in, showing her thought process in real time. And showing texts integrated into the scenery instead of just as intrusive bubbles adds to the visual feast Ali has helped create.

What Age Group Is This For?: There’s some superhero violence and a little bit of “crap”-level cursing, but this is a Marvel show that kids 8 and up will like.

Parting Shot: After hearing her mom’s disappointment, Kamala flops into bed and admires the glowing hand that just did all that interesting stuff during Avengercon. Oh and there’s a scene during the credits (naturally) that has some ominous links back to other MCU properties.

Sleeper Star: Mohan Kapur, if only because he was willing to paint himself green to play a Pakistani Hulk when Muneeba proposes that Kamala can go to Avengercon with her dad as an chaperone.

Most Pilot-y Line: Despite the fact that Kamala and Bruno talk about how little chance her bike will be at the bus stop after she had to let it go to get on the bus, neither of them lock up their bikes outside the bodega that Bruno’s family owns.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Through the first two episodes, Ms. Marvel is a fun examination of the usual coming-of-age issues couched in Kamala’s idea that being a superhero is so much less complicated than actual life.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.