Review: Disney+ brings Marvel Studios coming-of-age tale to streaming with ‘Ms. Marvel’
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Disney provided a significant enough taste of “Ms. Marvel” to ensure a return to Marvel Studios’ latest streaming effort.
The series, featuring the story of Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), a Muslim American teen who worships Captain Marvel, could have easily come across as angsty teen dramedy, but the showrunners show a deft hand in balancing the realistic with the fantastical. It begins streaming Wednesday, June 8, on Disney+.
The reality: Kamala is the typical teenager in the Marvel Cinematic Universe who games, worships the Avengers and doesn’t fit in. Despite obvious intelligence and personality, she’s oblivious to everyone except her best friends Bruno (Matt Lintz) and Nakia (Yasmeen Fletcher). High school isn’t a safe zone in that she has to deal with obvious outsider status.
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As for home, her parents, who immigrated to the U.S., try to understand they are raising a daughter who is influenced by her environment. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they approve of all of those external forces.
There’s a basic understanding for many members of minority groups that to be successful in America you have to work harder and maintain focus. Kamala’s love of the Avengers and Captain Marvel doesn’t necessarily fit in that category.
Marvel Studios' latest dream is Kamala Khan
She’s a dreamer, looking to find her way, and a path forward in her life may have come from a relative who sends a box filled with family heirlooms — among them a bangle that Kamala thinks would go perfectly with her Captain Marvel costume for a pop culture convention she plans to sneak off to.
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What she and Bruno soon discover, however, is there’s significantly more to that little bauble. Once she slips it on, activates it, the piece emits energy that allows her to do some spectacular things. What that evolves into on the show remains to be seen.
The first two episodes focus on the element of discovery, not just that of this mystery device that’s somehow connected to Kamala’s ancestor, one of those hidden stories that every family tends to have, but it’s setting up to be a coming-of-age story as well.
Kamala is very much searching for her place in the universe all while navigating a reality that most parents do not understand. She isn’t the only one, as friends Bruno and Nakia face their own challenges that will likely play into the narrative.
'Ms. Marvel' proves to be relatable
Make no mistake, “Ms. Marvel” was made with a younger audience in mind. It speaks to them, but if it continues on the trajectory established in the first couple of installments, it will remind more than a few adults about those awkward teens years that could be a challenging experience.
Vellani and her castmates bring that to the forefront. It’s clear Kamala is an intelligent young woman, but the lack of confidence is something everyone faces at some point in life, a fact that makes the character so relatable and why it’s quite easy to get sucked into the beginning of her journey.
It’s one that will not end with this series. If “Ms. Marvel” delivers the goods in its six-episode run, Kamala Khan will be a welcome addition the “Captain Marvel” sequel, “The Marvels,” which is in production, features the return of Brie Larson in the title role and Teyonah Parris, who portrayed Monica Rambeau, another Marvel in “Wanda Vision.”
George M. Thomas dabbles in movies and television for the Beacon Journal. Reach him at gthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ByGeorgeThomas
Details
Series: “Ms. Marvel”
Cast: Iman Vellani, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher
Streaming: Disney+
Grade: B
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Review: Marvel Studios strikes again with 'Ms. Marvel' on Disney+
