Review: MS. MARVEL is a Charming Series and a Love Letter To Marvel Fandom
I was a fan of Ms. Marvel long before Marvel Studios announced the series, and I was excited to see Marvel bring the character of Kamala Khan to life and tell her story. I was given the opportunity to watch the first two episodes of the series, and I’m happy to say that I enjoyed them!
These first two episodes do a wonderful job of setting up the character and the epic journey that she is going to find herself on. So far, the creative team has done a fantastic job developing the character of Kamala, who is played by Iman Vellani, and she’s so incredibly charming in the role.
The way that the story is playing out so far is delightful and fun. I’m really enjoying it and I’m excited to see how the rest of the story plays out over the course of the season. One of the things that I’ve enjoyed most about the show is that it’s a love letter to Marvel fandom.
Kamala Khan is a Muslim American teenager growing up in Jersey City, and she’s a huge fan of the Marvel heroes. She created Captain Marvel cosplay, and she’s also very much into writing and creating fan-fiction stories and videos. She’s got a massive imagination and doesn’t let it go to waste. She embraces her fandom, but at the same time, she doesn’t feel like she fits in at school and sometimes even at home. Then one day, she finds herself with superpowers like the heroes that she admires. She then finds herself navigating life with these newfound abilities, and while they are cool and exciting, she also finds that they come with challenges.
It’s not easy being a teenage girl, I know, I’ve got two teenage daughters, and I see the challenges that they face as I watch them navigate their own lives. Certain aspects of Kamala’s personality match up with my own girls, so in that way, I was able to connect with the character. That and, of course, her hardcore fandom!
When I was growing up, I used to make my own fan films. This was a time long before YouTube existed. I had no one outside family and friends to show my fan films to, but I was a big fan of things like G.I. Joe, Star Trek, and Star Wars, and that’s what a lot of my little fan films consisted of. It was cool to see that aspect of fandom represented in Ms. Marvel because that’s the kind of fan I was when I was a teenager.
Kamala is a very relatable character and someone that other fans can root for as she embarks on her journey to becoming a superhero. I hope that Marvel fans enjoy the show as much as I do!