Dr. K's Waiting Room

Air Date: 8 June 2022 to 13 July 2022
Network: Disney+
Stars: Iman Vellani, Zenobia Shroff, Matt Lintz, Nimra Bucha, Aramis Knight, and Mohan Kapur

The Background:
In 1939, Fawcett Comics introduced readers to the magically-empowered boy-turned-superman Billy Batson/Captain Marvel; however, a 1953 lawsuit forced them to cease publication of their Captain Marvel comics and allowed Marvel Comics to trademark the name for themselves. While Stan Lee and Gene Colan’s Mar-Vell ended up being more famous for his death from cancer, his mantle was continued by a number of successors, most notably Carol Danvers. However, before she took name Captain Marvel, Carol went by Ms. Marvel, an identity later adopted by young Kamala Khan, an Inhuman Muslim girl who idolised Carol. Created by Sana Amanat, Stephen Wacker, G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona, and Jamie McKelvie, Kamala’s adopting the Ms. Marvel mantle and subsequent solo series marked the first time a Muslim character headlined a Marvel publication and she drew significant praise from the Muslim community and for representing a marginalised youth demographic. After Captain Marvel (Boden and Fleck, 2019) proved a critical and commercial hit, star Brie Larson expressed interest in including Kamala in the MCU, something Marvel Studios were keen to do considering the character’s diversity and mainstream popularity. Development of a six-episode series for streaming service Disney+ began in 2019, with the writers keen to stay true to the source material (despite some alterations to Kamala’s powers) and tell both a coming-of-age story for the fledgling heroine and explore aspects of the Muslim faith and traditions through Kamala’s whimsical perspective. Newcomer Iman Vellani won the title role and her outfits and costumes, which are infused with cultural trappings, were designed by Arjun Bhasin; the showrunners also took great pains to ensure cultural authenticity throughout the entire process. Despite complications from the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Marvel released in weekly instalments on Disney+ and the first three episodes received a cinematic release in Pakistan. Although suffering from short-sighted hatemongering, the show was met with overwhelmingly positive feedback; reviews praised the blend of quirky humour with its authentic representation of Pakistani-American culture, Vellani’s performance, and the depiction of her new powers, and Ms. Marvel was heralded as a turning point for the MCU and mainstream representation of the Muslim faith. Although there has been no mention of a second season as of this writing, Kamala and her family featured prominently in the The Marvels (DaCosta, 2023), ensuring that the character has a future in the MCU in one form or another.

The Plot:
Sixteen-year-old Kamala Khan (Vellani) idolises Captain Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) but her strict Muslim mother, Muneeba Khan (Zenobia Shroff), disapproves of her constant daydreaming. Already struggling to fit in at school and juggling the minefield of a teenage social life, Kamala’s world is changed forever when she acquires cosmic powers from a family heirloom and discovers a mystical background to her family lineage.

The Review:
So, first of all I think it’s only fair to say that I know practically nothing about Ms. Marvel; if she’s appeared in some of the crossover events I’vr read, it was usually in a minor, supporting role and just about all I know about her is that she’s a Muslim girl with stretchy powers and has become quite popular in recent years. I say this only to establish that I went into Ms. Marvel without any kind of expectations, thus I didn’t really care that they altered her powers and, as I understand it, her origin into an amalgamation of her comic book counterpart, perennial sidekick Rick Jones and the Nega-Bands, and even a splash of the various Green Lanterns from DC Comics. I think it was probably a good idea; it ties into the mystical slant to the MCU’s cosmic side, separates her from Doctor Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, and makes her powers a little more visually diverse. Kamala is probably the most relatable and grounded MCU protagonist yet; a young high schooler who’s just trying to find her way in the world, she’s an avid fan of the Avengers, specifically Captain Marvel, and makes fun animated videos about them and the battle against Thanos (Josh Brolin). Thanks to Scott Lang/Ant-Man’s (Paul Rudd) podcast interviews, she and the rest of the world have a pretty good idea of what happened in this battle but, despite the effort she puts into her videos, she only has two subscribers, barely any views, and a lot of her comments are just spam…which I can totally relate to! Kamala represents the MCU’s core audience in many ways; youngsters who have grown up with these films and characters and want to emulate them, decorate their rooms in superhero paraphernalia, and eagerly attend conventions so they can dress up as their heroes and be around likeminded, hardcore fans. Kamala is so excited about AvengerCon that she and best friend Bruno Carrelli (Lintz) cobble together an impressive costume for the event and she’s amazed in the finale when her father, Yusuf (Nimra Bucha Kapur), tells her that her name can be translated to mean “marvel”, which only makes her idolisation of Danvers even stronger.

If there’s a word to describe Kamala, it’s “adorable”! She’s a little shy and introverted and other kids and even teachers are dismissive and rude to her, but she’s not exactly harassed like in a lot of high schools. Her powers do give her a newfound confidence that sees her become more assertive and engaging but she remains a bit clumsy and accident prone and is constantly reprimanded by her mother, Muneeba, and her try-hard principal (Jordan Firstman) about her constant doodling and daydreaming. Like all teens, she’s at a crossroads in life and is always being told that she needs to think about her future; her belief that girls should be able to make their own choices, to go out into the world and discover themselves, is met with stern disapproval by her mother since she firmly believes that Muslim women need to get married, put down roots, and start a family rather than drift away into fantasy, something Kamala can’t help but do as she has such an overactive imagination. Her relationship with Muneeba throughout is thus strained throughout; while she accepts Bruno and her older brother, Aamir (Saagar Shaikh) can seemingly do no wrong, Muneeba has high expectations of Kamala and isn’t impressed that she wants to “go to a party…at night” while dressed in a tight costume. To Yusuf’s chagrin, Muneeba initially openly admits that she doesn’t trust Kamala and she is constantly frustrated by her stubbornness. Kamala does truly love her parents, and wants to make them proud, but she also wants to pursue her dreams; this results in her causing them pain and shame when she lashes out at Muneeba’s insistence that Yusuf accompany her to AvengerCon and when she’s forced to disrupt Aamir’s wedding to safeguard her family and friends later in the series.

Muneeba is quite the contradiction a lot of the time; she’ll defend Kamala and be warm and loving towards her one minute, and then chip away at her self confidence and desires the next. Because of this, Kamala has a much closer relationship with her elderly grandmother, Sana (Samina Ahmad), who is a dreamer just like her. Aamir and Kamala were raised on stories of how young Sana (Zion Usman) was forced from her home during a period of social unrest known as “The Partition”, which saw India divided up following years of British oppression. Separated from her mother, Aisha (Mehwish Hayat), and her father, Hasan (Fawad Khan), Sana was led back to her father by a mysterious trail of stars, but Muneeba was driven to leave her homeland after Sana’s tall tales brought her nothing but persecution and shame. Muneeba hasn’t had the easiest life, to be fair; she shares with Kamala how difficult it was after the Partition and how she found solace in the United States through the local mosque, their community, and, most importantly, her family. Indeed, there’s no question that she doesn’t love and care for Kamala; both her and Yusuf just want the young girl to be safe and to not be ogled over and Muneeba is clearly distraught when Kamala disappears in Karachi while investigation Sana’s past. Having long denied that magic that is a part of their heritage, the show eventually brings Muneeba closer to her daughter and her mother; when Kamala’s powers are revealed to her, she accepts her and even provides her with an upgraded costume, with Yusuf christening her “Ms. Marvel” in the finale and the two encouraging her to use her powers for good while still whittling over her wellbeing because parents gotta parent.

Kamala’s powers are activated by a mysterious bangle sent to her by Sana; this bangle is one of at least two and was discovered back in the 1940s on the dead body of an unidentified blue humanoid by a group of interdimensional travellers known as the Clandestine. When Kamala wears it, she’s bathed in a strange cosmic energy and beset by visions of her grandmother’s escape from India, which eventually lead her to the Clandestines and discovering that she shares their bloodline as a Djinn, a mythological race of people from the Noor dimension who have been interpreted as both angels and demons in folklore. Alongside Bruno, Kamala tries to get to grips with her powers, which don’t come with super strength, speed, or dexterity but do allow her to form hard light constructs that, after many pratfalls, she’s able to run and jump on, form shields with, cover herself in a protect crystalline armour of sorts, and occasionally “embiggen” herself to give her stretchy limbs like her comic book counterpart. Visually, these powers manifest quite well but the CGI is a bit wonky and cartoony at times; it could be argued that this ties into her artistic side but that’s a bit of a stretch (no pun intended). Unsurprisingly, considering the young cast, Kamala’s unstable powers flare up as a metaphor for puberty at one point; she flees to the toilets when her nose glows (like with a spot) and her other best friend, Nakia Bahadir (Yasmeen Fletcher), offers her a period pad when she misreads the situation. Despite having no formal training, Kamala generally holds her own in a tight spot; when attacked by Kareem/Red Dagger (Aramis Knight), she’s at a disadvantage due to his superior acrobatic and fighting skill but still defends herself, at least on instinct. When the Djinn try to force her to co-operate with their plot and gate-crash Aamir’s wedding, Kamala fends them off mostly through instinct and panic and is only able to focus her powers when Bruno is injured in the fracas. Indeed, Kamala’s powers quickly exacerbate her struggles to find her place in the world; often misunderstood at home and an outsider at both school and the mosque, she doesn’t always feel like she belongs and this means her powers are often dangerous to those around her, which only makes her question herself further. It’s only after literally reliving Sana’s past and reconciling with her mother, and accepting her newfound heritage, that Kamala is able to master her powers for the finale and win the support and appreciation of her community.

However, because of her public demonstrations of power, Kamala attracts some undue attention. She’s immediately identified as a potential threat by the Department of Damage Control (DODC), which is now firmly an antagonistic government agency in the MCU that uses Stark Tech to track down and isolate or imprison potentially dangerous superpowered people. Here, they’re primarily represented by agents P. Cleary (Arian Moayed) and Sadie Deever (Alysia Reiner); however, it’s Deever who takes the most explicitly antagonistic role as she immediately targets the local Muslim community, disrespecting their culture and traditions at every turn, and then uses armed forces to barricade and openly attack Kamala and her friends at school. When Cleary realises the bad press this will bring them thanks to Kamala having her former friend turned avid supporter Zoe Zimmer (Laurel Marsden) livestream the incident, he orders Deever to withdraw but she refuses to listen and even advocates for lethal force simply because the confused and unstable Kamran (Rish Shah) refuses to get down on the ground when ordered. There’s definitely a sense that Deever fully believes she’s doing the right thing and protecting lives from dangerous individuals but she also makes many subtle prejudice comments that edge her closer to the black and out of the grey. Damage Control have no qualms about subduing their targets, interrogating and threatening vulnerable high schoolers, and locking prisoners in supermax prisons, which is literally the opposite of what the organisation was founded for and their trigger-happy agents are clearly positioned as an allegory for the racial prejudice and gung-ho nature of America’s police department throughout history, but particularly in recent years.

Kamala also attracts the attention of the Clandestines, Djinn who were trapped on our world decades ago and have been trying to return to the Noor dimension ever since. Their leader, Najma (Bucha), reveals to Kamala that they’ve existed on Earth for hundreds of years, maintaining their youth and vigour thanks to the Noor, an extradimensional energy from their dimension and which is channelled by the bangle. Initially, Najma adopts a warm and friendly demeanour as she asks for Kamala’s help in returning them home and Kamala believes helping them would make up for the mistakes she’s made since receiving her powers, but Najma quickly becomes far more sinister as she leads the Clandestine in forcibly acquiring the bangle. Kamala is stunned by this, even after Bruno’s initial research suggests that helping the Djinn could result in an explosive catastrophe and is even more shocked when an impromptu trip to the 1940s reveals just how malicious Najma can be. When Aisha fell in love with Hasan and chose a life amongst humanity, she hid the bangle from her fellow Djinn to keep them from destroying the world by breaching the Veil of Noor and thus consuming the Earth with the Noor dimension’s destructive energy. For her defiance, Aisha was fatally stabbed by Najma and the Clandestines have been searching for the bangle ever since; when they recognise its power in Kamala, Najma sends her son, Kamran, to befriend her so they can acquire it, but they’re so obsessed with returning home that they quickly turn to violence to achieve their goals. When Kamala returns from the past, she unwittingly breaches the Veil, resulting in a rift between dimensions that vaporises on contact and grows increasingly destructive. Although Kamala isn’t able to talk Aisha out of approaching the rift, she is able to convince her to close it; her sacrifice saves the world and sees Kamran endowed with powers comparable to Kamala’s for the finale, which sees him struggling with both them and his emotions.

The Summary:  
Honestly, I have very little knowledge of Muslim religion or the history of India and Pakistan; it’s not something that’s ever really come up in my life and, while I’m aware that it’s a very rich and spiritual faith, my exposure to it is understandably limited since that’s not my culture. However, it’s naturally a central aspect of Ms Marvel and is presented in a very engaging and digestible way. It helps that Kamala is struggling to find her place in the world; she’s just as uncomfortable and awkward at school as she is at mosque (where women are literally separated from the men by a partition), around her “aunties”, and when being dressed up for Aamir’s wedding. Born and raised in New Jersey, she’s very much a modern American girl; she likes superheroes and YouTube and isn’t exactly an expert in her culture and heritage like her elders. Consequently, it makes sense for people to relate some of the tradition and folklore of her people to her, so it never comes across as blatant exposition. When in Karachi, Kamala is awestruck by the colours, the bustling crowds, and how different it is from the graffitied streets of her neighbourhood, where her culture is primarily kept alive in homes, the mosque, or annual Eid Al-Adha celebrations. A lot of the Muslim faith and culture is reflected through Nakia’s small side story; she chooses to wear a hijab as part of her identity but also actively advocates for more equality for her gender by running for the Mosque Board, a pursuit she accomplishes with Kamala’s encouragement. One thing I particularly liked was that, despite how strict Muneeba is, she fully accepts Bruno; she regularly texts him about Kamala’s life, much to her embarrassment and, since he doesn’t have a family, he’s kind of been adopted by Kamala’s, to the point where he’s invited to join them for Eid and helps sort out their tech issues.

This culture is also represented by Sheikh Abdullah (Laith Nakli), a relatively down to earth religious figurehead who cares for everyone in their community despite holding on to the tradition of separating the genders to preserve their modesty. Still, he unknowingly offers Kamala some useful advice when she struggles with how to use her powers and greets the constantly disrespectful Deever with ridicule when she shows up at his mosque looking for Kamran, stalling her and allowing Kamala, Bruno, and Kamran to slip out garbed in the sheikh’s flimsy disguises, and also imploring Kamran not to hurt others just because they hurt him. The partnership between Bruno and Kamran is one of desperation; Bruno clearly has a crush on his long-time friend Kamala and is slighted when she takes an instant like to the fit and mysterious new kid, Kamran, who drives a fancy car and is into the same music and movies as she. It doesn’t help that Kamran constantly calls him “Brian”, which is a genuine mistake on his part, but Bruno remains loyal to Kamala even though he feels hurt. Ultimately, this quasi-love triangle resolves itself since Bruno eventually accepts an unprecedented opportunity to put his near-genius technological skill to good use at to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Kamran is forced to flee the country after his very public display of power in the finale. While in Karachi, Kamala also connects with Kareem, an adept vigilante who is the latest in a long line of scarfed vigilantes dedicated to defending the world from threats like the Clandestines. A mysterious organisation operating out of an elaborate temple hidden behind a restaurant, the Red Daggers are far better equipped and adept than Kamala and help her to further home her powers through training as well as filling in some gaps about the Djinn, and opening her eyes to their true threat. As adorkable as Kamala and Bruno’s friendship is, her banter with Kareem is just as entertaining and the two have real chemistry; in fact, Kamala has great chemistry with all her supporting cast, winning over Zoe with her heroic nature and even quickly patching up a falling out with Nakia after failing to tell her about her powers.

At its heart, Ms. Marvel is a coming-of-age story. Kamala is an wide-eyed, enthusiastic dreamer who isn’t quite ready to take her first steps into adulthood but is on the cusp of facing some big changes in her life as she inevitably gets older. When low or bored, Kamala daydreams Captain Marvel and the Avengers as construction paper cartoons, which distracts her from reality; these animation techniques are also frequently employed to bring her imagination, elaborate plans, and even her text messages to life, which really gives the show a distinct visual style. When she gets her powers, Kamala’s first instinct is to help people and emulate her heroes, something she struggles with due to her inexperience and her youth and the damage she causes impacts her self-confidence almost as much as Muneeba constantly trying to keep her head out of the clouds. This, as much as the budget, is why her constructs are rarely more elaborate than shields and platforms but, when Muneeba accepts her and helps complete her superhero outfit, she’s able to do so much more with her powers, from “embiggening” her entire body to containing Kareem’s raging powers with a cocoon of her own. Kareem reacts to his powers with fear and panic and, having lost his mother and finding himself hounded by Damage Control, lashes out despite Kamala and her friends trying to protect him. His anger and instability make him extremely dangerous and everything Kamala feared she was after just a few mistakes but also provide Ms. Marvel with the perfect opportunity to put her newfound confidence to the test and defend Kareem from himself and others. This earns her the respect and protection of her grateful community, who shield her and allow her to escape just as she does for Kareem, whom she talks down and arranges safe passage to Karachi so he can come to terms with his powers and potentially use them for good, as she has learned to. The result of this is that the once unsure and awkward girl who stood unconvinced in her cosplay outfit now stands tall and proud in a comic-accurate outfit and ready to truly live up to the standards of her heroes by defending her community.

I really enjoyed Ms. Marvel. I was honestly worried that I wouldn’t really connect with it since I’m not exactly the target audiences but it’s a really fun and charming coming-of-age story with an absolutely adorable main character. I loved Kamala’s awkward enthusiasm and her attempts to strive for her own independence while still being respectful to her elders and really connected with her strife; what teenager hasn’t felt their parents are holding them back, after all? I appreciated that she wasn’t a pouty, moody teen and that she always strived to make amends with those she’d hurt and that she was driven to do the right thing after being inspired by Captain Marvel. The Djinn aspects were an interesting adaptation of Indian folklore; while Najma is the only Clandestine who really matters, she’s quite a compelling antagonist since she just wants to return home and is willing to kill and even sacrifice our entire world to achieve that. There’s still a fair amount of mystery surrounding them and the bangle; although we learn a bit about the Noor and the Djinn, it’s not revealed why the bangle was in a Ten Rings temple, what the creature was that was holding it, and the series ends on a massive cliff-hanger as Kamala spontaneously trades places with Captain Marvel to set up their feature-length team up. Not only that but Bruno’s investigation into Kamala’s powers reveals that she’s different from her family and potentially her fellow Djinn because her DNA contains a “mutation”, effectively making her the MCU’s first acknowledged mainstream Mutant, clearly laying the foundations for bigger things in the character’s future. Most importantly, though, none of this overshadows Ms. Marvel’s main plot; it’s a visually unique series that flies by despite most episodes being nearly an hour long and I really enjoyed all the quirky and colourful characters, their lovable interactions with Kamala, and the acknowledgement of the hardships her people have gone through in the past. What it lacks in action it more than makes up for with entertaining dialogue and character beats and establishing a new corner of the MCU, one both grounded and cosmic in its scope and which further broadens the diversity of this ever-growing superhero universe in compelling and interesting ways.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Did you enjoy Ms. Marvel? What did you think to Kamala; did you find her adorable or did you think she was annoying? Did you enjoy her interactions with her family and friends and her doubts about her powers and place in the world? Were you annoyed that they altered her powers and origins and what did you think to the Djinn and their plot to return home? Did you like Kamala’s final costume, the revelation that she’s a Mutant, and Damage Control being cast as villains? Do you think the series did a good job of representing Indian culture and folklore or did that alienate you? What are some of your favourite Ms. Marvel stories and moments and are you excited to see her in future MCU projects? Feel free to leave your thoughts about Ms. Marvel in the comments or on my social media, and be sure to check out my other Captain Marvel content!