Part 65 – Ms. Marvel

In light of some recent examinations, it appears my last two timeline placements were wrong. The correct numbers are as follows:
Moon Knight is part 61.9.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is part 63.5.
And that means *this* is part 65….

Ms. Marvel:

#1 “Generation Why”:
–Naming the episodes after Kamala’s trade paperbacks is a subtle nod to the fact that her comics sell MUCH better in those collected volumes (& digitally) than in “floppies”. The generation she appeals to can’t afford monthly comic issues.
–Ooh, I love “Take On Me”!
–The band-aid on Cap’s head is a nice touch.
–Just remember, Scott, some jokes don’t work in the podcast medium.
–Wait,…is Kamala……Noobmaster69!?
–New episodes on Wednesdays. Very clever.
–Every 15 seconds is a bit much, but you do need to make sure you’re in the right gear.
–Interestingly, Yusef & Muneeba’s roles are reversed from the comics: There he was the strict one & she was the encouraging one.
–Douchebags blocking other people’s lockers. Been there.
–What a terrible counselor to prank you to the whole school.
–Timeline cue: Trees look like fall.
–If Halal Guys is anything like Five Guys, then I agree it’s overpriced.
–Timeline cue: Food truck guy’s last inspection was in March 2025.
–Sorry, Bruno, there is no escaping the food.
–Wait, why would the convention be at night?
–All the background animations & the texting effects are awesome.
–Yusef’s Hulk costume is actually a great idea. The mini-Hulk costume, not so much. Kamala’s reaction, even less so.
–“You’re not going to dress up like all those other girls in skimpy outfits.” You’re right, she’s not, because her cosplay isn’t *REMOTELY* skimpy.
–Kamala, you skipped step 1 of this plan: *Why* will your family be celebrating your existence?
–I know Chicago buses *don’t* close doors while people are in them, & they still stay on time. (And StL buses are late anyway, so it doesn’t matter.) Do Jersey buses close on people?
–Costume contest: Kamala has one of the better outfits here. Zoe’s is clearly a store-bought morph suit.
–I’m not a huge fan of making Kamala’s powers so…pretty. They should be unsettling-looking, at least to the other characters if not also to the audience.
–Yeah, there was NO way you were gonna be back by 9:20, even if the plan had gone well.
–Credits: Loving the comic art integration.
–Mid-credits scene: Creepers.

#2 “Crushed”:
–Confidence. Pass it on.
–Finally an in-universe “Paul Rudd doesn’t age” joke.
–Night Monkey Light
–Ok, good, the bangle isn’t the actual power source; that’s a relief.
–Was that a tile breaking?
–Never mind the gender policies of Islam, not getting into that…but Nakia is a child; how is she even eligible for the council?
–Sorry, Bruno, there is no escaping the adolescent heartbreak.
–So, did they change Kamran’s power to manifesting doodles?
–We don’t talk about Brian, no no no.
–Kamala, with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?
–My best friends in high school remained my best friends when we went to different colleges, & they’re still my best friends now. You’re gonna be ok, Bruno.
–Kingo movies are pretty tight.
–0% chance Tyesha believed that story. 50/50 on Aamir.
–I only know a little bit about Partition, but IIRC, Gandhi adamantly opposed it; he wanted the different religious groups of India to learn to coexist instead. But he got assassinated.
–So, Nani had powers too.
–Super traditional Ammi is a Bon Jovi fanatic.
–The Illumin-Aunties better be glad the Scarlet Witch is dead.
–These Damage Control guys are real pieces of work. For one thing, nobody says “Latinx”.
–This may not be one of the movies with Gemma Chan or Awkwafina in it, but this scene has SUPER Crazy Rich Asians vibes.
–If banana pudding on pizza works, then I’m sure ice cream on pizza would work.
–These Damage Control guys are real idiots. For one thing, how did they not see that car?

#3 “Destined”:
–Flashback: 1942. Bloody hell, the Ten Rings!?
–Another dimension. Seriously.
–So the lot of them don’t age, but their offspring do.
–Kamala, kiddo, that’s not how cause & effect work.
–…Djinn. Freaking genies. What.
–Ok, yeah, Damage Control is officially our new ATCU.
–Tyesha’s reaction to the size of Aamir’s family reminds me of my wife’s reaction to the size of my family.
–“Good is not a thing you are, Kamala. It is a thing you do.”
–Timeline cue: September calendar in the Circle Q.
–“If you help them go home, some things might go boom” reminds me of Runaways.
–Great speeches from the parents here.
–“We don’t have more time”? You’re immortal. Just wait until tomorrow!
–I’ve never seen a Muslim wedding before; it’s kinda neat.
–Hi, Sana Amanat!
–The Hulkling costume returns!
–Brown Jovi: The New-Jerseyest band since E Street.
–I see what you did there, music coordinator.
–Now Damage Control can’t even turn their heads to the left.
–Kamala, there’s a partial truth you can tell here that would help your family a lot.

#4 “Seeing Red”:
–This is the only episode title not to come from a Ms. Marvel trade paperback.
–Muneeba agreed to the flight!?
–I use ginger ale to settle my stomach on flights too.
–“What kind of grounding allows you to still have your cell phone?” ~my wife
–Yeah, don’t bring people to a place with a dress code unless you TELL THEM about the dress code first.
–Yeah, you don’t leave a child alone in a busy marketplace in a city they’ve never been to, wholly at the mercy of scammers to find her way.
–Red Dagger’s a pretty cool guy, eh throws knives & doesn’t afraid of anything.
–“How do you know I’m not Canadian?” I see what you did there.
–“The Red Daggers”? Why does everything have to be a secret organization? Why can’t he just be a lone vigilante?
–Ah, so she’s *not* actually a djinn.
–Meanwhile elsewhere, Damage Control needs to learn how to detain prisoners, & Kamran needs to learn that his mother sucks.
–Sometimes spicy food is good. Sometimes it isn’t. Not EVERYTHING needs to be spicy.
–We continue Disney’s recent theme of generational trauma.
–“A child of two worlds.” Wicked.
–So the Clandestines have teleport-halfway-around-the-world powers?
–Kinda loving this chase scene.
–Glad they’re not shying away from knives being a lethal weaping, but Waleed died really fast from a stab to the shoulder.
–Did we really just end the episode trapped in a flashback?

#5 “Time & Again”:
–Every newsreel ever reminds me of A League of Their Own.
–Flashback: 1942. The British Empire was the worst.
—Aisha throwing a dagger seems familiar to me.
–Jump to 1947. It’s a good thing they showed the riot threat actually approaching, or else we’d be left with the implication that Aisha pushed Hasan out of his home JUST because of Najma, which would really hurt the theme of this story.
–Wait, this is actual time travel!?
–Present day: How the heck did the veil open? Is the other bangle here? And the chase scene just happened to end up at the Veil, despite Kamala not knowing it would be there, Kareem actively trying to avoid going there, and the ClanDestines not in control of which way Kamala & Kareem ran?
–Welp, that didn’t work. Thank goodness the ClanDestines are all gone…with an episode & a half left.
–Wait, did she possess her own kid!?
–Kareem nopes out of this awkward conversation, as well he should.
–I much prefer how Muneeba finds out in the comics: She just figures it out on her own.
–“So you’re a car guy as well?” Wow, Kamran.
–Tragic things are afoot at the Circle Q.
–Very awkward ending.
–Credits: I just realized the title image is on a different intersection every time.

#6 “No Normal”:
–Ope, there’s the spoilery school-shooting disclaimer again.
–“This is what happens when kids get powers; we try to shoot them illegally but miss & blow up businesses.”
–My dad always has his phone on speaker; I try not to discuss Mom’s Christmas/birthday presents with him. (I had to keep my phone on speaker for a while because the earpiece was cracked, but as soon as I could get a free upgrade I stopped doing that.)
–Why is this a Facetime at all?
–Why are we not panning down to Najaf spilling the sauce everywhere?
–rejecting powers
–TAKE OFF YOUR GORRAM SHOES.
–Reminds me of the time a bunch of Trump zombies called the Declaration of Independence “fake news”.
–I forgot this dorky kid existed.
–The hats are hilarious, but why does he have them?
–This suit looks amazing.
–I’ll bet you $50 we never see the “someone who can get him out.”
–We never really saw bully-Zoe at all.
–r/UnexpectedAamir
–Use the thing on the side to break the glass!
–Kamala, dear, Zoe being on the softball team is a hint that she doesn’t want to grab any balls.
–Cleary is a jerk, but he’s a reasonable jerk. Deever is a raging bigoted douchebag.
–There’s an important point that Kamala isn’t making; she didn’t kill ANY of the ClanDestines. The Red Daggers killed a couple, & the veil itself killed the others.
–RIP Zuzu.
–Science rules.
–Kamran, your legs are sticking out.
–Stop taking off your mask!!!
–Police brutality.
–“She was trying to save our world. My home.” First of all, you’ve never been there. Secondly, that world didn’t need saving; it wasn’t in danger.
–The Hulk cannons!
–YES FINALLY GROSS LOOKING ENLARGED LIMBS
–“They’re never going to accept you” except that they’re already accepting her, but go off.
–Whoa, a law enforcement officer facing immediate repercussions for wrongdoing? That’s how you know this is fiction.
–Hi, G. Willow Wilson!
–The naming scene here is sweet.
–One week later: It’s weird to me that Bruno would start the CalTech program in the middle of a school year. Wait, did they just say…?
–Mid-credit scene: How’d they switch places?

Executive summary: Vellani is perfect. I like the dialogue & thematic work & design & action, but some significant plot beats seemed to have been cut for no reason, resulting in the story feeling super rushed when it didn’t need to (Marvel needs to remember that streaming doesn’t need to fit time slots). Also, the writers seem to have no sense of how long it takes to travel between New Jersey, Florida, & Pakistan. Changing Kamala to a mutant works because it keeps the important racial analogy without contradicting anything from Agents of SHIELD. The ClanDestines were awful, though.