Joy. That’s the word that came to mind again and again while watching “Generation Why,” the first installment of the new MCU/Disney+ miniseries Ms. Marvel. Bright, fun, and honest, the coming-of-age story of Kamala Kahn (the future Ms. Marvel of the title) already feels like a different journey in the Marvel universe. More analogous to Spiderman (which, considering his enduring popularity, is not a bad comparison to have made about a character) than Captain America or Thor (or even, really, Captain Marvel, who Kamala really wants to model herself after), this isn’t a story of trauma creating a hero from nowhere. Instead, it’s the story of a young teen who gains incredible power and must harness it while trying to maintain a life, school work, and keep her family in the dark to the more complicated side of her life. No pressure though, right? With great power comes great responsibility and all that jazz.
Like with Spiderman, the story is only as strong as the actor tasked with carrying the weight of the titular role, and boy has the series hit it out of the park with their great find in Iman Vellani. Again, amazing what happens when you cast an age-appropriate actor in the role of a teenager – great things happen. And Vellani is just great. Suitably awkward (it’s no fun if the cool, smooth kid get superpowers, right?), incredibly charismatic, and just frustrating enough to pull off being a real teenager (in addition to fighting bad guys, I suspect one of the key elements of Kamala’s journey will be learning that her mother is not, in fact, Darth Vader, while her mother will learn that she can’t keep holding Kamala back from growing up – text book coming-of-age stuff, but still a nice story point that doesn’t get old when done properly and this time, shone through the first generation immigrant lens), Vellani commands the screen and makes it nearly impossible to dislike Kamala – even when you know that what she’s saying or doing is not going to turn out well. Perhaps, most importantly, Vellani is able to find the fun in the role – she’s not dour, she doesn’t mope, there’s always a twinkle in her eye. Her performance pulls the audience in with her – you want to see what Kamala is going to do next because you can’t help but be charmed by Vellani’s performance. She’s a wonderful addition to the MCU.
And the casting strength of the series goes beyond Vellani. Matt Lintz is the perfect nerdy best friend (who I’m sure secretly has a crush on Kamala, although it would be nice for a simple platonic friend story a la Shang-Chi) with Bruno. Zenobia Shroff hits all the right notes as a mom who desperately wants to stay in control of her rapidly growing daughter and ensure that she is still in touch with her Pakistani culture (and who hides her fear in disapproval – something that I suspect many female fans can related to), and Mohan Kapur is so great as Kamala’s dad – a man who clearly wants his daughter to have all she wants, but who also doesn’t really know how to relate to her anymore. Again, we’ve seen these archetypes before, but here they are executed incredibly well and don’t feel overwrought.
As for the story itself, well, I suspect we’ll know a heck of a lot more about just what the story will be (outside of teen discovers she has superpowers) as the miniseries chugs along. After all, we’ve only gotten a taste of what Kamala can do with her magical bangle.* I’m sure the wedding of her bother will factor into things, providing the backdrop for a big, epic, final battle with whatever potential foe Kamala is going to need to vanquish (if I were a betting woman, I would say it will involve someone with the corresponding bangle – or a similar bangle – who has had some grudge against the Khan family for generations, keeping the story contained a bit before Kamala’s big screen debut in The Marvels next year).
*In a change from her comic origins, Kamala’s powers come from her bangle rather than Terregin Mists that were responsible for the creation of Marvel’s Inhumans. Since the Inhumans aren’t really a thing in the MCU (despite the appearance of Black Bolt in Multiverse of Madness, I still think Marvel is pretending the much-maligned Inhumans television series never happened and Inhumans aren’t part of the 616 universe at this time). While this leaves the door open for an Inhumans redo, it also keeps genetic mutations out of the MCU – something to keep track of as Marvel approaches its integration of the X-Men into the MCU.
After so much dark, depressing fare in the MCU of late (and I’m someone who loves a dark superhero story), it’s really nice to see Kamala’s hopeful, joyous entry into the MCU. With a lead as strong as Vellani, I cannot wait to see the heights Ms. Marvel will reach – both here in her own series and in the greater film world. And when she gets the chance to hang out with her hero, Captain Marvel, for real? Man, I’m so excited for her. She’s going to do great.
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