Ms. Marvel – No Normal Review

And just like that, Ms. Marvel is over (but fear not – she will return in 2023’s The Marvels, more on that at the end of the review). What a joyously fun ride this six-episode limited series turned out to be. Sure, there were some missteps along the way, but when the series stuck to the heart of the story it was telling – a teenager trying to balance her friends, family, and superpowers – it hit on all cylinders. And my god has Kevin Feige found himself an absolute star in Iman Vellani. This series wouldn’t have worked without someone with that level of charisma and talent in the titular role, and Vellani proved she was more than up for the challenge. As someone who has been lukewarm on Captain Marvel in the MCU, knowing that Vellani will be appearing in The Marvels just made the film a must-watch for me. And I suspect that’s the case for a lot of folks who watched this series.

So, as with all great superhero origin stories – especially those with young heroes – the final chapter of the arc needed to see our hero come into her powers fully, confront her final foe, and accept who she is and how her power will impact her life moving forward. And we got all that and a bit more with “No Normal.” Kamala now has her complete costume – gifted to her by her mother, her complete set of powers – now that she can “embiggen” herself, and her final name choice – a gift from her father. For a series that was so focused on family – both blood and found – it was really wonderful to see Kamala’s family not only accept her new abilities, but for both of her parents to have a hand in crafting the final version of Ms. Marvel that the world will come to know and love.

As for fighting the final foe, well that battle was also a family affair, with Aamir, Bruno, Nakia, and Zoe* coming together with Kamala and Kamran at the high school to try and outsmart the DODC and allow Kamran the chance to escape and gain control over the powers gifted to him by Najma in her dying moments. I was happy to see that the series didn’t opt for a full heel turn for Kamran – even when he hears the news that his mother died. And I was also happy that the series didn’t push for a full last minute romance for Kamala and Kamran – the almost kiss, witnessed naturally by poor Bruno, was the perfect nod to what may be in the cards in future appearances from our favorite Jersey City superhero. Battles in the MCU are often times for our superheroes to shine, and that was the case here, but it was also a chance to for the non-powered characters to get a moment to prove they’re just as essential to their hero’s story. We tend to only get these types of scenes when there’s a civilian best friend (think Ned in Spiderman or Katy in Shang-Chi), so it was nice to get a moment for our normies here. And they all did great.

*In the Ms. Marvel comics, much like here, Zoe goes from a foe to a friend for Kamala. You may have also caught her mentioning that she would keep Kamala’s secret because she deserves to come out to the world at a time of her choosing. That language was chosen specifically to hint at another part of Zoe’s comic storyline – yup, she’s gay. So, presumably, if and when Zoe returns to the MCU, that will be a story of hers to be told.

Of course, while we all knew that Kamala would make it through alright – she does, after all, have a movie to star in – the MCU still had a few surprises left for us in the series’ final moments. So, remember in past reviews how I mentioned that in the comics, Kamala and Kamran’s powers come from Terrigen Mist (something that creates Inhumans – you might remember them from the failed ABC series of the same name from several years ago – who include Black Bolt, most recently seen in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness). Since Inhumans was such a colossal failure, it appears the MCU is still trying to avoid ever mentioning them or Terrigen Mist in the 616 universe, so Kamala’s powers appeared to come solely from her Noor ancestry and the bangle. At least until Bruno dropped the biggest bomb in the MCU since Disney managed to buy Fox (and secure the rights to some key characters and terminology): Kamala has a mutant gene. Let that sink in.

Now, what does this mean for Kamala and the MCU moving forward? Who really knows. I suspect it means that we’re going to start seeing characters pop up with mutations – maybe some we know already. And then, perhaps, we might see a scientist (maybe bald, English, really good at deducing what people are thinking) start publicly researching this gene. Maybe Bruno will even get a job with him (I jest, but I do think that’s a great way to tie things together – Bruno found this mutation, he’s a great scientific mind, why not have him be our gateway to this becoming a real part of the MCU). But this is just the first stone in what I suspect will be a pretty long path to getting the X-Men into the MCU. It won’t be an overnight “Hey, we’re a team of mutants!” deal, but rather a slower thing that sees science become the key to identifying mutants in the early going. After all, the MCU has a host of great scientists in its ranks already. Time to start using them.

But as huge of a reveal as that might be (and it’s earth shatteringly huge), let’s not lose sight of just how good Ms. Marvel was. This was a series that was moving, funny, complex, and created a star out of Iman Vellani. Yes, the Clandestines weren’t strong villains (and that whole quest to open Noor was solved way too easily). But you know what? They could have excised the Clandestine plot and this series still would have been great. Because this series wasn’t about Kamala saving the world. It was about Kamala coming to terms with her place within it. And in that arc, it succeeded. I’m excited to see what’s next for Kamala – especially as she’s about to get a chance to meet her idol in the flesh.

Marvel-isms

— Ok, time to dig into that mid-credit scene. We all know that Kamala and Carol Danvers are destined to meet and work together in some way in The Marvels (where they will be joined by Monica Rambeau as well), so I think most people expected some Captain Marvel hint to come in the credit scene. What I don’t think we expected was to see Carol and Kamala appear to either switch places or for Kamala to turn into Carol. Now, when Kamala first manifests her powers in the comics, she transforms into Captain Marvel – so, there’s a chance this is that happening in The Marvels. But Carol appeared to deduce that she was in the wrong place by looking at a poster of herself – not something Kamala would do, since Carol is standing in Kamala’s room and that wasn’t a mirror, so Kamala wouldn’t know that she no longer looks like herself. So, my money is on the bangle being some Kree tech and Captain Marvel and Kamala swapped places due to its interference. Which seems to be a fun jumping off point for a movie! Presumably, Kamala ended up where Carol was previously – I’m guessing a spaceship? – so it looks like we’re going to get some fun fish out of water comedy to go with our superhero action this time around. Either way, we have to wait until 2023 to find out what’s next.