Another fast move from Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to build its fourth phase is through the figure of a young superhero, Ms. Marvel. This series is counted as the seventh installment of the Marvel Studios miniseries that has continuity with the MCU story. Ms. Marvel consists of 6 episodes with an average duration of 40 minutes which began last June 8, and the series ended this July 13. Bisha K. Ali scripted this superhero series with Adil and Bilall Falah directing the series. This series stars Iman Vellani, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, and Rish Shah. Then can Ms. Marvel continues the positive trend of the previous MCU series?
Kamala (Vellani) is a young Muslim girl who idolizes Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers). However, her family, especially her mother, always limits Kamala’s movement in socializing. One day, the grandmother sent a unique bracelet that her mother considered a useless item. When her mother forbids her to go to Avengers Con, Kamala leaves secretly with her best friend, Bruno. Kamala entered the Captain Marvel costume competition, where she wore her grandmother’s bracelet as an accessory. Something happened when danger loomed where the grandmother’s bracelet gave Kamala a unique superpower. While the girl is euphoric with her strength, she doesn’t realize that someone is after her grandmother’s bracelet.
What is unique about Ms. Marvel? The story’s background of South Asia (India-Pakistan) and all Muslim attributes. Although a few films have discussed Muslims in the US, now the difference is the MCU. For Muslim fans (MCU), Ms. Marvel is their movie. With Kamala’s figure, who is still a teenager with its grand plot scheme, the clash of “culture and tradition” becomes a new thing for the MCU. For example, hijab, praying, worship in mosques, food, wedding traditions, haram and halal, etc. Sometimes this is still inserted in light “jokes” that viewers with Muslim backgrounds may only understand. This differs from Moon Knight, which only presents the location setting (Egypt). Unfortunately, for the large plot, many things are not explained satisfactorily.
Ms. Marvel is the tenth film or series in the MCU’s long journey since 2008. The superhero’s background is no longer explained in a repetitive process that has become a genre tradition, such as Iron Man, Captain America, Doctor Strange, and others. Ms. Marvel is more concise, which is why many things are not explained in detail. The Jin and Clandestine groups are not described in detail; who are they, and what do they want? Why is Kamala’s magic bracelet so important? A brief explanation of the dialogue is not enough, and Kamala doesn’t seem to take it seriously. Then the India-Pakistan conflict, which appears to be a metaphor for the story, is not explored more seriously even though this has excellent potential for the plot. As a result, because many things are not explained, we only see Kamala showing off her strength without any nobler purpose behind it all.
Although not on the same level as other MCU miniseries, Ms. Marvel has enough energy to give a fresh injection through all of its attributes and open a bigger story. One big surprise in the mid-credits scene in the last episode offers the potential for an exciting account. Kamala and Carol Danvers will appear in The Marvels, which is scheduled for release in the middle of next year. There could be many mysteries still unexplained in this series, which will be revealed tomorrow. Although it has many weaknesses, at least Ms. Marvel can give something different to its cinematic universe through a superhero who has the power of her community.