RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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First actual trailer released today.
Looks pretty good - and should be a nice change of tone after Moon Knight.
It looks like instead of making her an Inhuman they are giving her the Nega-Bands (or maybe the Quantum Bands)
Either way, it's a solid change and I'm betting on the bands being a mixture of the two. Which is good.
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I tried to go in with as few expectations as possible, and man did I enjoy it. Standing alone it is a really sweet story about a teen girl who daydreams about superheroes with great origin story build up. From the perspective of a comics fan, I think they did a terrific job of creating the spirit of the comics while planting the specific events into the MCU to make it fit into that world.
The visuals are super clever and the performances are terrific.
I still have mixed feelings about her power change, but it strongly implies from the get-go that the source is still heritage-based, not just "kid stumbles on weird object" so I am interested to see if there's still something Inhuman-like as a basis for why she can do what she can with the bracelet.
The "Hulk" costume moment was so real in its beauty and awkwardness. I felt for both Kamala and her parents and both sympathized with each of their concerns while also totally understanding one's rage/disappointment in the other.
Yeah I think that the bracelet is more like something that activates Inhuman powers rather than being the source. Though for a while I had considered this might be either one of the Nega-bands or even the Quantum Bands. But now I feel that's less likely.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I enjoyed it, but didn't LOVE it so far. I would have preferred a little bit more of her discovering her powers more at the end, and a little bit less of the backstory, but that's more editing choices of what scenes go in what episode. I'm looking forward to the rest still.
I was strongly reminded of Scott Pilgrim Saves the world in terms of visual style with lots of things showing up on screen which normally would have been just spoken dialogue/narration. That was a good tone and vibe and really fit the show well. I do wonder how much quick little visual references I didn't even notice, much less didn't connect to what was being referenced though. Would have preferred some of the visuals to have been maybe 1.5 times slower.
As for her powers, I read an interesting theory that when the guidance counselor references her having had quite a week, and we see quick flashbacks, one of them is a chemistry experiment blowing up in her face, with some blue gas/stuff coming out of a flask. That could have been Terrigen mists (for normal folk, it's probably easy to have that show up accidentally as some other mineral it may look like) and that could have triggered her Inhuman powers - how the bracelet fits in, we'll have to see, but it certainly feels like an important plot point they'll get more into.
I honestly think the chemistry thing was a misdirect. The bracelet I think has Terrigen properties.
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So for a while now there has been this weird sort of "Ant-Man is super popular" thing going on in the background of a lot of the Phase 4 shows.
and now we learn about the Podcast
Scott Lang has been milking it.
I bet he's been on the late night Talk shows too.
This is how Quantum Mania is going to start, With Scott coasting high on internet fame
Grey,
I mean after fighting Thanos and his Army, kind of hard not to see self-assurance swell. But yeah I think you're probably right.
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Luis is probably his producer now too.
I mean it makes sense...
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Okay, I thought this episode was really strong too. I really love mixing superheroes with slice of life so this is doing it for me.
This said, the one trope I get tired of in this genre is when the young person asks questions about something and the response is, "It is forbidden for you to know" and the person who is saying that really seems to think that is going to end all curiosity on the subject. Like seriously? Kid seriously seems to know part of something and they'll learn the truth from somewhere if not from you so just effing tell them already.
But all around loving this, love the cast, love what they're doing, loved seeing more about Kamala's regular life, loved seeing her relationship with her friends. Also lots of comic book references (but nothing that leaves non-comic readers out of the loop too much).
And a (context appropriate) Eternals reference!
So they confirm the bangle unlocked something in Kamala, she isn't just getting power from the bangle.
And moreover the woman in the car who might be her great grandmother probably knew when the bangle was activated. The hint that Aisha "had another family" made me think of the Inhuman compound led by Jiaying on Agents of SHIELD (to be clear I don't think they are referencing that specifically and we will not see that on this show, it's just what it made me think of).
Still not clear if it's some Kree/Inhuman thing or something else. The Kingo reference (that Kamran's mom had a crush on him) almost made me wonder if he was involved (since he is an energy user) in her getting powers, but that's probably very much not it and them just wanting to reference him since they were talking about Bollywood.)
Kamran is evil in the comics so that's the only thing that reading the comics "spoiled" for me.
Apropos of nothing, New Rockstars pointed out that the idiot kid Kamala rescued was wearing Nakia's shoes.
Wait that was the jerk?!! Wow. Anyways, great episode and I totally think now we have Kamala as an Inhuman.
Wow! So she's tied to some super obscure group from the comics... but that blue arm still tells me the Kree are tied in somehow...
And the Ten Rings? I didn't notice it but everyone else on the Internet did.
Big stuff, but they still are keeping it real with the teen superhero journey. Good stuff.
Inhumans? Obscure? It's not like they're the Externals.
I suppose the stretchyness thing she has in the comics didn't look as good as the hard light?
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Inhumans? Obscure? It's not like they're the Externals.
No, not the Inhumans. If you watched the episode, you will see they have tied her heritage to the ClanDestine, playing up the Djinn aspect.
Although there still may be a possible Kree connection which you will notice if you watch the episode.
I suppose the stretchyness thing she has in the comics didn't look as good as the hard light?
Interestingly, she has begun manifesting a power that looks a lot like her limb "embiggening"--while encased in the light, her arm is clearly stretching and her fist massively increasing in size. So while she's doing some of these Green Lanterny sort of constructs she is also manifesting stuff that looks closer to what she does in the comics, except shinier. They say her power will evolve through the show.
But my understanding is that they have also tied an energy aspect to her power to make her powers look more similar to Captain Marvel and Spectrum's abilities. Which, while on one hand I like the way her powers look in the comics, I also get for trying to make something look thematic and consistent for their purposes.
Some fans have speculated they also wanted to be sure she didn't look too much like Mr. Fantastic, especially on a slightly lower budget. Although personally I'm less concerned about that. I mean we have multiple strong brick people and multiple flying suit people and multiple shrinking people, I feel like multiple stretchy people isn't any more confusing.
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Yes, I will talk to myself, thank you.
I am still loving this show, but this is the first episode I found messiness and flaws that bothered me. I did like the deep dive into Pakistani culture and history and Kamala's continuing to build her power set and slowly assemble her costume. She herself continues to be a delight and makes the show worth watching.
Maybe watching Jane the Virgin once upon a time now makes me yearn for awesome daughter-mom-grandma interaction on television but I really wish Nani had a larger role, and that we saw all three of them together more and navigating their relationships. Moreover, I really wish Nani had been the one to tell Kamala more about her heritage than random kid on the street she knew for two minutes.
Yes, having read the comics since they first started coming out, I know random kid on the street was Red Dagger in the comics (in the books he was just one guy, not an organization). I love comic references when they work but this was the first one where it felt like they shoehorned in the Red Daggers because of the comics rather than had a good reason, and also really had her trust them way too fast.
Instead, with all the focus on heritage and family and how to serve your family best, it should have come from her grandmother. Maybe she learned Aisha's secrets later. Maybe she knew the inscriptions on the bangle. Maybe Nani is a Red Dagger and they could have done it that way. They could have re-jiggered some things to make it work.
I also think the villains are super lame, even by Marvel standards. Super shallow, super generic, with the same motivations as the lame-ass Hand in the Defenders: "oh no, we want to destroy the world to go back to the dimension were exiled from and will employ zero wisdom despite being hundreds of years old in trying to!" Their nebulous powers and capabilities vary according to the speed of plot. They can't stop one teen girl with no combat training but they can break out of the same supermax prison that holds Abomination (Wong's fight club aside). This is where I would have wanted more comicness... Kamala fighting enemies who either terrorize teens or are the evil Hydra-owned forces of gentrification. Even enemies tied to her background you could keep, but why are they so generic? They only became Kamala's enemies because they wouldn't wait for her to finish being at her brother's wedding. Stupid.
Regardless of these complaints, I love the show, I love the family dynamics, I love the history lessons tied in, I love the cinematography, and I really, really love Kamala. But then, I always have. Yay Kamala.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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DQ, I'm with you on the villains, they're cardboard and boring, and don't even have cool powers to be interested in. And, they seem to travel at the speed of plot. They just show up in NJ initially one Kamala used the bangle, then escape prison and just show back up in Pakistan right away. Are they rich and just use a private jet? Can they teleport long distances? They certainly can't travel through dimensions.
I don't have any preexisting knowledge of Ms Marvel or Red Dagger, and didn't feel that Red Dagger as an organization felt jammed in and didn't make sense. In fact, if the Noor have been around in that region for centuries, it sort of makes sense that a group would have formed to fight and stop them. What I am curious about though is how they seem to have escaped the attention of the Sorcerers, since dimensions and magic seems like their bag, and they're global.
I don't have any preexisting knowledge of Ms Marvel or Red Dagger, and didn't feel that Red Dagger as an organization felt jammed in and didn't make sense. In fact, if the Noor have been around in that region for centuries, it sort of makes sense that a group would have formed to fight and stop them. What I am curious about though is how they seem to have escaped the attention of the Sorcerers, since dimensions and magic seems like their bag, and they're global.
I agree that an organization existing to contend with the ClanDestine makes sense... if the ClanDestine do things that are troublesome. Of which there has been no indication prior to their attacking Kamala which was specifically to get something they desperately wanted (although it was totally stupid that they chose to do it at that moment). Given Kamran seemed to have a fairly normal upbringing, it seems like the ClanDestine had been laying low... and moreover, living in the U.S. recently (they were in Adam's house in a previous scene).
There's some intimation that Aisha founded the Red Dagger and that's why they know what the ClanDestine plan to do, but if that's the case... then all the more reason Nani should have been involved secretly as Aisha's daughter. And that's my bigger gripe... not that Red Dagger exists, but that, given the themes of family and heritage in the show, Nani (I suppose I should call her by her name, Sana; she's not my grandmother after all) should have been the one to give more of this explanation to Kamala, in my opinion. It also could have worked well for the backstory of Sana and Muneeba... Sana was sneaking off to do things with this organization, but chose not to involve Muneeba so she could have a normal life--or even tried to get Muneeba involved, but Muneeba rejected it and thought the things she told her were crazy, which would keep the relationship tension between them so their existing dialogue would still work.
Mind you, this is just me griping on using narrative elements and theming well, and I think the only reason it bothers me is the show was really good at this for the earlier episodes.
Also, how did Sana see the train if she doesn't have a bangle or some other specific connection to the Noor?
This episode was better. Bad guys were still kind of lame, but we see of course their efforts were now just to pave their way to something else.
Not sure if Kamran will become big bad, perhaps blaming Kamala for his mother's death, or if they will join forces to deal with DODC.
A lot of the superheroics I think have been rushed to make way for the family plot. And honestly, I actually am okay with that. But I do wish they had just given this show a couple more episodes to give the Clan better character development and build that part of the world while not sacrificing the family story.
The actress who plays Muneeba is really incredible. Shout out to her.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I actually really disliked this episode, probably the worst episode of any Disney+ MCU show. While it was well done and good for what it was, about 80% of the episode was essentially a flashback of her great grandmother, having a normal life. Was it interesting in a vacuum, sure, but it had very little value for the Ms Marvel show. Even the scene in the past she was in was pretty useless overall. Pretty much nothing was learned by her, or by the viewers which was not already known (with the exception of how things were in India and Pakistan during the partition, which was not a part of history I was very familiar with - but in terms of how it impacted Kamala and the present day, it didn't really advance any plot points.)
I would have much rather her make more of her family discovery in the present, by discussions or even action scenes involving her mom and grandma. With only 6 episodes, this one felt like a wasted opportunity.
Also, the entire time she was in the past, I couldn't stop myself from wondering if the TVA would show up to deal with unauthorized time travel.
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I'd struggle, personally, to call it "the worst," even if not one's cup of tea. But I acknowledge a romance story (even if between an extradimensional being and a Ghandi-inspired activist) isn't going to get every Marvel fan revved up for more. But come on... surely at least something in TFATWS was worse? ;)
To me I thought the flashback to Aisha showed a lot of subtle things about her history, her powers, and how they transfer to/are activated by her kin, her relationship to the other ClanDestine, and what the bangle does and doesn't do. Perhaps they needed to be a little more obvious about some stuff, but I felt like I was in fact learning more about Aisha and Kamala along the way, and I'm not prepared to say other things we learned at this episode aren't going to be relevant given the series has one more episode. It also establishes that Sana has some innate, if barely used power (and perhaps Muneeba might too, if triggered) which also may become relevant next episode (or somewhere down the line). *shrug* But I admit, I also just liked the story and got caught up in it. I think I did say earlier I like slice of life well stirred into my superheroes so this all just fits together fine to me (but I know others are not going to feel the same way and that's okay).
As for the TVA,
(1) The TVA as we knew it no longer exists and is run by Kang for probably more nefarious purposes now
(2) Even if it did exist as it did at the beginning of Loki, given the time travel (likely) did nothing to spur an unneeded branch from the sacred timeline, the TVA would not have been alerted. Not all branches get pruned, just the ones that lead to consequences the One Who Remains doesn't want.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I loved every episode of TFATWS so yes, thought this was far worse.
And I'm not saying as a STORY the episode was bad, but as an episode of Ms Marvel it was. There was no need for 30 minutes of exposition to show her great grandma's story. That could have been told in the present day. In general, I'm not a fan of prequels, lengthy flashbacks for other character's backstories. This episode felt like a painful "let me tell you all about my character, I wrote 30 pages on their backstory and family history" when everyone else at the table would much rather play the game, and have bits of backstory come out through play.
If you are comparing this show to an RPG, wouldn't it be a solo campaign with Kamala/Ms. Marvel as the sole PC?
I loved every episode of TFATWS so yes, thought this was far worse.
My sincere apologies, Joel, was not trying to take a jab at something you loved. I remember a lot of plot nitpicking on the boards and the Internet with that show, particularly with the tone of specific episodes, so thought that would be an appropriate comparison to something at least some folks felt was lacking and my aim was way off, and clearly did not remember your in particular enjoyment of it. (I also really liked TFATWS too, FWIW, but I did think some episodes were way better than others.)
But perhaps my choice, off or not, was fortuitous in a way. It shows how different viewers can see the same story through very different lenses. My only point was--one with which I acknowledge you disagree--that I did not see episode 5 as extraneous or unnecessary dude-talking-about-his-character's-backstory in the slightest. Rather I wholeheartedly saw it absolutely integral to the world build, understanding the main character and the world she lived in, and themes of the show. And it was also a nice story to boot. I'm sorry to hear it didn't do it for you.
And NOW onto episode 6...
That's my nonspoilered assessment. Non spoiler I will say I overall enjoyed it, loved the character moments, but I thought some of the key bad-guy plot was poorly developed and rushed. I think the show could have done better to be 8 episodes rather than 6, at least if they had wanted to handle both the ClanDestine and the DODC plots adequately. As it is, sadly both Najma and Deever came off as very cookie cutter and cardboard, and both actresses and storylines deserved better. However, this show was primarily a coming of age story about a superhero-loving nerd who doesn't feel like she fits in and her family and for those purposes, the show did epically well. Iman Vellani, who has never acted before this, is an effing STAR and I can't wait to see her again in the Marvels.
So I guess them playing the "X-Men" theme when Bruno said "Mutation" was to make crystal clear that yes: we mean Mutant with a capital M. Although Kamala's response--"it's just another label"--suggests to me they are folding this in with all kinds of "enhanced" in this universe. After all, Kamala, even if she is genetically disposed toward having powers, was still "activated" which feels more Inhuman than Mutant to me.
Not sure how I feel about this--I have unpopularly always been very against getting the X-Men folded into the MCU; cinematically their stories are so complex I feel like they deserve their own universe--but everyone else in the world is excited so I am happy for them. And also I'm pretty sure they're doing this to give a giant big fat middle finger to Ike Perlmutter, and I have to say I wholeheartedly support that at least. *clutches Black Widow action figures to her bosom*
I also think Bruno was lying about the rest of her family not having powers. There is no way Muneeba is able to make costumes and food so quickly unless she's superhuman. Or is it just that moms are all superhuman? (I lost mine 24 years ago, I may have forgotten.)
I'm kinda bummed Kamala didn't actually meet Carol, but that ending was still very amusing. This suggests--as other nerds on the internet have suggested who know the Marvel universe better than me--that indeed the bangle may be negabandish, since they appear to have swapped places like Rick Jones and Mar-Vell in the comics.
Soo so so so excited for the Marvels!! Woot!
P.S. Mark, loved your post. Definitely check out those comics, they are some of the best comic books I've read, period, and I've been reading comics since 1982 (obviously this should be taken with the statement: "In my opinion"). Start with G. Willow Wilson's original run that began in 2014.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I thought episode 6 was great. In a way, it spoke to the villains being lame for the series since in essence this show wasn't about villains. It was about Kamala being Kamala and becoming Ms Marvel, as well as her family's story, and her culture and it's impact on her. The fact that in this episode she was really fighting to save someone rather than fighting them was a cool divergence from the more common formula. I also think this might have been the first time in the MCU where the public rallied to stand up and protect their hero, similar to some scenes in Toby Maguire Spiderman movies, or the Christopher Reeves Superman II.
Like pretty much every scene in the show where she was actively being a superhero (or planning how to get to Avenger's Con) almost the entire episode was focused on her becoming Ms Marvel, and was excellent. I really look forward to the Marvels movie featuring a chalkboard scene of her planning a complicated but fun plan and having Carol Danvers have an eyebrow raise type reaction.
Also looking forward to a full season 2 of the show focusing on her doing her thing, but hopefully against an actual worthy adversary next time (or better yet, a few episode of the week adversaries, followed by a bigger plot bigger threat foe.)