Trailer review: Ms. Marvel introduces first Muslim teen superhero in all her glory

How many of us wish that spending a lot of time in fantasy land could make us a superhero? We know that 16-year-old Pakistani-American teen Kamala Khan does and she’s got lady luck PLUS super powers on her side. Meet Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) as the new addition to the Marvel superhero squad. And this time around, the super-powered human is a teenage girl who is brown and Muslim and quite elastic.

The trailer of the Disney+ series introduces us to Kamala Khan in a typical comic book fashion, with speech bubbles, VFX designs, upbeat music, mean high-schoolers girls, a white guy for sidekick, an attractive love interest and some heroic glam. Wait, we said music. We didn’t miss The Weeknd’s ‘Blindng Lights’ totally killing it! Kamala is a Muslim girl from Jersey City who daydreams, writes fan-fiction and idolizes the Avengers.

It shows that Kamala’s problems are just the same as any second generation immigrant: when you have to correct every white person about how to pronounce your name or when you don’t talk about boys at home and can only fantasize, or when you are supposed to figure out your whole future as a high-schooler.

 

 

One day, this aspiring artist and avid gamer who believes that “it’s not really the brown girls from Jersey City who save the world” gets superpowers like the heroes she loves. Ms. Marvel appears to serve as the comic character’s origin story.

Read: Ms. Marvel’s Teaser Introduces Iman Vellani As Kamala Khan

However, Kamala’s powers are ambiguous here. In the comics, Kamala is described as a polymorph; she mostly uses her powers to stretch and grow and embiggen (as she says) her fists into giant battering rams. Marvel Studios has altered her superpowers to avoid any clash with Mr. Fantastic and Inhumans. While there is no visible stretching, Kamala embiggens her fists with the new powerset but MCU has given her a magic bracelet which enables her to create solid objects out of violet energy (much like DC Comic’s Green Lantern). She slams the door of her room with a projectile or floats discs to walk across a skyline.

 

 

It seems Frozen’s Elsa has got some competition. Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan is as relatable, charming, endearing and delightful just like the comic books. While Kamala feels ‘cosmic’ to get hold of this power, the viewers feel ‘ecstatic’ to see her embrace this power with sincerity.

 

 

The cast includes Zenobia Shroff and Mohan Kapur as Kamala’s parents Muneeba and Yusuf Khan, as well as Aramis Knight, Rish Shah, Saagar Shaikh, and Matt Lintz amongst others. It was heartening to see Nimra Bucha deliver a dialogue in the trailer. The film features many Indian artists but Farhan Akhtar, who was rumoured to be in the series, was not spotted. Fawad Khan has confirmed his presence in the series and we can’t wait to see him. There are also speculations that veteran actor Samina Ahmed is also a part of it.

 

 

Another intelligent catch is the music score; no one could’ve imagined that Blinding Lights by The Weeknd can be such a perfect fit for a teen superhero flick.

The series will have six episodes. Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and Meera Menon are the four directors behind the project. It is written by comedian and screenwriter Bisha K. Ali.

 

 

Will Kamala fight real-life crimes or aliens, will her parents find out the truth, will her bracelet be an heirloom and she is an ally to the Kree (like her idol Captain Marvel)? The questions have started piling up and will continue forever.

Fans have already started posting theories, but for now, just enjoy the trailer and wait patiently till June 8th when Ms. Marvel will start streaming on Disney+.