Why yes! Marvel Wednesdays have returned, although I won’t be so bold as to promise timely releases of these reviews/recaps every week. Toady we’re here to talk about Ms. Marvel’s pilot episode “Generation Why”! Spoilers ahead from here on out!
What was it about?
Kamala Khan’s head is firmly in the clouds, while her family would prefer her to remain in reality. What will she do once she finds out that her fantasies can become true?
My thoughts?
I have to preface this by saying that I’m trying to go into this show with an open mind, but that Ms. Marvel is literally the Marvel character I own the most comic books of. She’s one of my new generation favorites alongside Miles Morales and I’m afraid I’m going to be one of those very annoying people, who is like “but that was different in the comics!”. Even from the trailer, we learned that they changed how Kamala’s powers worked. She used to have similar (but not identical!) stretchy powers to Mr. Fantastic, but now it’s more along the lines of a cosmic crystal power reminiscent of Green Lantern?
I’m usually not against changes, but this feels like kind of an essential one for me? So, you can see I’m struggling a bit, but I’m in no way trying to be negative.
Usually, this is where I would break down the episode, but I don’t see the point of doing that for this pilot. The premise is very simple. Kamala comes from a protective Pakistani family and feels like she is not supported in her hobbies and dreams. She’s socially awkward and a bit of a geek, neither fitting her family’s nor society’s standards exactly. Because she isn’t allowed to go to AvengerCon, the first of its kind and the perfect place for her fangirl heart, she sneaks out with her best friend Bruno (a real MVP, who I can’t wait to see more of in the upcoming episodes). She cosplays as her hero Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel, just to discover that she has powers of her own after putting on a family heirloom bracelet. That’s pretty much the gist of it and it works well!
What immediately distinguishes Ms. Marvel from previous shows is the very unique style they’ve created. Starting with the upbeat and modern soundtrack, the show continues to use various styles of animation to get across the story. This use of mixed media is very effective and easily holds your attention. It’s really fascinating what all is going on in the background when some characters are just talking or riding a bike. So, for all those looking for Easter Eggs, this is the show you’re going to have a real blast with.
I think the first episode established the characters, (family) dynamics and premise well. We learn who the show is about, what her struggles are and get a glimpse of what she can do. It’s charming and fun, but you can also see that there will be some serious undertones, especially when it comes to the family life. I like all of that. In a little post-credit scene, we also get an appearance of the Department of Damage Control, which I’m assuming will become a recurring problem for Kamala moving forward as they deal with the messes of superhumans. (Also, she does seem pretty accident prone.)
Knowing this was super short, I just want to say that I think this was a solid start to the show. I’m looking forward to her getting integrated in the grander MCU eventually, because it will be so much fun to watch her fangirl over everyone she meets.
PREVIOUS MARVEL SHOW PILOT REVIEWS:
- WandaVision: Episode 1 & 2
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: New World Order
- Loki: Glorious Purpose
- What If … Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?
- Hawkeye: Episode 1 & 2
- Moon Knight: The Goldfish Problem
Life and Other Disasters 
I enjoyed the first episode, though I think my ears are getting worse, because I had to turn the subtitles on, lol. Kamala is a pretty funny kid, though I think her head is more in the clouds than I was at that age. It’s going to be interesting to see how she matures and learns she needs to spend more time in reality in this series as her actions have consequences.
And BTW, I would have been so stoked for my dad to dress up as the Hulk and go with me to an Avengers convention. I would have taken photos and then tried to negotiate with my parents so I could go in my Captain Marvel costume.
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I don’t know if I would have been absolutely thrilled to go to a con with my dad, if I just wanted to have a good time with my best friend, but she definitely was way harsh. Also, I struggled a bit with seeing how her Captain Marvel outfit was skimpy. Except for form-fitting pants, that was a very modest costume.
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Yeah, I bet if she just showed it to her parents, they would have loved it. And Bruno could have work the Little Hulk costume, he was already Bruce Banner.
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And I feel like Bruno wants to get in good with the family anyway. The boy learned Urdu!
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Oh, he’s totally crazy for Kamala, you can tell just by that rooftop scene. I bet her parents would be thrilled, so long as he converted.
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Remember I’ve read the comics? I’m not gonna say anything more haha we’ll see how they let it play out in the show.
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I appreciate you not spoiling it for me.
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I didn’t love the first episode. I never read the comments so I don’t have an opinion on her power changes, but I don’t think I’m the target audience for it. I think the spotlight on Kamala’s Muslim/Pakistani heritage was the most intriguing part for me. Otherwise she just reminded me a lot of Kate Bishop personality wise.
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Kate and Kamala sure both are chaos teens, but I think that Ms Marvel can bring a lot of new things to the table. I don’t know if you’ll continue watching, but I hope she grows on you.
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For me, I actually really enjoyed Ms Marvel! I’m quite young so I think it was more of my genre MCU Show, which is why I’m really happy it’s the best reviewed Marvel Show! 😆 It’s cool to finally see a long in depth origin story which we haven’t seen much of before. I was a bit apprehensive about the power changes too, for some reason the hard light just looks a bit too fantastical for me – but I appreciate she was still able to stretch her arms like she did in the comics as I think they’re trying to make up for it by being the most comic book accurate! I’m also so pleased to see a character that represents so many people at once!
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Well, I never said I didn’t enjoy it haha You’re right in that this is the first show we get with a not already established character. I’m a bit nervous since there’s only 6 episodes and next time we see her with the Marvels and a different director and writer, but I hope people continue to enjoy her story.
I’d just like to point out, that she didn’t actually stretch her arm in the pilot episode. Her crystal powers just presented like she would, but her actual physical arm never stretched.
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Ahhh I completely understand where you’re coming from! Ohhh I get what you mean – she didn’t actually stretch! It’s still cool to see that little reference to the comics even if it’s technically not real 😆
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Yeah, I really enjoyed the first episode.
Marvel is really doing great with it’s post production.
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