Ms. Marvel Review – 5 Reasons I Can’t Stop Smiling

Y’all! I wanted to do a Ms. Marvel review for so long! I was going to wait until more episodes came out, but I just couldn’t!!!!

Welcome to my blog! I’m Sadia, a women’s health nurse practitioner, women’s health content writer, and social commentator. I do many things, but mostly, I write and speak my mind. All views my own unless stated otherwise. Grab something to drink and scroll away with me. It’ll be good for both of us, promise.

So, a few weeks ago, Marvel released a short TV Series on Disney Plus featuring a new superhero, Ms. Marvel, also known as Kamala Khan. Ms. Marvel, as a character, has existed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) for a while now. But, the Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan version emerged in 2014. Created by Sana Amanat, Kamala is a 16-year old Pakistani Muslim living in Jersey City, NJ who loves all things comics. Kamala develops powers, navigates life as a brown girl in Jersey, and more.

Why a Ms. Marvel Review

I remember reading about her character back in 2017 when her comics hit the stand. As a pretty dorky brown woman, I’m not super into all things Marvel because really, a lot of the comics and vibe seemed very dude-bro. But, overall, I love comics. I love DC, Marvel, a bit of anime. I love Spider-Man, Batman, a bit of Superman, Catwoman, Wolverine, theHulk, and more. Plus, I grew up with comics, anime, cartoons, superheroes, the works.

Often times, most of the superheroes were white dudes without a family.

Some of them had super strength, laser vision, could fly, and more. But, I remember seeing Ms. Marvel on a whim on the Internet and was like……wait, there’s a brown girl on the cover of a comic book? What?

So, let’s dive into my Ms. Marvel review and why you need to watch it NOW! Also, note, this is not a typical Ms. Marvel review. Proceed with awareness.

1. Iman Vellani Must Be Protected at All Costs

Marvel found a Pakistani teenager to play a Pakistani teenager. In real life, Iman is a Marvel-obsessed fan, and she is perfect for a role. Marvel did not give a white person makeup to look brown or face any accents. A real brown girl playing a real brown girl superhero is FINALLY what we need. If you search for Iman’s interviews on YouTube, her candor and down-to-earthness are so fucking adorable. And that’s what makes the show so real.

And her entire family is also South Asian actors playing the part. Not white people dressing up as brown people.

2. Genuine Representation – Give Credit Where Credit is Due

A lot of Ms. Marvel reviews are coming from white guys with some token men of color for diversity. I haven’t seen many reviews about the TV show Ms. Marvel by women of color, let alone by other BROWN women. In the show, Kamala Khan is a Pakistani Muslim teenager living with her parents and older brother. They look like they’re in a middle-class part of Jersey City, the big brother is trying to get married, and her parents are super strict-ish.

But, her parents often try to meet her half-way. I’m a little surprised that her mom or aunties don’t really wear the hijab as much, but too much hijabi representation on the screen would scare the non-Muslims.

Plus, shows that feature non-white characters, like Turning Red, Ms. Marvel, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings, and the like often get review bombed by white men. Or, mainstream white male reviewers say these shows are “narrow” and “limited.”

P.S. This show is not for the white gaze. Let’s keep it that way. Ms. Marvel reviews need to realize that this show was not for the traditional white male gaze.

3. Lack of White Male Gaze is Good for Entertainment

This show does not feature a brown woman desperate to be saved by a white man. Or desperately desiring some military force to liberate her. Or eagerly wanting to fit in with the popular white kids in school.

Finally. I was so tired of mainstream shows that tried so hard to nudge brown kids into accepting whiteness and being saved by white people. Also, I’m really tired of teenage shows wanting geeks to become more popular or wanting to do things only to fit in with the popular group.

Sure, Kamala has a white guy friend, and one of her other friends is half-white. But, she doesn’t spend her time desiring to be white or hang out with white people. She’s a super geeky brown Muslim teenage girl who happens to get powers by accident. She socializes with people because she’s super dorky.

A MCU geek becoming a MCU superhero. Brilliant.

Also, people are saying this show has lower viewership than other MCU, but it actually has higher viewership among Gen Z and people of color……y’all know why.

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4. Real Relationships with Real Realities

Kamala’s older brother is ENGAGED and eventually marries a Black Muslim woman. Yes, a South Asian Muslim MAN is GETTING MARRIED to a Black Muslim woman. In a TV show. I really think this is the first time I’ve ever seen a South Asian man be with a Black woman in mainstream media.

Ever.

Unless I missed something. Did I miss this elsewhere in the entertainment world? Comment below if there are other shows where a brown dude marries a black woman and actually appears to love her a lot.

The vast majority of brown dudes in the media are either with brown women or white women. The vast majority of people of color in media end up with a white partner. I don’t know about the future of Kamala’s love life, but her brother is in love and married to a Black woman.

That speaks volumes, especially considering that brown people would jump for joy if their kids married a white person, but would most likely disown them for marrying a Black person.

Anti-blackness and desire to conform to whiteness are both extremely prevalent in the brown world, in the Muslim world, and I’m glad this show is indirectly challenging that.

And supporting real people of color relationships. And Kamala goes on a date with a brown guy – WHAT?!

5. Discussing the British and Partition

So, South Asia. Sprinkled throughout Ms. Marvel are real discussions about the influence of British imperialism and colonialism. There’s no sugarcoating Partition and lack of awareness of imperialist history. In addition, there are scenes about British invasion, stories about how the British left South Asia in a mess, and casual remarks about the pain and suffering among brown people.

Even remarked in the show, mainly Eurocentric and white history is the prime focus for many history classes. Very few people outside of South Asia even know about the brutal realities of colonialism, genocide, imperialism, and more as a result of the British Empire. Glad they’re on their little island now.

The Verdict

GO WATCH MS. MARVEL NOW! Just do it. It’s great. It’s totally worth it. Remember the same crowd who hated Turning Red? Yeah, they’re back for this, too. I wrote this Ms. Marvel review for myself. When I first saw the preview, I was like ehhhh. But, the previews DO NOT DO JUSTICE. Every Ms. Marvel review even talks about that. Go watch it. It’ll be a good time, promise!

See you next week!

DISCLAIMER: Nurse Sadia is a licensed and board-certified women’s health nurse practitioner and registered nurse. All information on this page and on www.digitalhealthcommunicator.com is for educational and informative purposes only. It is not meant to be used for self-diagnosing or self-treatment of any health-related conditions. While the information presented has used evidence-based research and guidelines for accuracy, Nurse Sadia cannot guarantee any inaccuracies as healthcare is rapidly evolving.

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