Ms Marvel: Karachi visit revitalises the series, yet it falls short of the original comics.

We have to talk about ‘Ms Marvel‘. And for that matter, Marvel series in general, because there’s a genuine question we should be asking ourselves: Would we watch them if they didn’t have the Marvel Studios logo at the beginning? Do they honor the characters or are they just attempting to get the attention of the fan and not spending a single week without thinking about superheroes? Episode 4 of Kamala Khan’s series doesn’t help, showing at the same time the best parts of the Marvel serial …and, of course, the worst.

Travel to Karachi

My biggest problem with ‘Ms Marvel’ is that it has not responded to what it promised in the first episode, a wave of creativity with animation accompanying the protagonists, a visual style of its own, and a tone that was not ashamed of being deeply adolescent. In episode 4, the series has nothing that made it special visually, and beyond the change of scenery and some of the issues to be discussed, it is already another Marvel series.

In this case, after seeing the train that brought her grandmother from India to Pakistan, Kamala decides to go to Karachi, where she meets Red Dagger. In the comics, this issue is very emotional and helps our protagonist understand who she is, reconnect with her past, and discover that she really is needed in New Jersey more than there. The TV episode strips the comic strip of all emotion and gets bogged down in the origins of Kamala’s powers.

At least while talking about the origin of his powers we don’t have to witness action scenes and chases that seem to be taken from ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ (this is not a compliment). Kamala’s powers could go so far (going giant, stretching, etc.) that reducing them to being able to create shields with her hands is disappointing at best. They have turned one of the funniest and most original Marvel characters into someone wholly nondescript in terms of his abilities. And, as a fan, it pains me to say this.

Get on my blue train

Not everything is negative in this episode of ‘Ms Marvel‘, which is right again by showing Kamala’s day-to-day life and her union with tradition. The Karachi that he shows us is not a Karachi with conflicts, of course: it is a happy and sweet place where bonfires are made on the beach, everyone speaks English and fruit stalls are run over in the chases… But at the same time least dare to show us another place outside the United States, and link it with Partition and the Indian and Pakistani past.

One of the problems of ‘Ms Marvel’ is that it wants to cover too much: it is an origin story, but it also wants to tell the story of Pakistan, showing the loves and heartbreaks of Kamala, the routine with her family, and the problems of being a young woman. Muslim in America. And although her intentions are very good, at the moment of truth the concoction is not perfect. Half of the plots have had to be paused for the series to introduce us to new characters that are added to the hodgepodge of faces that already made up the three previous episodes.

At least it gives us a great final shot with a good cliffhanger, time travel included, which, hopefully, can amend the series. Once Kamala knows the origin of her powers (and they stop messing around with her inhuman abilities) we may be able to see some fight scenes to match with enemies who, beyond the comic name, do not surprise or convince, perhaps because their story is too bizarre or because there are too many concepts at the same time.

Watery action

Maybe I’m judging ‘Ms Marvel‘ harder than I should, but the truth is that most of the scripts don’t hold up. No matter what Kamala does, the consequences are never particularly harsh. From episode to episode it seems that what has been happening is forgotten, and that leads to every great power carrying zero responsibilities. There are characters who die, and others who see their wedding ruined, but Kamala continues to do what she wants without control: she is more, encouraged by her grandmother.

Also, everything the series gets right in the short distances (the conversation between mother and daughter, the first encounter between Kamala and Red Dagger) breaks completely in the action and chase scenes, which, as I say, do not survive expectations. The editing cuts make it difficult to know what is going on and the preparation of them is not so different from that of a bad video game, in which four bad guys fall from the ceiling after a long explanation scene.

In the end, neither the Clandestines, nor the action, nor the adventure, nor the origin of the powers: if we continue to see ‘Ms Marvel’ it is because of Kamala, the sensitivity that the series shows in the most intimate moments, the risk in telling something so close and at the same time far from the rest of the UCM and the perfect casting of Iman Vellani. Now, it’s a shame that the series has turned to the more prototypical side of Marvel being able to offer something really unique.