Kamala Khan is learning more about her past and how the bangles give her powers in the latest episode of the Disney+ Original Series “Ms. Marvel.” Kamala discusses more about her Great Grandmother with Kamren and his family. Plus, Kamren’s mother asks Kamala to help her family return to their place in time. But, when Kamala is hesitant, Kamren’s mother threatens Kamala’s entire family during her brother’s wedding, leading to a fight between Kamala and Kamren’s family, while Kamren and Bruno end up on the wrong end of a beatdown.

This is a solid Marvel outing on Disney+. It reminds me a lot of “Cloak and Dagger.” With the main characters being teenagers, a lot of the issues tackled are a little juvenile to me, but they will speak perfectly to a younger audience. I would’ve loved a Marvel show like this when I was a teenager. Kamala’s character growth has been solid through three episodes. Unfortunately, her two best friends just hit the typical tropes of the free-willed best friend who is radical by her conservative community’s standards and the male best friend who clearly has a crush on the main character but isn’t brave enough to tell her. It feels like that trio has been a part of almost every show targeting teenagers that I can remember.

My question going forward is will Kamren’s family be the big bad of the show (or season if it’s planned for multiple seasons), or will it be Damage Control? Kamren’s family certainly seems like they would be the more effective villains. While Damage Control looks like a government agency that is competent at their jobs, they still look like a bunch of non-superpowered people trying to compete with superpowered people and that usually doesn’t work out well for the people without powers. Simply put, Damage Control can serve a villainous purpose, but they look like they are going to be a lame main villain. That makes me hope Kamren’s family is the big bad.

This series seems to have a mixed reaction to it based on some statistics. I’m well aware that “Ms. Marvel” has the lowest initial streaming numbers of any Marvel series on Disney+, so far. But I’ve also been keeping up with the breakdowns and it shows that it’s one of the stronger series with teenagers, minorities and women. As a white man in his 30s, I’m far from one to tell the younger generation what they should and shouldn’t like. I’ve accepted that not everything produced is meant for me and that’s okay. I’m happy to see that this series is doing well with demographics that are usually underserved.

I like the direction the MCU is headed with Disney+ shows like this. I like Ms. Marvel, the character, even if I’m not overly impressed with “Ms. Marvel,” the show. I can’t wait to see Kamala Khan in the next “Captain Marvel” film and to see how all of these films and shows tie back together in Phase 4. The series is hitting all the right notes for its audience, it’s just not hitting the right notes for me, but I’m still on board for what comes next.

Ranking: 3 stars

What did you think of this episode of “Ms. Marvel?”

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

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