Ms. Marvel’s Bad Story a Disservice to the Character

Did Racists Somehow Write a Disney+ Show?

Last week, my husband and I finished the six episodes that Disney+ used to introduce Kamala Khan and Ms. Marvel. I wanted to love it. I like the character and I thought Disney + was going to use it as a step toward inclusivity.

I was wrong.

Let’s start with the things that they did right.

The show is fun. The visuals of Kamala’s texts are a fun addition and the show is beautiful. I am not from there, but I think it captures the atmosphere of Jersey City well.

I loved the main characters. I thought Kamala’s relationship with her parents and her brother were accurate reflections of a teenager and her family, especially a teenage girl looking for a bit more freedom. I thought the interactions between Kamala and her peers were generally a good representation of how teenagers treat the odd girl who loves comics and nerdy things.

The actors were well cast and did an excellent job.

I cannot say if the portrayals of the Muslim faith were accurate, but Kamala and her friends reminded me of my friends in church in high school. We wanted to be faithful and yet change the way people were treated within the organization. Plus it was also sometimes a PIA commitment.

The portrayal of Pakistan while Kamala visited there was eye-opening and in contrast with the images we often see on the news, so that was great. Showing Karachi as a combination of a modern city and an ancient one seemed authentic and much more realistic than the idea that Pakistan is somehow less modern than New York.

The progress of Kamala learning to use her powers was realistic and not just relegated to a montage and her suddenly being perfect.

The Bollywood-esque dance scenes are a lot of fun.

But then there were the horrendous parts and why I cannot recommend the show to others without huge warnings.

Actual spoilers from here on out.

You’ve been warned.

After Kamala gets her power, she meets up with a group of other people, possibly relatives of her grandmother, who were exiled from their home dimension and sent to ours. The group, called The Clandestines, initially tell Kamala that they need her to help them return to their homeland. They are introduced to her through the new…