Imagination of ‘Ms. Marvel’ overcomes its flaws

At its core, the new Disney+ “Ms. Marvel” series looks to be another take on Joseph Campbell’s hero’s mythology. But what’s refreshing about “Ms. Marvel” is that it’s telling a very old story from a different perspective and with wit and visual inventiveness we don’t always see.

“Ms. Marvel” introduces us to Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), a 15-year-old Jersey City high school student who worships Captain Marvel and often loses herself in fantasies. Her headstrong personality puts her at odds with her much more reserved mother, Muneeba (Zenobia Shroff).

Things come to a head when Muneeba doesn’t allow Kamala to attend the first-ever AvengersCon without a chaperone. Enlisting the help of her bestie Bruno (Matt Lintz), Kamala schemes up a plan to get to the convention without her parents and puts the finishing touches on her Captain Marvel cosplay. Things get nuts at the con when Kamala exhibits new superpowers.

Like Luke Skywalker or Frodo Baggins, Kamala is a typical protagonist in Campbell’s narrative. She’s bored with the drudgery of her day-to-day life. She daydreams about her heroes and gets so lost in her fantasies her school life and family relationships suffer.

What sets “Ms. Marvel” apart is the lens through which this story is told. The show takes inside a Muslim family and explores those parent/child dynamics. While approaching this story from a perspective not shared by a lot of us, “Ms. Marvel” also shows that suffering the travails of being a teenager is a universal experience. It would seem that regardless of what your religious beliefs are, your parents are still an overprotective pain in the booty. There’s still immense pressure on kids to have their whole lives planned out and to take the “serious” aspects of life seriously.

The other thing that makes “Ms. Marvel” stand out is its use of animation and other visual techniques to tell the story. We find out the story is set in Jersey City because a mural in the background of an early scene tells us so. Animation in the background of different scenes lets us inside Kamala’s head and lets us get to know her without burning full scenes on character-building. That’s a clever way to kill two birds with one storytelling stone.

When we finally get to AvengersCon, it’s something beyond Marvel fans’ wildest dreams. It’s so full of color and amusing details. It’s like the Nirvana that awaits faithful Marvel movie fans. And the best part? It’s not overcrowded, like San Diego Comic-Con or other big nerd conventions!

“Ms. Marvel” suffers from a few weaknesses, the two biggest being an overly predictable plot and some eye-roll-worthy dialogue. This show seems aimed at a younger audience than other Marvel properties, which may put off some fans of dark, gritty, violent action. But the show’s pace is light and its tone is playful. It’s vivid, colorful and Kamala is going through experiences everyone has at some point in their lives. That’s enough to give me hope for the future of this series.

”Ms. Marvel” is currently available to stream on Disney+ with new episodes dropping every Wednesday for the next five weeks.