The kids are alright in the MCU, as we saw in the delightful “Ms. Marvel.” The series introduces Iman Vellani (easily the breakout star of Phase 4 of the MCU) as Kamala Khan, a creative, enthusiastic Pakistani-American high schooler and avid Captain Marvel fangirl who’s living with her family in Jersey City when everything changes. And by that, I mean Kamala sneaks off to “AvengerCon” without her parents’ permission while wearing a family heirloom — a mysterious bangle gifted to her by her grandmother Sana (Samina Ahmad) — as part of her Captain Marvel cosplay, only to suddenly discover that she, too, can manipulate energy, much like her idol.
Said bangle, as it turns out, is actually connected to the Clandestines, a group of super-powered interdimensional beings who claim they merely want to use the item to return to their home dimension, but, surprise surprise, secretly have far more nefarious reasons for wanting it back. In time, Kamala learns her great-grandmother Aisha (Mehwish Hayat) was once a member of their ranks and hid the bangle from them, only to be killed when they caught up to her during the Partition of India. Also, thanks to some wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff, Kamala gets sent back in time to 1947 and realizes she herself was responsible for reuniting Sana with her father after Aisha’s death on that fateful night.
Once the dust has settled and the day’s been saved, Kamala is hit with yet another bombshell by her science-savvy buddy Bruno (Matt Lintz): Her powers are actually the result of an unusual genetic mutation that no one else in her family has. You mean Kamala is what one might refer to as, I dunno, a mutant? Hmm, I wonder where that could be leading…