Ms. Marvel’s trailer reveals new Muslim superhero Kamala Khan

After a long wait Marvel finally dropped a trailer last Tuesday on March 15 for the much-awaited superhero mini-series, Ms. Marvel, the creators of the show gave us a one minute and fourty-eight-second-long action-packed glimpse into the life and origins of our brand-new Pakistani Muslim superhero Kamala Khan, played by the young and talented Iman Vellani. The Disney+ show, which is scheduled to premiere on the streaming platform Disney Plus Hotstar on June 8, 2022, will be the debut of our young superhero into the Marvel cinematic universe as part of Phase Four. Ms. Marvel will later join Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau on the big screen in The Marvels which is said to release in February 2023.

Soon after its release the trailer started to make rounds on the internet and garner the attention of netizens by the masses. Fans took to social media to express their excitement and love for the teenage superhero, while some found they could relate to certain aspects of the film others were drawn in by the storyline. However, a good number of people seemed to have a strong opinion on the significant change brought to Kamala Khan’s power-set.

It’s safe to say the release of any trailer from the Marvel Studios causes a fervor among the crowds, and with it come waves of criticism from fans who could be disgruntled for a myriad of reasons. In this particular case though, the reaction to the trailer seems to be louder since Ms. Marvel’s character is important to a lot of people who have been avid fans since her appearance in 2013 in the Captain Marvel comics. She’s shown as an enthusiastic teenager struggling with family life, school, an intense Carol Danvers obsession, and newfound, extraordinary abilities which allow her to shapeshift, polymorph, super heal and have super human strength among other things. With her nerdy energy and comic self-deprecation, she instantly struck a chord with fans so it’s understandable when they have a lot to say about the liberties that creators took by diverging from what was in the original comics.

Once you move past all the quibbles and pay attention to the rest of the trailer though, you’ll see how well Iman Vellani encapsulates Kamala Khan’s nervous and enthusiastic energy in her portrayal of the character as she maneuvers her way through life being a teenage superhero. What you get in the trailer is undeniably cute, warm and exciting with the way it shows Kamalas over-active imagination manifesting in the form of sound effects and thought bubbles appearing over her head. Right at the start, the trailer shows Kamala as a huge Marvel nerd when the camera pans out to show her journal where she’s doodling various scenes including superhero fights. Her daydreaming sequences also do a pretty good job of showing the young superhero’s obsession and adoration for Carol Danvers.

Given the MCU’s previous productions, we should have expected that we wouldn’t be given a one for one adaptation. A lot of their movies and series often don’t mirror the comic books, and till date that hasn’t seemed to negatively affect their popularity with the audience much. So, it’s only fair to have a little faith in the creator’s decisions and try to understand why Marvel Studios changed up Kamala’s powers. And since the young superhero is set to co-star along Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau in the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel so it makes sense for the producers to create a connection between the three women’s cosmic powers.

Although just because Kamala’s original powers were shifted it doesn’t mean we won’t get to see any signature Ms. Marvel moves. One shot from the trailer showed the MCU’s version of the comical embiggned fist, in another she’s shown forming protective fields and firing crystalline projectiles. These short glimpses at the fight sequences we’ll be seeing the mini-series make us wonder what enemies Kamala will be fighting. Fans speculate it could be NICE the rumored villain organization in the MCU created to reflect the real-world ICE. Whoever it is, they’re Kamala’s first superhero test to decide if she’ll succeed and manage to make to the big leagues with her idols.

All in all, our new fresh-faced teenage superhero Kamala Khan has got everyone excited to see how the Ms. Marvel mini series unfolds. Fans who have seen the trailer are already in love with her quirky and relatable character especially since it’s a first, providing representation as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first Pakistani Muslim superhero.