The Marvels

The Ms Marvel comics are one of the few modern Marvel series I actually liked. I think it is about the only one that had a reasonable explanation for this younger hero to take on a retired name too.

I also liked her series. I don’t mind that they seem to want to ignore Inhumans in the MCU in favor for mutants. I liked how they tied her power set into her heritage. But getting rid of the embiggen for another energy user to shoe horn her into this story was a terrible choice.

I also liked watching the slow development of Spectrum. I think they need to use this model for more heroes. It makes sense that normal people having to deal with freaky stuff rubs off on them.

But this trailer smacks of some executives believing that none of these characters can carry stories on their own, so they hope shoving them together will be enough of a draw.

Captain Marvel 2 should have always been a dark film with Captain Marvel getting her ass handed to her by Rogue. This is one of the better plot lines for mutants crossing paths with other heroes. It couldn’t have been previously explored in film or tv due to the character rights divided between studios. But I guess Feige still doesn’t want to get to the X-men yet and wants to drag out whatever the hell they think they’re doing. They could be trying to save that plot of a CM3, but the MCU might not exist by that point.

Kamala Khan is a reboot of Betty Suarez from Ugly Betty

The difference is the writers of Ugly Betty focused on making Suarez an authentic character. The people around her weren't cutouts to further some agenda or some talking point about some platform. Which is a shame, because it's evident ( at least to me) that if you just gave Vellani some good solid writing, she'd find a way to deliver.

The Marvels doesn't need to make this harder than it has to be - Tell a good story. Have fun. Let the audience enjoy themselves. Don't use the big screen as a form of free therapy.

I enjoyed Ms Marvel..well at least 80% of it.

Otomofan said:

I think it looks like a cute, harmless, and fun movie for kids and tweens.

Even Stoneface McSourpuss actually looks like she's having a good time in this.

The only thing that looks lame as hell is the CGI of the cat monster. 90s Sy-Fy Channel level special effects.

It sure as hell isn't making a billion dollars, but I see no reason why kids wouldn't like it, especially girls. It certainly seems like a more charming and fun movie than any of the other slop that was in Phase 4.

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OK, who are you and what have you done with our resident curmudgeon Otomofan? Alas, it seems we can’t count on anything anymore.

Hey, I'm not made of stone! I don't WANT to hate everything, but I have no choice: almost everything is terrible!

This actually looks cute. Vellani makes all the difference.

It looks okayish. Nothing I'd rush to see opening day (or possibly even in theaters) but I liked Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel a lot, so I'll definitely watch it at some point.

Otomofan said:

Hey, I'm not made of stone! I don't WANT to hate everything, but I have no choice: almost everything is terrible!

This actually looks cute. Vellani makes all the difference.

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Yeah, she is rather adorkable lol...

I'm certainly not gonna SEE it. Maybe watch for free when it's torrentable, but I also never watched an episode of Ms Marvel. I'm not the target audience.

Great points MeatHookGekko, I just feel like the MCU is a tick box exercise, it's not exciting, it's just agendas for the sake of it. For the record, I love cats and am looking forward to the barbie movie which will have lots of dancing. That RRR looks great too!

Looks fun to me. I’m curious how many complaining about the cast have read stuff like Ms. Marvel. Seems book-accurate.

This movie looks fun.

generalszabo said:

Great points MeatHookGekko, I just feel like the MCU is a tick box exercise, it's not exciting, it's just agendas for the sake of it. For the record, I love cats and am looking forward to the barbie movie which will have lots of dancing. That RRR looks great too!

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Yes, I agree, there is a clear MCU type checklist they use to do their shows. There's a lot of the same tone, dialogue structure and plot set ups in Hawkeye and Ms Marvel, at least if you match up Kate Bishop and Kamala Khan.

Where I see Vellani standing out immediately is she can do physical comedy, which is extremely difficult. Given her youth and lack of experience in acting, IMHO, I think she did a phenomenal job with a pretty busted up narrative and scripts. However, to be fair, I also recognize that I am not the target audience. This is for tweens and has to be package at more of their speed.







^

But yes, right at this scene is where they lost a ton of basic good will from a cross section of their audience. If the MCU wants to make a tween show, then make a tween show. But they can focus on Khan trying to figure out her place in the big bad world without taking a pointed jab like that in the writing. So yes, totally agree with you, it's not interesting, mostly because they decided to draw attention away from the heart of the show, Khan and her family.

I am not the target audience here, but if you mine a real talent like Vellani, then Feige and the MCU have to try to help her. She had to try to carry that show on her back, now she's being asked to carry The Marvels on her back too ( because Larson and Parris aren't bringing anything to the table)

I guess the big question has to be asked - Would Ms Marvel have just been better if it was a family show and had no linkage to the MCU at all?

Looks like fun. I will take the daughters if they want to see it but I'm not wasting a date night on it.

mikedanger said:

Looks like fun. I will take the daughters if they want to see it but I'm not wasting a date night on it.

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What if your date wants to see the movie?

Darth Snoopy said:

What if your date wants to see the movie?

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I feel like the cat and Kamala moments are strictly designed for the fans and I’m sure Iman was all for it

I really don't get all this talk about Ms Marvel being a "tween" show. It's basically the same quippy, sarcastic kind of humor as in every other Marvel series or movie from the last 10 years. The character just happened to be a lot younger is all.

davejames said:

I really don't get all this talk about Ms Marvel being a "tween" show. It's basically the same quippy, sarcastic kind of humor as in every other Marvel series or movie from the last 10 years. The character just happened to be a lot younger is all.

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Well a lot of the stuff there are for younger audiences too. School stuff, crushes, dealing with parents, dealing with classmates, etc.

I suppose, but we got plenty of that with the Holland Spidey movies too.

davejames said:

I really don't get all this talk about Ms Marvel being a "tween" show. It's basically the same quippy, sarcastic kind of humor as in every other Marvel series or movie from the last 10 years. The character just happened to be a lot younger is all.

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IMHO, the litmus test on adult vs tween super hero stuff is the general level of potential peril for the family members involved.

Batman - Parents are murdered in front of him
Superman - Generally speaking, Jonathan Kent dies in an unexpected way, too soon for Clark, but forces him to grow into the man he needs to be
Spiderman - Uncle Ben is murdered, then in recent times, Aunt May isn't doing so hot either.
Thor - Assassination attempt on Odin, then eventually he dies. Frigga is murdered. Thor has to kill his sister. Then his entire surrogate family is slaughtered too ( Warriors Three and Heimdall)
Hawkeye - His entire family is blipped. Then he loses his surrogate sister in Natasha
Black Widow - Her entire family is in peril, then her entire surrogate "sisterhood" in the other Widows are also in peril. It's unclear if her fake parents will die or not
Captain America - Surrogate brother in Bucky dies in front of him. He awakes and the woman he loves is too far gone and he has to watch her die. Everything he knew before and loved is gone.
Punisher - Entire bloodline is wiped out.
Daredevil - Father is murdered over the boxing/mafia thing. ( I'm a little rough on Daredevil, so someone can correct me on that one)
Scarlett Witch - Brother is gunned down ( at least in the films, comics wise, someone can clue me in a bit). Love of her life, she has to kill him. Her multi verse kids she has to watch die in a backwards kind of way)
Black Panther - Father is blown up. Entire country is under siege. Has to fight and kill his own brother. If Boseman had lived, odds are his mother would have been murdered in front of him in BP2 WF.

I'm sure there's more if people go deeper.

If you were an insurance company, would you go within a million feet of a family member of an Avenger?

Kamala Khan's family is never going to be in peril. Because the show is aimed at a younger audience and the series isn't built that way. In more gritty "young adult" stuff, like Hunger Games or Twilight, then sure, people are going to die more. So I wouldn't even call this as "young adult" oriented. Khan's brother isn't going to be shot in the head by Bullseye in a surprise twist on this show. This is more in the vein of Spy Kids or Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist.

The heart of Ms. Marvel is Vellani's raw energy. To be that young, that inexperienced, then have to bring it, day after day, week after week, non stop, for long hours, and carry the rest of the cast. That's extremely impressive. It's unfortunate that Ms Marvel wasn't given the same kind of depth as Nick And Norah. That was a really great little film with a lot of balance to it. The original book by Cohn and Levithan was a bit darker and more adult themed. But it had a lot of authenticity.

I really like the Khan family. They are the core grounding element of the show. Sometimes it's a pretty clean thoughtful depiction of a "non Western" household. Other times, it devolves into what some white overprivileged Ivy League grads and writers believes happen in Asian households.

"Tween" shows are built around the consequences of mischief. Young adult stories tend to cross over into themes that include outright malice. Adult themed stories will go further into no holds barred tyranny. Peter Parker knows the difference between right and wrong, but he sometimes chose the wrong thing, and the consequences were brutal. Mischief is laid out where Khan often doesn't know the difference. Because she's a kid, she is not expected to operate with full agency. Hence people like Nick Fury, in this upcoming film, will just throw his hands in the air and shake his head and laugh later about it.

The absence of malice and tyranny makes Ms Marvel a very "tween" type of show. Well, that's just my take on it. But everyone can see it differently.

But the big thing for The Marvels is this basic point - Vellani could actually pull this off. She could save this film all her own. You can't deploy her comedic timing, physical comedy and energy without just being totally fearless. Unlike Feige, Larson, Parris, The Big Mouse HQ and the rest, Vellani comes off with real authenticity the entire time. She's not looking to defend the brand, she's looking to deliver something fun for the fans. Because she's a fan.

Honestly, I'd like to see her pull this off. Did I enjoy Ms Marvel? Not really. In so much as I wish it was a family show without the MCU parts dragging it down. But Vellani's talent is IMHO undeniable. It's just very hard not to root for her here.