Little Miss Marvel

Ms. Marvel’s the Disney+ MCU show I’ve been looking forward to most. Not only is the lead Canadian, hence representation, she’s also young and not another white person. Additionally, her story reflects the youths’ experience, and she isn’t exclusively tied to previous lore. Like Kate Bishop in Hawkeye, Kamala Khan’s the future of the franchise. That’s exciting.

I say this in light of recent information. A picture of Ms. Marvel was recently leaked, and it’s…something. I like her costume a lot, but there’s one detail that rubbed me the wrong way: her fists are energy-based, as opposed to elastic. Considering that Kamala’s comic trait is stretching like silly putty, that’s really odd. It doesn’t help that early rumours suggest she’s a genie, which has rubbed other people the wrong way.

Now, I’m no expert on this controversy. I’m Jewish, so I lack the appropriate insight into why this is offensive. However, I’m disappointed that attempts at scrubbing Marvel characters of their Jewish roots-Spider-Man, Moon Knight, Scarlett Witch, to name a few-haven’t received as much backlash. (Neither has able-washing Professor X by having two able-bodied actors play him.) I guess Jews are no longer considered a minority in Hollywood?

Anyway, I don’t mean to demean the backlash. Making Kamala Khan into an energy genie, aside from being uncreative, isn’t the way to go. Genies lack agency, are slaves and serve as wish-fulfillment for others. Having the first Muslim super-heroine be one is a slap in the face. Or maybe it’s a punch?

Regardless, I’m disappointed. I’m also disappointed because I don’t know why the higher-ups felt this, of all the concepts they’ve executed thus far, was a deal-breaker. Why is Kamala Khan having stretchy hands bad? Is it “too silly”? Because The MCU has a talking raccoon and a giant tree that repeats its name constantly. It also has a green monster and a rock troll. This ignores the dozens of other weird choices. Stretchy hands aren’t even that weird considering Mr. Fantastic is making his way to The MCU soon.

Additionally, this feels like a step back for representation. The Mandarin, for example, was always going to be tough to adapt because of his racist history, yet Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings pulled it off. Ditto for M’baku in Black Panther. If The MCU could make these characters functional, then why go backwards with Kamala Khan? I don’t understand.

I wouldn’t be as disappointed if The MCU didn’t have a “too big for its own good” aura constantly looming over it. The franchise has constantly expanded, and while some entries have been lesser, it’s yet to completely collapse. Even Iron Fist and The Inhumans, arguably the weakest links, haven’t tipped the scales completely. It’s bad enough that this aura’s lurking without the added racism.

Additionally, if this fails, detractors will resume the revisionism they keep flaunting. It’s annoying even without the added tone-deafness, and having a legitimate issue would be unbearable! I remember the “Is it dead?” discourse that circulated with Thor: The Dark World and The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and how insufferable it was at the time. In both cases, the franchise rebounded quickly. I can only imagine how much worse it’d be if Ms. Marvel ends up being the project that tanks everything.

I’m not saying that because of the naysayers. I like The MCU! It has problems, but it’s also responsible for generating hype for comic book properties no one cared about in large numbers otherwise. (Most people thought Iron Man was a robot before Iron Man.) If Kamala Khan’s debut ends up a disaster, can you imagine the tarnished reputation? How many comic fans would be crushed by that? It may not matter to most of you, but for Muslim fans it’d be huge if their shot at representation was blown!

Now, does this change mean I’m no longer excited for Ms. Marvel? No! As stated earlier, this is a young, fresh character in a franchise with mostly white ones. Like Black Panther and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, I’m hopeful that this’ll move The MCU in positive direction. Also, if any franchise deserves some trust by now, it’s The MCU! I doubt I’m alone there.

That doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed, though. It’s one issue for Kamala’s fighting style to be changed to energy beams, even if elasticity might be “hard to do in live-action”. But it’s another to make her a genie and remove her agency. The former’s lame, but the latter’s insulting, and The MCU’s first Muslim super-heroine deserves better. She deserves the same respect Tony Stark had in 2008. Not getting that’s irritating and a missed opportunity.

So yeah, I’m unhappy, even if I’m not the best source for why. Does this mean Ms. Marvel will suck? Not necessarily, as I’ve seen lamer work before. Am I still excited? Yes, why wouldn’t I be? But that doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed, assuming it’s legitimate (you never know). And if I have to justify why, well…I think I did a good job. I only hope I’m, once again, not alone.