Ms. Marvel TV Series in the Works for Disney+

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member

 

Jedijax719

Well-Known Member
Was thinking about how great it is for the MCU to be exploring its various cultural characters with Black Panther (Africa), Shang-Chi (China), Moon Knight (Egypt), Ms. Marvel (Pakistan), and allegedly
Namor
who is rumored to have South American ties. Add to that Wanda and the Romanoffs with their European roots, and even New Asgard and Nordic connections. Then I had thought that not only is it cool to have different cultures, nations, and continents represented, but MAYBE it is by design to set up an international, inter-continental "Avengers" group to face some sort of foe who has this planned. They all have some sort of connection to mystical powers rooted in some sort of ancient mythology (not to mention mystical powers from North America with various powers.

I guess all we need is someone from Oceana and, I dunno, a magic penguin that absorbed some of the powers from the Tesarect.
 

Screamface

Well-Known Member
I think all of the Marvel shows have been a lot more creative and experimental than the movies, which is why they are all divisive to an extent. People either loved or hated the sitcom aspect of WandaVision. People either loved or hated the goofy/Christmasy feel of Hawkeye. The psychological thriller mixed with Indiana Jones styled-adventure of Moon Knight was appealing to some people, but not others. You get the point.

While I don't think any of the Marvel shows have been perfect, I do think they take more risks than the movies do. Personally, I think WandaVision is the best thing to come out of the MCU.

It's funny because all the things you mentioned appeal to me, but neither strongly appealed to me in the shows. I wrong a long reply that I deleted. I'll give one example. I love old sitcoms. Yet that aspect of Wanda didn't appeal to me after the first superficial looks because it didn't respect old sitcoms. The reason they are still beloved today isn't that they're some corny, not very good old "wholesome" thing. It's because they're legitimately funny and clever. That aspect of the show was just bad sitcome. Which didn't appeal to me. I say this as someone who still watches old sitcoms today.
 

doctornick

Well-Known Member
Really enjoying this so far, hope they can keep up the energy and focus. The character interactions are awesome and feel real. The middle episodes of the Marvel shows have almost all seemed to be unnecessarily dragged out and slow, so the next 2 episodes to me are the critical ones in how good this ultimately will be. Right now, I think it might actually be second for me after WandaVision.

I find the home and school to be well done and believable. The cast is fun to watch and root for, though I don’t like having Bruno be seemingly romantically interested in Kamala. I thought he was solid as just a very close platonic friend; I hope it turns out he’s more concerned than jealous.

The hero discovering her powers is often a fun part of any superhero origin and having it be a kid balancing other stuff makes it more interesting. I do want to know what the heck kind of tablet Bruno had that was able to tell that the power was “within” Kamala and not from the bracelet. At least wouldn’t they have tried having Bruno put on the bracelet to see if he could use it and have powers?
 
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MarvelCharacterNerd

Well-Known Member
I do want to know what the heck kind of tablet Bruno had that was able to tell that the power was “within” Kamala and not from the bracelet. At least wouldn’t they have tried having Bruno put on the bracelet to see if he could use it and have powers?
Maybe there were no unusual energy emissions or properties to it, and something unusual was coming from Kamala instead? I mean, at this point technology is nearly up to classic Star Trek tricorder level and I think the MCU 'verse is still a few years in our future due to the Blip?
 

doctornick

Well-Known Member
You know it suddenly struck me as to why they launched Ms. Marvel the date they did. I thought it was odd they overlapped it with Kenobi. Plus this was rumored to be launched a while ago and seemed to be delayed unnecessarily. Anyway, I see that the first episode dropping on June 8 corresponded with the exact date that Disney+ service launched throughout the Arab world. Now, I realize that Kamala is Pakastani, not Arab, but it makes sense to have a show with Muslim roots have its premier as part of the first day for those countries.

As an aside, I see that Pakistan as well as Afghanistan and Iran are not yet D+ countries.
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
As an aside, I see that Pakistan as well as Afghanistan and Iran are not yet D+ countries.

I would imagine that Iran is off the table because it's an evil theocratic dictatorship that is cut off from the Free World. Boeing can't even sell replacement parts to Iran Airlines, so Disney certainly couldn't screen movies there.

Afghanistan is even worse. It's now ruled by the Taliban, and women aren't allowed in public without fully covering their faces with a Hijab. So why would the Taliban allow a Disney show featuring an uncloaked woman? That's heresy and against the law.


As for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, they are slightly more lenient than their neighbors Iran and Afghanistan, but not by much. Pakistan has recently been branded as "one of the worst places to be a woman", and Pakistani politicians this year demanded the the UN's International Women's Day be rebranded as "Hijab Day" and declared any women who appeared uncloaked in public should be "beaten with batons". Fun! 🤔

That Disney+ is now trying to sell that type of anti-woman culture as a jumping off point for a Pakistani Muslim Lady Superhero is a head scratcher. And it helps explain why this Ms. Marvel thing has a small fraction of the viewership of any Disney+ series thus far.

"But early reports are coming in that viewership for Ms. Marvel is significantly lower than other Disney Plus series. SambaTV reports that 775,000 household watched Ms. Marvel in its first five days, which compares unfavorable to all the other live-action MCU shows:
  • WandaVision: 1.6 Million
  • The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: 1.8 Million
  • Loki: 2.5 Million
  • Hawkeye: 1.5 Million
  • Moon Knight: 1.8 Million"
 

doctornick

Well-Known Member
I would imagine that Iran is off the table because it's an evil theocratic dictatorship that is cut off from the Free World. Boeing can't even sell replacement parts to Iran Airlines, so Disney certainly couldn't screen movies there.

Afghanistan is even worse. It's now ruled by the Taliban, and women aren't allowed in public without fully covering their faces with a Hijab. So why would the Taliban allow a Disney show featuring an uncloaked woman? That's heresy and against the law.


As for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, they are slightly more lenient than their neighbors Iran and Afghanistan, but not by much. Pakistan has recently been branded as "one of the worst places to be a woman", and Pakistani politicians this year demanded the the UN's International Women's Day be rebranded as "Hijab Day" and declared any women who appeared uncloaked in public should be "beaten with batons". Fun! 🤔

That Disney+ is now trying to sell that type of anti-woman culture as a jumping off point for a Pakistani Muslim Lady Superhero is a head scratcher. And it helps explain why this Ms. Marvel thing has a small fraction of the viewership of any Disney+ series thus far.

"But early reports are coming in that viewership for Ms. Marvel is significantly lower than other Disney Plus series. SambaTV reports that 775,000 household watched Ms. Marvel in its first five days, which compares unfavorable to all the other live-action MCU shows:
  • WandaVision: 1.6 Million
  • The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: 1.8 Million
  • Loki: 2.5 Million
  • Hawkeye: 1.5 Million
  • Moon Knight: 1.8 Million"
Netflix is available in all three countries and Prime Video is available in Pakistan and Afghanistan. While there’s likely to be filtering of content in some countries I have no doubt that Disney is working towards Disney+ being launched in additional countries like all of these just as other streaming services have done.

IIRC Netflix streams in every country in the world except North Korea, Syria and (the big one) China. Plus they pulled out from Russia like a lot of companies. I would expect the goal of Disney+ is to match the same level of distribution.
 
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tcool123

Well-Known Member
That Disney+ is now trying to sell that type of anti-woman culture as a jumping off point for a Pakistani Muslim Lady Superhero is a head scratcher. And it helps explain why this Ms. Marvel thing has a small fraction of the viewership of any Disney+ series thus far.
I will say that the culture and the politics of a country aren’t always closely related. To start off with the show is more about Pakistani American culture which already begins to set it apart from the traditional Pakistani culture. In addition throughout the three episodes we have had so far every episode pretty much mentions how the family had to leave, escape and flee Pakistan. They have mentioned how it was dangerous, and what they have lost by escaping. While they’re just words, it does subtly push viewers into thinking Pakistan the country can be dangerous.

Then to go on a tangent on culture does not equate to country’s politics, my entire family is Cuban. To insinuate that because Cuba is a communist country with various restrictions and that our culture shares those beliefs would be odd. Given of course my family and thousands of others escaped (and are still trying to leave that country) because of the politics not the culture. Villainizing a culture and a people due to the politics of their home country isn’t the right the right thing to do as many times when people flee their country its to escape their own politics yet to still honor their culture.

"But early reports are coming in that viewership for Ms. Marvel is significantly lower than other Disney Plus series. SambaTV reports that 775,000 household watched Ms. Marvel in its first five days, which compares unfavorable to all the other live-action MCU shows:
  • WandaVision: 1.6 Million
  • The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: 1.8 Million
  • Loki: 2.5 Million
  • Hawkeye: 1.5 Million
  • Moon Knight: 1.8 Million"
While Disney may be disappointed in these numbers they may need to get used to them if they plan on continuing to have two or more tentpole originals release simultaneously. Which is really a shame as this show has so far had a warmth that the other MCU shows have been lacking imo.

Some information not mentioned in that quote however from SambaTV

“While less than other MCU series, it was a hit with #GenZ. Viewers age 20-24 watched at the highest rate of any MCU show, and it drew a more diverse audience with Black, Hispanic and Asian households watching at a higher rate.”


This points to Ms Marvel still being a big hit with its target demographic which is an indisputable win as it was successful with who it was intended for. This is of course a silver lining, but I still like that is something to celebrate.
 

doctornick

Well-Known Member
I will say that the culture and the politics of a country aren’t always closely related. To start off with the show is more about Pakistani American culture which already begins to set it apart from the traditional Pakistani culture. In addition throughout the three episodes we have had so far every episode pretty much mentions how the family had to leave, escape and flee Pakistan. They have mentioned how it was dangerous, and what they have lost by escaping. While they’re just words, it does subtly push viewers into thinking Pakistan the country can be dangerous.

Just to clarify, but the storyline is about how the mother’s family left (what is now) India and went to (what is now) Pakistan during the Partition of India in the 1940s. When British India was split into India and Pakistan (the latter later had Bangladesh split off from it), large numbers of residents were displaced as a result of religion - Muslims moving to Pakistan (like the family in this show) and Hindus moving to India.

Kamala’s parents subsequently moved to America.
 

tcool123

Well-Known Member
Just to clarify, but the storyline is about how the mother’s family left (what is now) India and went to (what is now) Pakistan during the Partition of India in the 1940s. When British India was split into India and Pakistan (the latter later had Bangladesh split off from it), large numbers of residents were displaced as a result of religion - Muslims moving to Pakistan (like the family in this show) and Hindus moving to India.

Kamala’s parents subsequently moved to America.
Whoops that my bad at not getting that, thought it was about them leaving Pakistan to the USA 😅
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Kamala’s parents subsequently moved to America.
Indeed. And one parent is excited by 'the American dream' in that his children are free to be whatever they chose to be, and the other parent is disillusioned by America's racial discrimination and afraid of the loss of traditional and cultural values.

Even within one family, there is a diversity of viewpoints.
 
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doctornick

Well-Known Member
Whoops that my bad at not getting that, thought it was about them leaving Pakistan to the USA 😅

Well, there is some discussion about that as well, but also a good bit about the "Partition of India". And if that leads to some people becoming more aware about the Partition and the nuances between Indian and Pakistani relations, that would be a good thing.

To the point that was made earlier, I think using Kamala as a representative of a female Muslim superhero is a great thing - there's a reason why she's so popular in the comics. She doesn't represent culture of Pakistan per se - although obviously that is going to be a part of everything - but is an American who is Muslim and of Pakistani decent. I think they've done a tremendous job in this show of illustrating how Kamala is torn between being a "regular" American but also having a strong ethnic and religious background surrounding and influencing her. the family interactions are very well done, believable and relatable.

In fact, I think this is the kind of story that many children of immigrants can relate to, even without being South Asian or Muslim. It reminds me a bit of My Big Fat Greek Wedding where a ton of first generation folks would talk about how that was their life too without having to be Greek specifically to "get it". sure, this is a superhero show with fantasy elements, but that kind of life of synthesizing being American but also having strong family roots elsewhere is a tale understood by many.
 

tcool123

Well-Known Member
What were the runner ups?

The Boys Season 3 with an equal 98%, but less than half of the amount of reviews.
Peacemaker at 94%.
Moon Knight at 86%.
She-Hulk at 85%.

Harley Quinn is at 100% however I suppose it didn't count either due to being animated - or more likely cause its focuses on the villains.

I pulled from this list:

There's likely more shows missing, but not sure if they would be higher than 98%
 

DCBaker

Premium Member

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