With the finale of Ms. Marvel streaming now on Disney+, The Daily Kazoo interviewed two amazing content creators – Amira from The_AmiraReview, and Maria from CallmethisnameMaria for their latest podcast.
The discussion is powerful and thought-provoking, as they discuss what they enjoyed, what didn’t work well, and how important it is for the MCU to show representation of Muslims and South Asian culture.
This Article Contains Spoilers on the finale of Ms. Marvel
With the finale of Ms. Marvel Season 1, Marvel has made one of its best MCU shows to date.
Episode 6 did not disappoint and did not waste time in getting us back into the story after our trip to the past. Kamran and Bruno are on the run from Damage control and Kamala is made aware after she announces that she has abilities to her family. Kamala’s friends and family are the heart of this show and the motivation for our hero. Marvel did an exceptional job fleshing out and building the bond of the Khan family and surrounding community.
Muneeba has an important moment with Kamala as she gives her daughter the iconic costume she had made for her, showing support for Kamala’s desire to do good with her abilities.
Damage Control forces are led by Agent Sadie Deever (Alysia Reiner) who is easily one of the most unlikable characters in the MCU, showing her blatant disregard for the Mosque and the people within. Sheikh Abdallah has provided some of the most eloquent lines of the series.
The ultimate show down occurs at the high school with assistance from Bruno, Nakia, Zoe, and Aamir (Sent by their parents to watch out for Kamala). The group team up and provide distractions and traps for the Damage Control Officers giving time for Kamala to get Kamran to the pier so she can get him to Pakistan to Red Dagger/Kareem (Aramis Knight).
What ensues is a fun and elaborately executed Scooby Doo plan in Marvel style. Unfortunately, Kamran discovers the fate of his mother and appears to lose control of himself and his newly discovered powers. Kamala then has to begin protecting officers and civilians from him.
As Damage Control continues to press and with her friends and family at risk from the destruction caused by Kamran, Kamala takes her powers to a new level while whispering the word “embiggen”. This is a reference to an ability Ms. Marvel has in the comics to enlarge her size, and it was glorious. Kamala is able to convince Kamran to stop by telling him, “there is no normal, only us and what we do with what we are given.” As Kamran escapes, and Damage Control attempts to apprehend Kamala, her community rallies around her, including local police, allowing her time to escape herself.
As this episode wraps up, we see Kamala finding acceptance from online posts praising her. The conversation that she has with her father is beautiful. As he talks about how they struggled to become pregnant to have her it leads into her discovering that her name actually means Marvel and that she is his little “Ms. Marvel.”
A week later Bruno tells Kamala that there is something genetically different about her from the rest of her family, some type of “Mutation”-queue X-Men theme song. Kamala Khan is officially a Mutant in the MCU! Considering that Ms. Marvel was first introduced in a Captain Marvel comic book in 2013 and her first run in 2014, during the time 20th Century Fox had the rights to the Marvel Mutants license, it makes sense that her being an inhuman was to keep her with Marvel/Disney, and the best way to start introducing the concept of mutants in the MCU proper.
There was an end credit scene that will make you excited for The Marvels coming out in 2023, but you will just have to go check that out on Disney+ for yourself!
Go watch the entire 6 episode Ms. Marvel story, now streaming on Disney+
Thor: Love and Thunder finally released in theaters last week and what a movie it was!
I was absolutely in love with the story, the characters, and even the central themes of the movie. But all my praise aside, I want to talk about the amazing experience I had watching this movie in the most iconic setting!
Rather than going off to my local movie theater, I took a trip to South California and reserved tickets to see Thor: Love and Thunder at the legendary Disney-owned El Capitan Theatre!
This theatre does not play around with the experience it gives its audience. The doors open just a half hour before showtime, and yet, there is so much to see and so many opportunities for photo ops.
As soon as we scanned our tickets, we sped over to the snack bar. Lo and behold was the new Mjölnir Sipper, modeled after the same hammer wielded by Jane Foster aka The Mighty Thor. This souvenir sipper is sold only at the El Capitan Theatre as well as at Avengers Campus located in Disney’s California Adventure.
But that’s not everything! As you turn to the left of the snack bar to enter the theater, it’s impossible to miss the stunning displays of different costumes from the movie worn by the cast themselves.
Being able to see the costumes of Thor and Mighty Thor up close was amazing. Also, featured were the costumes of Valkyrie, Gorr and even Zeus! The details put into these costumes are phenomenal and if you didn’t already, you’ll have a larger appreciation for costume designers after seeing these.
Theatrics in True Asgardian Fashion
At long last, we headed into the theatre, took our seats, and we were entertained by classic Marvel themes being played on the organ.
A show before the pre-show, who would have thought? Before we knew it, the performer disappeared beneath the stage, signaling it was time for the pre-show to begin.
It was a subtle and quiet beginning before the show got real. Performed to the tune of the Guns N’ Roses song that’s been stuck in our heads for weeks, the light effects were incredible.
And sure, to some, it’s just a light show. But this is a performance I’m sure took so much time and effort to work on, and to be able to see it before our showing of Thor: Love and Thunder was magical. It felt like I was back at Disneyland watching a light show!
On our way out of the theatre after the movie, we each received this super cool exclusive poster! I cannot wait to hang this up!
Is It Worthy?
The El Capitan is known for putting on magnificent pre-show performances for various movies that play at their theatre. If you get the chance to check out Thor: Love and Thunder at The El Capitan in Hollywood, I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Grab yourself some popcorn and a Mjölnir sipper, take some photos with your favorite character’s costumes, and enjoy the show from start to finish. Trust me, it’s totally worthy of your time and you’ll have a blast!
You can also check out the montage vlog I made of the experience below!
A Guide To Help New ReadersGet Into the Dark Knight
This ongoing series of articles is designed to help new readers get into comic books for the very first time.
If you walk into any given comic book shop, the sheer number of books on the shelf can seem like an overload to the senses. So many different titles, artwork and publishers that a first time reader can feel lost very easily.
That is what I hope to alleviate with this series. I want to introduce this art form that I know and love so much to new fans.
The community can only grow if we make the fandom accessible to new and old readers alike. So I’ve made it my mission to expand this community with helpful tips and a little bit of positive energy sprinkled on top.
Batman is another one of those characters that can seem overwhelming to try and get into for the first time. With over 80 years of Batman stories, even the seasoned comic book reader can get lost from time to time.
From the humble beginnings of the 1930s to campy censored style of the 60s and all the way until modern day, there is a lot of Batman content.
These recommendations are for the true first time comic book readers. Even if you have never seen any Batman media in your entire life, this article should be able to give you a good place to start. I’m going to start you off with my top 3 Batman series that I think are a great starting point.
Batman: Year One is touted by many fans as a ‘must read’ Batman story.
The story follows Batman, aka Bruce Wayne, during his very first year of crime fighting. This is before most of the high tech gadgets, the fancy vehicles, and sidekicks.
Batman: Year One shows a side of the Caped Crusader that we rarely see in most media. The vulnerable, stubborn, reckless young man that preceded the calm, cool, collected leader of the Justice League.
Batman: The Court of Owls is a collection of the first 7 issues of the ‘New 52’ Batman run. In this reboot series, a new secret society was introduced known as The Court of Owls.
The Court is a group of the super elite in Gotham City, who secretly pull the strings of the city. Which keeps Gotham crime ridden and corrupt despite the best efforts of the authorities or Batman.
The Batman series within the New 52 continuity is thought of by many DC fans as one of the better series of books to come out that era. With outstanding storytelling and a gritty modern art style, Batman: The Court of Owls is a great jumping off point for anyone looking to read modern Batman for the first time.
Batman: Earth One is more than a retelling of Batman’s origin story. It also gave us revamped versions of classic characters, such as Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred Pennyworth.
Alfred is no longer a simple butler who helped to raise Bruce after the death of his parents, yet he is a former MI-6 agent tasked with raising and protecting the young Wayne, and is more than capable of holding his own.
The first 3 issues of this series are available in a collected trade paperback format. If you’re looking for a Batman origin story that is a bit more up to date, then this series is perfect.
In the next article we are going to veer away from specific characters for a moment. We are going to dive head first into some amazing independent titles that have nothing to do with super heroes. Yes, you read that correctly.
Not all comic books are about super powered beings fighting in spandex costumes. There are amazing stories out there from all kinds of writers and artists that have just as much substance and character depth as your favorite novels. Everything from horror filled fright fests, to romance stories that will bring a tear to your eye.
So in the next article you will get a selection of 5 amazing independent comic book series that would be great for newcomers to the comic book scene. Especially if 80 years of super hero history is just too daunting to tackle right away.
Make sure you head over to your local comic book shop, and maybe one day I’ll see you there.
Ms. Marvel has been an entirely different Marvel show on Disney+. It does not follow the pacing of previous properties and definitely beats to it’s own drum. Though episode 5 was not fast paced and full of action, it provided answers to Kamala’s past and a way forward into the future.
Into the Past:
Marvel took the time to not only depict the Partition, but provided education and context to the conflict. We are taken back to the Partition and find Aisha (Mehwish Hayat) and Hasan (Fawad Kahn) as they meet and build a family together.
Hasan grows roses, but is finding it hard to sell his flowers as he believes that he is being avoided because he is Muslim. He cannot even buy basic food for his family.
Aisha, content with her new family is confronted with her past as Najma gives her until sundown the next day to return the bracelet. Aisha then convinces Hasan to leave their home in hopes of a new life and escape from her past.
While heading to find a place on the train, Aisha falls behind, Sana (Zion Usman) is separated from Hasan, and Kamala appears. Aisha is confronted by Najma and is fatally stabbed. Kamala finds Aisha and is made aware that she was brought to that moment to save her young grandmother. Kamala is given the encouragement she needs to make a difference, and is able to find and send young Sana back to her father using her powers.
As Kamala returns to the present, a gate has opened from Najma stabbing the bracelet. One of the Clan Destine attempt to enter the gate only to be encased in stone and reduced to bones. Kamala focuses on saving people in harms way, and pleads with Najma to help close the gate. Najma appears to agree and sacrifices herself to close the gate, but not before transferring her power to Kamran a continent away.
Kamala’s heroic acts are seen by her Mother and Grandmother. With Kamala’s secret out, Muneeba is able to understand all of the strange behavior that she has witnessed from her daughter. It is also a time for Muneeba to realize that Sana (Samina Ahmed) was not crazy about their family being magic.
This episode had more to do with the healing needed with Kamala’s family, breaking down stigmas, and bringing to light the truth that was avoided out of shame when it needed not to be. The end of the episode does its part to build suspense for the finale episode. With the pacing of this series, Ms. Marvel feels more well rounded and has taken more care to build the world around our hero. There is much more story to tell than the next episode would be able to handle, but with Kamala Khan being here to stay, we have plenty of time to explore those avenues at a later time.
Be sure to catch the MARVELous series Ms. Marvel out now on Disney+
So, let’s discuss the Infinity Stone-crazed elephant in the room – the late, great Thanos.
After being developed for almost a decade, Thanos was beaten in Avengers Endgame and fans had concerns that after such an amazing journey in the MCU, who would be the next major villain to step up.
And sadly in Phase 4, we haven’t seen that villain step up just yet. (Yes, I know it’s early and most likely coming, but we’re also seeing a troubling pattern.)
Sure, Kang was introduced in Loki and Scarlett Witch was an absolute powerhouse in Multiverse of Madness, but we’ve begun to see more villains that are one-and-done (at least in their crusades) than what we saw in the Infinity Saga or other projects before.
It must be said that I think the villains have been solid, just seems like their stories come to a close too soon.
You have to remember, villains like Loki and Thanos not only had rich arcs, they had rich demises, where it took 2 films or more to take these characters down.
In MoM, Scarlett Witch’s ending is rather abrupt. (We know she’s not done of course.) But this ending of the film comes after such amazing arc building for Wanda over so many years.
Loki – MCU All-Rights Reserved Marvel Studios
Her pain has been palpable and what we saw in WandaVision was such an amazing backstory. The film just left me wanting more from her. (Which hopefully we get.)
Now, the same can be said for Najma in Ms. Marvel.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Her ending in episode 5 felt so similar to Wanda’s in MoM. She seemed to have a realization and then boom, she’s out.
Sure, previous MCU villains have had their runs cut short.
But I think there was always one or two bigger baddies waiting in the wings, dealing with setbacks and regrouping, unwilling to give up on whatever crazy mission they had in mind.
Najma in Ms. Marvel – All-Rights Reserved Marvel Studios
In phase 4, things just feel a bit scattered. From the Department of Damage Control to Wanda to Kang and the TVA to now Najma and the Djinn, I’m just left wanting more again.
I’m also left wanting to know more about where this is all heading.
And hopefully that’s something we’ll find out in the not so distant future.
Hello, it’s Pooja Aka Samosas & Popcorn, and I like to start the discussion on movies and TV so you don’t have to!
This time around, I had a fantastic discussion with Michael (SuperheroTok) about my journey into the world of nerdy things and how that has impacted my time as a content creator.
I never thought in a million years that almost 2,000 people would want to listen to me ramble on about movies and TV, and yet here we are!
The inspiration to utilize my TikTok for movie and TV discussions came from seeing how few BIPOC reviewers and creators there were that discussed anything nerdy that has come out. Being South Asian, I wanted to throw my name out there and get myself involved in the conversation.
At the end of the day, my goal is to have fun and positive discussions that welcome critique and praise about anything. And it’s all resulted in new communities, new friendships, and unique discussions about even things I never considered in the past!
And while I’m still navigating the world of content creation, I have certainly found a place where I belong and have even started doing small series on my page, like my Commentary Fun series.
Being a part of the Nerd Initiative has really helped to expand on my goal and has made a much bigger space for content creators like myself to share their perspectives without judgement.
And that’s what the Nerd Initiative is all about and it’s why I’m happy to be able to share my journey up to now. My hope is that it inspires others to use their voice as well!
In this edition of “A Beginner’s Guide,” we’ll dive into Spider-Man for those people who know nothing about the comics, movies and shows.
For new readers, getting into the world of comic books can feel daunting to say the least. With stories spanning across nearly a century, there is realistically no possible way to read everything.
While the history of comic lore is vast, it also splits in many different directions. With ‘multiverses’ and alternate realities and even time travel and tie-in series, it can get overwhelming fast for the uninitiated.
Random Comic Book Covers
Go online and look up “how to get into comic books” and you’ll see the same few things suggested over and over. Many say things like “just start reading anything” or “pick a character and start with that character.”
These tips are all well and good for someone who already knows what they are getting into for the most part. Even if you’ve only seen the movies or TV shows, you have a general idea of what you like and what characters appeal to you.
But what about everyone else?
Thinking Of A Solution
But I was thinking, what about the person who knows NOTHING about the fandom at all? What if someone has never seen a single Spider-Man movie or read a single Batman comic book?
What if someone is trying to learn about this nerdy world we love because they just want to find something new to love and be passionate about?
Here is my first tip before we get into Spider-Man entry points. Think of the media that you DO consume on a regular basis. What books do you read? Think of what movies you enjoy most. Or maybe some of your favorite genres or topics in media?
Whatever you’re into, there is a comic book related to it. Not everything is about superheroes and supervillains.
There are independent creators and companies releasing all kinds of amazing stories and characters every single week. In a later article we will dive into that side of the comic book world.
This article is for those of you who love or are interested in everyone’s favorite wall crawler Spider-Man.
With over 60 years of content, Spider-Man is one of those legacy characters that can give a new reader anxiety. But he also gives so many hope and is a character than ANYONE can relate to.
Well as a Spider-Man super fan myself, in no particular order, here are my top 3 Spider-Man comic book runs that I would recommend for anyone looking to read about the web head for the first time .
Artwork By: Mark Bagley, Stuart Immonen, and David Lafuente
Release Date: September 2000
Arguably considered the best thing to come out of Marvel’s Ultimate Universe among fans, Ultimate Spider-Man was where it started. Taking place in an alternate reality, this series rebooted the entire Spider-Man story including its characters, for a new millennium.
I always recommend this series to new readers, due to the fact that you don’t need any prior knowledge of Spidey’s history to jump into this story.
It exists in its own reality and many of the characters were HEAVILY altered for the series. Even so, 20 million copies sold during the original publication run, is not to be taken lightly. This series is also where we get the first appearance of Miles Morales in comic books.
While this series couldn’t boast the kinds of numbers of Ultimate Spider-Man, this mini series from the late 90s is a great jumping off point. At only 17 issues in length is a relatively quick read for anyone looking to gain a swift understanding of the character.
It’s a modernized re-telling of some of the original Spider-Man stories from creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, that was designed to attract new readers to the character.
There is a side of the fan base that did not approve of what they perceived to be a “tampering” with the original works of Lee and Ditko, I would still recommend this to new readers. The original stories can be a bit long winded and feel a bit dated to the modern casual reader.
Spider-Man: Blue, in my personal opinion, is one of the greatest Spider-Man stories ever told. Released in 2002, the story follows Peter Parker on Valentine’s Day as he tape records himself recounting the series of events leading up to the death of Gwen Stacy, his first real love.
This is a 6 issue mini series that has been re printed in hardcover format several times since its initial printing. If you truly want to gain an understanding of the man behind the mask, Peter Parker, then this stand alone story is exactly what you’re looking for.
The Future Of This Article Series
This first article is just to give you a sample of what this series is attempting to do. We should all want to help the community grow, and the only way that is going to happen is if we share the knowledge we have with new and future readers.
The lack of comic book knowledge should not be a deterrent for people looking to enter this fandom. It should be their key to unlock the door to this world of amazing artwork and storytelling.
