The first episode is directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah and it is written by Bisha K. Ali

the soon-to-be Ms. Marvel who at the moment is merely a Captain Marvel superfan. The video, which Kamala has made for her YouTube channel, goes into great detail about the Avengers' battle against Thanos, and more specifically how Carol Danvers was responsible for their triumph.

While the tongue-in-cheek recap might feel repetitive for longtime Marvel viewers, it is instrumental in setting up the kind of person Kamala is. Like so many of us who derive enjoyment from larger-than-life stories and the characters that inhabit them, Kamala is a fangirl at heart. That fact becomes especially important throughout the episode, whose driving tension seems pulled right out of a teen sitcom: sneak out and get to AvengerCon without the parents finding out.

It's this influence from shows aimed at younger people that really sets the series apart and stops it from falling into the trap of "just another superhero origin story." Mixed in with the larger, cosmic aspects of the plot (which I will get into below) Kamala's concerns are the most rooted in reality that I've ever seen within an MCU story. Like the teens who will hopefully be watching her show, her world is limited to whatever is accessible by public transit. A major life goal is to get her driver's license. Staying out a little late with her best friend — and more importantly, getting permission to do so — is a major hurdle. None of these things are in any way influenced by superhero and supernatural forces that exist outside the Khan family home. At least, not as far as Kamala is concerned (again, more on that below). At its heart, Ms. Marvel is a coming-of-age story played straight. Kamala is quickly reaching that point in life where she needs to start thinking about her future and realizing that her actions have consequences. This is something that naturally grows more difficult once superpowers get thrown into the mix.

Besides serving as an introduction to Kamala herself, the episode also does a wonderful job setting up all those around her who play a part in making her who she is. Her best friends Bruno (Matt Lintz) and Nakia (Yasmeen Fletcher) are utterly charming and help situate Kamala in both the superhero fangirl world, and the more community-centric world respectively. While I look forward to seeing how their roles and relationships with Kamala will continue to grow, the crux of the story in the premiere rests with the Khan family.

Kamala Khan holds the distinction of being the MCU's first Muslim superhero, and the Khans are all practicing Muslims. An interesting choice made in the first episode shows the varying degrees to which each family member practices their faith. Kamala's brother Aamir (Saagar Shaikh) practices more openly than his parents Yusuf (Mohan Kapur) and Muneeba (Zenobia Shroff), but he isn't defined fully by how religious he is, also taking the time to try and be a sympathetic older brother to Kamala.

As far as Yusuf and Muneeba are concerned, they do at times skirt uncomfortably close to the stereotype of the inflexible, overly strict immigrant parents. The only saving grace — at least for now — is that their concern seems to stem at least in part from concerns beyond what their daughter is doing and how she is dressing. Muneeba's mother sends the family a box of old trinkets, one of which is the bangle that later in the episode gives Kamala her powers. On seeing her daughter pull the bracelet from the box, Muneeba is quick to take it away and lock it in the attic, a look of panic on her face. With the combination of that reaction, Yusuf's declaration that Kamala is not normal, but rather special (played off as fatherly affection), and the constant assertions that Kamala is much like her grandmother in that both are dreamers who cannot keep their heads out of the clouds makes it seem like there is something larger going on in the Khan's protectiveness of their daughter. Judging solely on the first episode, it is difficult to say if this is the intended direction, or simply me giving the story too much credit.

Given the amount of time getting the bracelet onto Kamala's arm, there isn't a ton of time given to her exploring exactly what her powers are and how they'll affect things, but if the trade-off is more time spent learning who the characters are and why we should care about them, then the choice was the correct one. And with the post-credit scene featuring Spider-Man: No Way Home's Agent Cleary (Arian Moayed) interested in investigating this thus-far-unknown superhero that has emerged in New York, it seems likely the lines between Kamala's real life and superhero life are about to grow very blurred.

Rating: A-

The first episode of Ms. Marvel is streaming now on Disney+.

Following the conclusion of Avengers: Endgame and the Infinity Saga, the MCU roster has expanded significantly with new heroes ranging from Shang-Chi to America Chavez to Kate Bishop. Now, come June 8, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to gain another in Ms. Marvel on Disney+. 

Starring Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel is a grounded, teen series that explores how an Avengers fan copes with becoming a hero herself while still dealing with family, friends, and high school. 

While this coming-of-age tale has various relatable themes, MCU fans will also find common ground with Kamala in that she's an Avengers super fan and extremely knowledgeable about the events of Avengers: Endgame.

Given that fact, the question, is where in the post-Endgame timeline does Ms. Marvel take place? Now, just ahead of the series debut, Marvel Studios has offered an answer. 

When Is Ms. Marvel Set on the MCU Timeline? 

Due to Kamala's affinity for Captain Marvel and her attendance at AvengerCon - held at Captain America's Camp Lehigh - it's hard to know just how removed her origin story is from Tony Stark's snap.

In an exclusive interview with The Direct, Ms. Marvel writer and producer Sana Amanat addressed where Kamala's origin tale falls on the timeline of the MCU, claiming it takes place roughly "one to two years" after Avengers: Endgame:

"So, I think right now, we haven't put an official number on how many years have gone by since Endgame. I cannot tell you off the top of my head because I would butcher it. I feel like it's one to two years [after Avengers: Endgame], something like that, but I don't actually remember [specifically]. But we do have that in our timeline."

Considering that the majority of Avengers: Endgame takes place in the year 2023 canonically in the MCU, this estimate sets Ms. Marvel in either 2024 or 2025.

When Exactly Does Ms. Marvel Take Place?

Currently, the most recent event within Disney+'s Marvel Cinematic Universe Timeline Order is Moon Knight, which is proceeded only by Hawkeye. 

Now, since Hawkeye occurs about a year after Endgame, it's possible that Moon Knight takes place sometime after December 2024 and into 2025. However, since that show had so few connections to the greater MCU, it's hard to know if it will maintain that position when Ms. Marvel drops on June 8. 

Right now, Phase 4 of the MCU is ordered as follows:

1. Loki

2. What If...?

3.WandaVision

4.The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

5.Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

6.Eternals

7.Hawkeye

8.Moon Knight

The only exceptions from this list are Spider-Man: No Way Home, as it's currently not available to stream on Disney+, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Just where and when the latter falls on this timeline will be determined on June 22, when it drops on Disney+. 

Even though Samanat wasn't able to provide a definite answer to when Kamala Khan's origin story occurs within Phase 4, fans now have more of an idea that the series takes place at least one year after the Battle of Earth. And, when the show debuts on June 8, Ms. Marvel will offer a whole new perspective of post-Endgame life within the MCU. 

Ms. Marvel premieres on June 8 on Disney+.

Ms. Marvel is about to make its Disney+ debut, and fans of the character cannot wait. In recent years, Kamala Kahn has become beloved amongst the comic community, bringing her youthful super-fan energy and diverse heritage to a medium that had been so absent of such elements up to that point. In her MCU streaming series, Kamala will be played by Iman Vellani, a Marvel Studios mega enthusiast in her own right. 

The Ms. Marvel comic was such a breath of fresh air for many when it hit store shelves back in 2014. The book offered fans a chance to see themselves in this super-powered universe, while also showcasing what it is like to grow up as a first-generation immigrant.

The upcoming Kamala-centered MCU series will incorporate all these elements in its six-episode run. Something that is wholly new for the show, though, is an effort to incorporate animated elements and splashes akin to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse. Early reviews of the project have praised these small flourishes, and Ms. Marvel's directors have spoken out on these specific elements in advance of its first episode's debut. 

A Pop of Color for Ms. Marvel

In a recent press conference for the upcoming Ms. Marvel series, directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah addressed the show's distinct style.

"Well, I guess it's about the animation. For us, we always wanted to find a way to translate her imagination and her fantasy worlds in a cool way. That's where we came up with the idea of injecting that animation aspect to it. But we were a bit afraid that Kevin and the rest of Marvel would say no because it's different from the other shows in the MCU. So we made a whole presentation with videos and all that explaining why it was important to have those sequences. And, surprisingly, he said yes! He said, 'Don't go overboard, don't do it every five seconds, but it's true to the story and the character, let's go for it.' That's how we had that style. It's also very inspired by Into the Spider-Verse, so, thank you Kevin for allowing us to do that."

Looking deeper into why exactly these Spider-Verse-esque elements were introduced, El Arbi told Deadline that they "wanted to have an endearing and charming character" who "Muslim girls all over the world can relate to:"

"We needed to set her up right. That’s why we wanted to add animation to it. It was not in the script, we wanted to get into her head, into her fantasy. We wanted to have an endearing and charming character. And have someone that Muslim girls all over the world can relate to, but also tell that universal story everybody can feel a connection with."

A Much-Needed Inspiration for the MCU

When it comes to these younger superheroes (i.e. Peter Parker, America Chavez, and Kamala Khan), that blissfully youthful imagination is one of the most endearing parts of the character. While other names in the MCU have not personified this active imagination on-screen as of yet, Ms. Marvel will change that. And what better character to debut something like this with. 

At this point in the MCU, it is getting harder and harder to make something that feels distinct, yet also part of the greater universe. Staying true to the character from which each project is drawing is where the differences start to pop up. With The Falcon and the Winter Soldier fans got an international spy thriller, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness offered a peek at an MCU horror movie, and Ms. Marvel is going to be a 'cheesy' high school coming of age comedy. Each of these titles delivers different experiences based on what makes each character special.

And that is where the unique style of Ms. Marvel comes into play. Since its titular hero is a young Avengers super-fan with an overly active imagination, audiences are going to get to be brought right into her brain, seeing the world for how she sees it. It's a style that worked so well in a similarly youthful project in Into the Spider-Verse, and it seems to be working just as swimmingly here. 

Ms. Marvel debuts on Disney+ on June 8.