Kamala Khan, a nerdy sixteen-year-old and massive fangirl of the Avengers, deals with the struggles of teenage life: school, friends, family, and learning to drive, but she also plots with her friend Bruno to attend AvengerCon. After her parents refuse to allow her to go, she sneaks out anyway. At the convention, a mysterious artifact that she took from her family's attic for her Captain Marvel cosplay activates her superpowers.
Tropes:
- All Part of the Show: When Kamala accidentally shows off her new powers, everyone cheers, believing it's just part of her act for the Captain Marvel cosplay contest. Even when the head of a giant Ant-Man statue is barreling through multiple stands they're too busy cheering.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: After agreeing to let her go to AvengerCon, Muneeba wants Yusuf to attend with Kamala for the first two hours and has already made matching Hulk costumes. Kamala immediately points out how embarrassing this would be, which only serves to get them to revoke the offer.
- Artistic License – Physics: The head of the Ant-Man statue should not have had enough momentum (or mass for that matter) to bounce all the way across the convention center and through a brick wall like it did.
- Aside Glance: Kamala does one after finding out the car she just hit belonged to her driving instructor.
- Blatant Lies: Muneeba interrupts Kamala testing out her Captain Marvel cosplay, causing her to grab a robe and claim to have been stretching. Muneeba does not buy it.
- Brutal Honesty: Muneeba is pretty upfront about the fact that she doesn't trust Kamala, despite Yusuf trying to insist otherwise. Yusuf at least claims it's other people he doesn't trust, but Muneeba's attitude clearly hurts Kamala a great deal.
- Company Cross References:
- While giving Kamala advice, Mr. Wilson quotes the opening lyrics of Mulan's "Reflection". Kamala calls him out on it.
- Bruno tells Kamala that she needs to stop acting like her mother is Darth Vader.
- Continuity Nod:
- During Kamala's summary of the Battle of Earth, Kamala's illustration of Captain Marvel changes her hair to reflect the hairstyles Carol Danvers has had across her MCU appearances, starting with long hair and ending with a short pompadour.
- Kamala teases that her upcoming video will be "why Thor secretly is a gamer", which, as seen in Avengers: Endgame, is actually true.
- AvengerCon is held at Camp Lehigh, which is advertised as the "Home of Captain America". Just to hammer it in, "The Star Spangled Man" can be heard playing in the background.
- At AvengerCon, there is a drawing where Captain America's butt is emphasized, referencing Scott Lang's "America's ass" line from Avengers: Endgame.
- Agent Cleary of the Department of Damage Control, first seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home, appears in the mid-credits scene.
- In the Creative Closing Credits, a "Trust a Bro" van is driving by in the background. Trust a Bro was one of the Tracksuit Mafia's shell companies.
- Didn't Think This Through: Kamala failed to see the flaws in her plan to sneak out for AvengerCon, such as not realizing how difficult it is to be at an exact place at a certain time, or that her parents might come into her room to check on her (rather than just talk to her from the hallway). It doesn't help that she's out two hours longer than intended.
- Disaster Dominoes: Kamala's energy blasts hit a statue of Ant-Man. The head goes rolling, knocking stuff over and causing a cable to unwind, which releases a Mjölnir decoration hanging from the ceiling. That hits Zoe, causing her to be flung into a wall, which Kamala barely saves her from by conjuring an arm to catch her.
- Driving Test: As soon as Kamala begins hers, she immediately hammers the gas in full reverse and crashes into the instructor's car. This is especially bad since she was banking on getting her license that day so she would be able to attend AvengerCon under the guise of running wedding errands for her engaged brother.
- Epic Fail:
- Kamala's driving test starts and ends with her accidentally driving in reverse instead of forward. Into the instructor's car.
- Kamala's attempt to swing from a heavy branch outside her room brings the whole branch down on top of her instead.
- Fan Convention: AvengerCon, which is hosted at Camp Lehigh and full of Avengers (and Guardians of the Galaxy) merch and cosplayers.
- Foreshadowing:
- A musical variant. The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" plays throughout the episode's opening, with its main chorus cleverly nodding not only to Kamala's newfound powers, but also the circumstances in which she activates them for the first time: being overwhelmed by camera flashes on-stage at AvengerCon.
- In the comics, Muneeba is quick to figure out that the girl running around doing superheroics in New Jersey in a costume with Pakistani flare is her constantly-sneaking-out-for-no-apparent-reason daughter. In the show, she's dismissive of the box of junk her mother sends them, but gets much more aggressive about it when she sees the super-power-granting bracelet mixed in there and tells Aamir to put the lot in the attic. Plus, this line, hinting she wanted Muneeba to carry on a legacy.Muneeba: I'd like to say it's because my mother is growing old, but she's always been this way. She doesn't want to die before passing on all her junk to us.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: The entrance to Coles Academic High School has a plaque with a lot of names on it. See if you can spot the connection.
- G. Willow Wilson - The author who relaunched Ms. Marvel as Kamala Khan
- Stephen Wacker - Prolific producer and editor for Marvel
- Adrian Alphona - Artist who helped relaunch Ms. Marvel
- Jamie McKelvie - Prolific artist who helped design Ms. Marvel's superhero outfit
- Ian Herring - Prolific artist for Marvel, including Ms. Marvel
- Takeshi Miyazawa - Artist who worked on multiple issues of Ms. Marvel
- Joe Caramagna - Artist, writer, letterer for Marvel, including Ms. Marvel
- Nico Leon - Penciler, inker, colorist who worked on Ms. Marvel
- Good Parents: At first Kamala's parents are charmed by Bruno's device and focused on the sports channel (where, apparently, Pakistan is showing good defense in cricket), but when Kamala makes it clear she wants to talk about something important to her they both refocus their attention on her.
- Gossipy Hens: While shopping for an outfit for Kamala to wear to Aamir's wedding, Muneeba catches up with a friend and they discuss a local woman named Fatima who ended her engagement and went backpacking through Europe to "find herself".
- Grail in the Garbage: A superpower-granting bracelet is kept in a box of random jewelry and other trinkets Kamala's grandmother sends over, which is dismissed as junk by Muneeba and stuffed in the attic.
- Had the Silly Thing in Reverse: Kamala fails her driving test because, in her imagination-fueled enthusiasm, she forgets to check the gear selector and floors it in reverse, crashing into the instructor's car.
- Hero's First Rescue: Kamala saves Zoe's life when she gets caught up in the Disaster Dominoes that Kamala accidentally set in motion. This comes straight from the comics, where Kamala saves Zoe after she drunkenly falls into the Hudson River.
- Hidden Depths: Zoe is an Alpha Bitch who may or may not have decked Kamala with a basketball on purpose, but it turns out she's a closet Captain Marvel fan, too, though she sexifies her cosplay.
- Hollywood Law: Kamala is shown taking her Driving Test on a public road. In real life, New Jersey requires all driving tests take place at an official Motor Vehicle Commission testing site. Weirdly, this is lampshaded, with Muneeba accusing the instructor of "setting her up to fail" by holding the test on a public road.
- Human Ladder: With her intended re-entry method destroyed, Kamala has to climb on Bruno's shoulders to get back to her bedroom window. Though even with his help, she isn't able to pull herself onto the roof. Thankfully, her powers kick in and generate a Hard Light step to help her up.
- Idea Bulb: During a short power outage, Kamala realizes that she can use Bruno to sneak out of the house without her parents knowing, right as the lamp above her head lights up (with added comic-book effect).
- Juxtaposed Halves Shot: As Mr. Wilson the school advisor is giving Kamala a speech saying "right now, I see girl divided", the screen splits in two, each half slowly rotating to focus on their respective faces until their half-faces are juxtaposed.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Kamala reminds her viewers that she uploads videos that she calls "episodes" to her channel every Wednesday. Every Disney+ show starting from Loki, including Ms. Marvel, has episodes released on Wednesdays.
- Lineage Comes from the Father: Inverted. Muneeba tells stories about how Kamala's grandmother was a daydreamer and seems to resent her for it. The super-empowering bangle similarly comes from the maternal line. Implied is that Muneeba was at one point faced with the choice to follow her dreams or take a more mundane path, picked the latter, and now expects Kamala to do the same.
- Loves My Alter Ego: Zoe is disdainful towards Kamala but raves about a cosplay-clad Kamala after her powers kick in during AvengerCon.
- Mind Screw: When Kamala first dons the bracelet, she takes a brief trip to Another Dimension (apparently only in her mind, as neither Bruno nor anyone else notices) full of glowing purple light and lots and lots of dark figures with glowing eyes. It's never mentioned again in the episode and no explanation offered, fueling tons of fan speculation.
- Mundane Made Awesome: As Bruno points out, Kamala's grand plan to attend AvengerCon that she lays out in elaborate detail just amounts to sneaking out and taking the bus.
- My God, What Have I Done?: During her outburst about Big Hulk/Little Hulk, Kamala's parents are both visibly hurt because they went to a lot of effort to reach out and Kamala is immediately horrified at what she's done.Kamala: I think I made my dad cry.
- Mythology Gag:
- A picture of a cockatiel is briefly seen in Kamala's video, and later as she and Bruno chat on the rooftop, a neon sign advertises "Edison Electronics". Both allude to the Inventor
, her first supervillain in the comics. - When Kamala is trying to hide the end of her Captain Marvel jacket over her costume, she tests out covering it with a red sash around her waist. A sash isn't part of Carol's outfit in the MCU but it is in the comics.
- Zoe's cosplay, while inaccurate in-universe, is a mix of Carol Danvers's current costume with her Ms. Marvel-era Leotard of Power, with some added fishnet stockings.
- Zoe's sexualised Captain Marvel cosplay, and Bruno's complaints about it being inaccurate, is similar to an incident in the first issue of Runaways where Alex plays an Avengers MMORPG and another player turns up in a sexualised Invisible Woman skin, prompting other players to proceed to protest the inaccuracy.
- The names on the plaque outside Coles Academic High School are all prominent writers and artists from Kamala's comics, including the character's co-creators G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona.
- G. Willow Wilson is also alluded to through Kamala's guidance counselor, Gabe W. Wilson.
- "Generation Why" was also the title of an issue in Kamala's original comic run, and the second trade paperback.
- Kamala's powers flare up for the first time while she's at AvengerCon. A similar incident occurred in Marvel's Avengers, where Kamala gained her powers via the Terrigen Mists on A-Day, another Fan Convention-type event meant to celebrate Earth's Mightiest Heroes gone awry.
- Kamala once fell into the Hudson River. In the comics, Kamala's first heroic act was rescuing Zoe from falling in the Hudson River.
- The guy running the falafel cart laments that "vultures in Armani suits" are buying up all the property in the area. An arc of Kamala's comics involved her fighting HYDRA's Villainous Gentrification plot in her community. And using mind-controlling nanobots to take over the population. Depending on where the show goes, it may double as foreshadowing.
- When Kamala asks to go to AvengerCon, and laments that she's not allowed to do a single normal teenage thing, her father replies that she's not normal. Obviously, she gets upset and storms off. He protests that he meant she's special. One of her comic arcs is titled "No Normal".
- When Kamala tries to go to her locker, a couple of kids keep talking to each other standing there, blocking her way, which is similar to what happened to Peter-3 in his first movie, except, in his case it was a couple making out in front of his locker.
- A picture of a cockatiel is briefly seen in Kamala's video, and later as she and Bruno chat on the rooftop, a neon sign advertises "Edison Electronics". Both allude to the Inventor
- Noodle Incident: Apparently Kamala once fell into the Hudson River, and she and Bruno now have a code to let each other know that it happened again. Bruno insists it happened twice before, but Kamala disagrees.
- Off Bridge, onto Vehicle: In Kamala's imaginary ride out to Avenger-Con, she and Bruno flip their bikes off a bridge on top of a passing bus.
- Parental Sexuality Squick: Kamala is briefly grossed out by her parents getting frisky when they think no-one's watching. On the plus side, at least they won't be checking up on her.
- Parents as People: They may be embarrassing and protective, but Kamala's parents clearly do love her. After her brother convinces them to let her go to AvengerCon, her father gleefully dresses up as the Hulk to escort her, and her mother hand-makes her a Hulk outfit in a traditional Pakistani style in one night to meet her halfway.
- Pop-Up Texting: Kamala and Bruno's texts after her parents don't allow her to go to AvengerCon are incorporated into objects in the background, such as signboards or the road markings.
- Power Incontinence: Kamala understandably doesn't quite realize how to control powers she had no idea she'd gain upon putting on the bracelet, leading to her shooting colorful but mostly harmless energy blasts above the crowd when she gets stage fright. Unfortunately, when she swings her arm in an attempt to dislodge the crystalline aura, one of the energy blasts strikes a giant Ant-Man sculpture and dislodges its head, which rolls across the convention flattening exhibits and almost kills Zoe when it knocks loose a giant Mjölnir display.
- Rule of Symbolism: The traditional Pakistani clothing that Kamala's mother tries to force her to wear doesn't fit. The Captain Marvel costume she made for herself fits better, yet is still a little too immodest for her tastes. It's only when she adds her own touch of cultural flair with a sash and bracelet, both of which her mother had previously disapproved of, that she's satisfied. She needs to choose her own path, one not defined by her mother or by Carol Danvers. Notably, this decision is also what starts her down the path to being a hero.
- Sexy Whatever Outfit: Zoe's Captain Marvel costume has fishnet stockings and is clearly geared towards being "hot". Bruno derides it as being inaccurate in-universe.
- Shout-Out:
- Before Captain Marvel appears in Kamala's recreation of the Battle of Earth, the camera flashes on a bird and a plane.
- The pixelated rainbow trail Captain Marvel leaves behind as she flies away from Earth in Kamala's recreation is taken straight from Nyan Cat, just inverted vertically.
- Stating the Simple Solution: When the plan to borrow the car and go to AvengerCon falls through, Bruno suggests Kamala could simply ask her mother if she can go. Kamala refuses, because she knows her mom will say no, and when she does ask, is instantly proven right.
- The Stinger: The Department of Damage Control agent who also appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home finds out about a teenage girl exhibiting powers at AvengerCon and tells his colleagues to bring her in.
- Three-Point Landing: Kamala performs an impressive vault and superhero landing after jumping out of her bedroom window and swinging on a tree branch, but only in her Imagine Spot. When she attempts the move for real, it ends with the tree branch breaking and landing on her.
- Unreliable Narrator: Kamala's retelling of the Battle of Earth from Avengers: Endgame is completely biased in Captain Marvel's favor.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: We get to see all of Kamala's plan to sneak out of the house, go to AvengerCon, and win the cosplay contest in an Imagine Spot. So naturally, nothing goes the way it should when she puts the plan into motion.
- We Used to Be Friends: Kamala, Nakia, and Bruno used to be on friendly terms with Zoe Zimmer to the point that the Zimmers often gave them rides to school. But in high school, Zoe's reinvented herself into an Instagram influencer and disregards them as not being on her level.
