After Avengers: Endgame brought the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a rousing conclusion, Marvel wisely opted to shift focus on the personal more than the cosmic. MCU Phase Four told stories about individual heroes and the impact of things like The Snap on their lives. At the same time, it laid the groundwork for bigger things to come as The Multiverse sprang into being and figures like Kang the Conqueror prepared for their big entrance.
With Iron Man and Black Widow gone, and figures like Steve Rogers and Clint Barton angling for retirement, Phase Four also introduced a bevy of new recruits to carry the banner. Marvel has always emphasized strong characters, and nowhere was this more clear than with Ms. Marvel's heroine Kamala Khan. She embodied the MCU's fresh faces and brought the exact kind of energy an endeavor of Phase Four's scale required.
Ms. Marvel Is the MCU's New Everyperson
Marvel excels at stories of "just plain folks" thrust into the hero's role unexpectedly. Kamala's story took that a step further by making her an unabashed fan of the first generation. Ms. Marvel Season 1, Episode 1, "Generation Why" made that abundantly clear when Kamala snuck out after curfew to attend the first annual AvengerCon. Carol Danvers was her main focus, but she didn't limit herself to one figure. That perspective made her an adroit stand-in for every comic book fan in the audience.
Furthermore, Kamala's connection to the extraordinary came as a complete surprise. Her super-powered relations were distant and intimately tied into her family's journey as immigrants, which connected her to millions of people in the real world. Unlike Jennifer Walters and Shang-Chi, who were both quite familiar with their super-powered relatives, Kamala was just a girl from Jersey. Even Kate Bishop was the product of extreme wealth. Kamala was as down to earth as the homework she struggled to finish.
Ms. Marvel Is a Hero on Her Terms and No One Else's
Despite her thematic connection to Danvers, Kamala was not so much emulating other heroes as discovering what makes her unique. She was never anyone's sidekick, nor did her powers strictly match those of anyone else. Instead, she learned about her abilities on her terms: seeking answers in the past without being beholden to them, and looking towards the future with an air of anticipation.
Her closest spiritual kin in the MCU is Spider-Man, another kid from humble origins who found that being a superhero didn't necessarily solve his problems. Peter Parker may return, but he's been tempered by his experiences -- most notably in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which left him friendless and alone in the world. Kamala has experienced loss, but not nearly on that level, leaving her bright and optimistic in the same way Peter once was.
That makes her precisely the hero the franchise needs right now. Kamala is unbound by previous expectations and with tremendous room for growth in a potential Season 2. More importantly, her optimism and hope are an important part of the MCU. No other character embodied Phase Four so clearly as Ms. Marvel -- making her stand out even amongst a crowded field of great new heroes.
Ms. Marvel is now streaming on Disney+.