The following contains spoilers for Ms. Marvel Season 1, Episode 3, "Destined," now streaming on Disney+.
Unlike every other Marvel show on Disney+ except for WandaVision, Ms. Marvel has taken the slow route to introducing its main villains. The Department of Damage Control may be on Kamala's back, yet she has a much bigger threat to worry about now -- the Djinn. But why exactly are they after Kamala?
Ms. Marvel Season 1, Episode 2, "Crushed" left off on a pretty steep cliffhanger. Kamala's crush Kamran picked Kamala up after she was chased by drones -- only to reveal his mother has been watching her for a while. Season 1, Episode 3 "Destined" explains that Kamran and his mother want to help Kamala with her new powers. "Destined" may be compact with exposition about Kamala's new "friends," but it gives insight into who she's dealing with and where her powers originate from.
Where Did the Djinn Come From?
Kamran's mother Najma takes her time cramming her people's history into a single scene. Piggybacking off the opening of the episode -- in which Najma, her people and Kamala's great-grandmother Aisha found the bangle in India -- Najma tells Kamala her people aren't from Earth or even from this dimension. All of them, including Aisha, are from the Noor dimension, which doesn't exist in the Ms. Marvel comics. They were exiled for an unknown reason a long time ago, or at least before 1942, and the only way for them to return is with the bangles.
Who Are the Djinn?
This brings viewers to who Najma and her people actually are -- the Djinn, who hail from the ClanDestine family. Thanks to Yusuf's convenient translation of Bruno's history notes, viewers know who the Djinn are. They're mythical creatures from pre-Islamic religion and mythology, also called genies, jinn or demons. Bruno also learns from Dr. Erik Selvig's essay on interdimensional travel that by helping the Djinn go back to their dimension, Kamala can be causing bigger problems than she intended.
Most interestingly, this is pretty solid confirmation that Kamala's powers aren't from the bangle itself -- they come from her heritage. Bruno confirmed in "Crushed" that the bangle only unlocked her powers, convincing fans Kamala might be an Inhuman after all. Squashing the theory that Kamala is connected to the Eternals, Najma reveals that she knew where to find Kamala because she can sense the Noor within her when the bangle is activated. Additionally, Kamala's grandmother has the same vision of the train that Kamala shared with Najma at the end of the episode -- despite the fact that her grandmother is halfway across the world.
Who Are the Djinn in the Comics?
The Clan Destine were introduced in 1994's Marvel Comics Presents #158, written by Alan Davis. They were founded by Adam of Destine and a Djinn named Elalyth, who had several children with mystical powers. The Djinn all have different types of powers but perished because of their inability to bear low temperature. Because of how much information is crammed into "Destined," it's easy to assume that the Djinn and the ClanDestine are interchangeable, but that's not the case in the comics. However, Ms. Marvel is privy to changing things, so this may be another example of that.
The Djinn have established their footing as the big bad of Ms. Marvel, overpowering the Department of Damage Control by a landslide. The biggest question that remains is how Aisha falls into this mess. She was a Djinn from the Noor dimension, but mysteriously disappeared at the train station during the Partition. Yet Najma cryptically mentions to Kamala that she would never help those who betrayed her, hinting that Aisha found a reason to hide the bangle from her people. Hopefully Ms. Marvel will continue the best origin story in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and settle all the mysteries as Kamala goes to Karachi for answers.
New episodes of Ms. Marvel stream Wednesdays on Disney+.