New Disney Plus series Ms Marvel has definitely been making some waves, with critics and audiences quick to fall in love with Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and her friends as she embarks on her superhero journey.
But this week’s second episode looks set to kick things into an even higher gear, with a twist ending that may hint at the real reason Kamala got her powers and where from.
To find out more, we caught up with series star Rish Shah, but be warned: from hereon out, we’re dealing with mild spoilers for Ms Marvel episode two.
During the episode, Kamala attempts some amateur heroics with mixed success, but seems to have more luck with her love life after bonding with hunky new kid Kamran (Shah).
However, it appears he may have had an ulterior motive in getting to know Kamala. At the end of the episode, as she flees the Department of Damage Control he suddenly arrives in a car, fully aware of her superheroic identity. In the back seat? His mother, who may have more of a connection to Kamala than she would have ever realised…
“I think there is more to him than meets the eye,” Shah told RadioTimes.com. “It’s really interesting, because I think there’s a parallel between his relationship with his mother and Kamala’s relationship with her mother.”
Clearly, Kamran and his mother have some connection to the bracelet that unlocked Kamala’s hard-light abilities, with the original Ms Marvel source comics also hinting at a potential on-screen storyline.
![""]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2022/05/bkk1300102compv0554a0f9f60-d9be2d6.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"\"")
In those comics, after Kamran appears romantically interested in Kamala’s he’s suddenly unmasked as another superhuman, albeit one with less of a strict moral code. In fact, his whole plan was to recruit her (or kidnap her) and take her back to his gang, a group of similarly super-powered people who recently discovered their abilities.
It’s a slightly different backstory to the TV show – on the page they’re both Inhumans whose abilities were activated by some magic mist – but the basic idea of Kamran working for an outside interest appears to have made it on-screen, albeit with a bit more of a family connection. Our guess? Kamran and his mother are non-humans of some kind like Kamala, and desperately want to unlock their super-powered potential just like her.
And going forward, Shah hints that his version of the character may act as a “foil” for Kamala, possibly contrasting her heroic use of surprise powers with something else entirely.
“Kamran is the new kid in town. And he acts kind of as a foil for Kamala. And that’s how the relationship is,” he explains.
![""]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2022/06/ms-mravel-Iman-Vellani-32c2cf2.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"\"")
However, it seems like Kamran might be slightly less of a twerp in this version of the story, with Shah hinting that Kamran may have genuinely bonded with Kamala in their time together.
“Kamala is someone that he can connect with, and makes him feel at home and, you know, not so insecure in a new environment,” he told us.
“And I think it’s a really cool character to be able to play. That’s kind of all I can say about it for now.”
Moving forward, Shah hints that there’s plenty more of Kamran’s backstory to unfold – “I think so….you’ll have to wait and see,” he teases – and who knows? Maybe this take on the character will be less of a villain than the original comic book version.
All we know is that Kamala’s life just got a lot more complicated. No wonder her mother told her to keep away from boys all those years.
Ms Marvel releases new episodes on Disney Plus on Wednesdays – sign up to Disney+ for £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year.
Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.