Funny / Ms. Marvel (2022)

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Being a more upbeat show influenced by the works of John Hughes, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Ms. Marvel will bring plenty of laughs.

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Series

Episode 1: Generation Why

• Hearing The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" in the Marvel intro proper is both admittedly funny (as it confirms that The Weeknd exists in the MCU) and also awesome if one remembers him also collaborating for Black Panther's soundtrack.
  • It's also some rather cheeky foreshadowing as Kamala gains her powers in this episode.
    I said, ooh, I'm blinded by the lights
    No, I can't sleep until I feel your touch
  • Much like "Old Town Road" in Shang-Chi, one has to wonder if the The Weeknd was also busy with "Blinding Lights" during one of the darkest times in the MCU, as the song was released and reached its peak in 2020, just two years after The Snap.
    • On a morbidly humorous note, the fact that The Weeknd was among the survivors of the Snap (or else the song wouldn't exist, obviously) is amusing in its own right!
• Scott Lang having a podcast is probably the most in-character thing one can imagine him doing post-Endgame.
  • During the opening montage, there's also the fact that one of Kamala's podcasts goes into Thor being a secret gamer. Well, you see...
  • Kamala's retelling of the final battle against Thanos being completely biased in Carol Danvers's favor. While it's true that Danvers destroyed the ship, the aerial strike was because Thanos was trying to save his own ass from being ragdolled by Wanda Maximoff. And Carol didn't knock Thanos out, he knocked her out with a point-blank shot from the Power Stone.
• The end result of Kamala's driving test. Apparently her parents didn't think to tell her to change gears before flooring it.
  • Kamala finding out the car she just hit belonged to her instructor, followed by an Oh, Crap! Aside Glance.
  • And when her parents argue with the instructor about the result of the test, they accuse him of failing her for everything except the fact that she backed into his car. While said car is being towed away behind them.
    Yusef: Are you trying to tell me that she didn't look in the mirrors often enough for you and your clipboard?
    Instructor: I wouldn't say that was the problem.
  • They also complain about "making her drive with other cars around" and "you expect her to signal at every other turn?" They then walk off as if somehow the instructor is at fault for all this.^note  Amusingly, in Real Life all driving tests in the state of New Jersey are done on a closed course at the DMV, meaning that the Khans might actually have a point about this one...
• While discussing customizations to Kamala's costume, she and Bruno consider combining it with other heroes, like Black Panther, Dr. Strange, or Iron Man, while on the buildings behind them, their ideas are shown come to life graffiti-style. In particular, Iron-Marvel lands on the tail of Panther-Marvel and is immediately mauled for it.

• Kamala demands to know if her parents trust her. Yusuf says of course they do. Muneeba flatly says she doesn't. And corrects her husband multiple times when he tries to backtrack.
• Kamala's parents remain convinced that AvengerCon is "some sort of party" "with boys." She doesn't do a very good job of explaining what a convention actually is.
• Aamir walks into the living room with a "Hey, salaam, everyone!" right when Kamala is arguing with her parents.
  Aamir: Not a lot of salaam (peace) here, huh?
• Kamala fell in the Hudson River once, and she and Bruno have a code for it.
  Kamala: Okay, that's Black Sloth Down, and it only happened once.
• Kamala's idealized version of her plan to sneak out and attend the convention followed by the reality. Including the part where her family will apparently spend the dinner singing her praises (they don't).
• One of the ways it deviates from the plan is that the bus door closes on Kamala right as she's dragging her bike in. Kamala asks if it could still be there when they return, Bruno reminds her it's Jersey City, so probably not.
• The fact that AvengerCon takes place at Camp Lehigh of all places. "Star Spangled Man" is even heard as Kamala and Bruno are walking in!
  • This means that the con takes place on top of a wrecked HYDRA base.
• At the con, an illustration depicts Captain America cheekily flaunting his nice, shining butt. Even his fans agree that he had "America's ass".
  • A poster even says: "I can do this all day". It really did become a Catchphrase for Cap.
  • Note the bit about Lang's podcast above. It's entirely possible he told that story to his listeners.
• A blink-and-you'll miss it gag at AvengerCon: there's a poster for a documentary entitled A Pay to All Planets: The Peter Quill Star-Boy Story. Yes, even on Earth, nobody remembers or respects Peter's codename.
• The Disaster Dominoes that follow upon Kamala awakening to her powers at AvengerCon is amusing on many fronts.
  • Just how much the Ant-Man head rolls. You'd expect it to fall, nearly crush someone, and then come to a stop shortly. Instead it keeps going with impossible momentum, destroying basically the entire building.
  • Zoe (cosplaying as Captain Marvel) getting bonked by a giant replica of Mjolnir is as amusing as the rest of the chaos that ensued. And given how she decked Kamala in the face with a volleyball earlier, it's safe to say she got her just desserts for that one. It becomes less funny though when she almost gets seriously injured in the process.

Episode 2: Crushed

• Kamala compares herself to Ant-Man by claiming that they're both "charming" and "look a lot younger than they are", a sly reference to the "Paul Rudd doesn't age" meme.
  • Even funnier is that Kamala isn't entirely wrong. Scott did time travel 5 years into the future during the snap.
• Kamala gets annoyed by how Zoe, put on the spot to tell her friends who the superhero who saved her was, claims that the superhero was called "Nightlight" (incidentally continuing an odd trend of characters making up fake superhero names which begin with "Night"). And then, when Kamala suits up to save Hameed, people in the crowd immediately identify her as Nightlight.
• During the montage of Kamala trying to figure out her powers, she falls over a ledge and Bruno grabs her arm to save her. Kamala dramatically tells him to let her go, and she just drops a couple feet.
  • It's even funnier when you realize it's a parody of the Hawkeye/Black Widow scene from Avengers: Endgame!
• When Kamala and friends arrive at the party, some random guy hands Kamala a screwdriver (the cocktail, not the tool), which he assures her is non-alcoholic. Kamala takes a sip, only to immediately realize it has alcohol in it.
  Kamala: [sounding terrified] Am I drunk?
• Kamran, the hot muscular new guy at school, does a dramatic flip into the pool at Zoe's party from a roof... and belly flops painfully.
• Kamala and Nakia both shamelessly Eating the Eye Candy of Kamran's Shirtless Scene and simultaneously saying "Mash'Allah"^note "God has willed it," basically this is how God wants things to be. Then Kamala gets so lost in fantasizing about Kamran that she doesn't realize she's standing on his shirt and even after that forgets to introduce herself to him.
• When the cops arrive to bust Zoe's party, the students immediately scatter like roaches.
  Random student: I can't do time, man!
• After getting Kamran's phone number, an infatuated Kamala returns home and hammily dances around to "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes, complete with mood lighting. The song abruptly halts as she grabs a juice box from the fridge... then continues as she dances her way upstairs. Even better, Muneeba is seen in the background being completely confused by Kamala's antics.
• Aamir's disgust when his parents attribute their meeting to Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet". Kamala doesn't say anything, but it's clear she's equally grossed.
• Kamala and Nakia's Clique Tour at their mosque. The prominent groups are:
  • The "Mosque Bros", who are really just a group of Pakistani, almost painfully-generic-looking fratbros, complete with hipster shadows, club clothing and basketballs purely for decorative purposes.
  • The "Pious Boys", pre-teens who are over-enthusiastically way overdressed for the occasion.
  • "The Converts/Reverts", a small group of Muslim converts who happen to be mostly old white dudes looking hilariously out-of-place, sampling the cuisine.
  • The "Mini Harami Girls" a bunch of mischievous little girls.
  • "Insta-clique", a veritable collective hellscape of would-be influencers, selfie-snappers and Instagrammers having love-affairs with their phones.
  • "Illumin-aunties", a group of gossipy middle-aged women.
    • Especially funny when you consider how the previous MCU entry featured the Marvel Illuminati... and what happened to them in that movie.
• Nakia wins the endorsement of a mosque member but only after promising to make his food truck the sole vendor for future parties.
  Nakia: Politics is dirty!
• Nakia tries to convince Yusuf to vote for her in the mosque board elections, with an argument so amazing she effectively stunned him into silence. Her slowly and methodically guilt-tripping him into voting for her, referring to herself as "basically your second daughter," and his growing Oh, Crap! reaction, is a sight to behold. Eventually, she leaves him with her pin and poster, and Rasheed, Yusuf's best friend whom he originally planned to vote for, asks him what he's doing, further adding to the hilarity of it all.
• As Kamala works to save Hameed, she tries to keep him calm by asking him about his favorite things. He tells her that his favorite food is, of all things, "ice cream pizza".
  Kamala: Is that two foods or one food?
  Hameed: One, I put ice cream on pizza!
  Najaf: (Watching from below) Did someone say ice cream pizza?
  Hameed: I like the flavors!
  Kamala: (To herself) That's really gross... (To Hameed) Yeah, we could work with that! Now just think of a nice plate or... bowl of ice cream pizza...
  • After she gets him out of danger, we're treated to a bunch of social media posts chronicling the event. Half about the new superhero, half expressing bemusement at the concept of ice cream pizza.
• When Kamran and Kamala are discussing Bollywood movies, an inside joke from Eternals is referenced. Kamran says his mother likes the actor Kingo Senior, while Kamala says her Mother prefers his son, Kingo Junior. In reality, both Kingo Sr. and Kingo Jr. are the same person. Kingo came up with the fake family lineage to cover his identity as a never-aging Eternal and remain in Bollywood's limelight for decades.
• The fact that Aamir once worked at Hot Topic and had a Goth phase.

Episode 3: Destined

• Bruno's reaction to Kamala revealing that she's a Djinn.
  Bruno: (Beat; Utterly baffled) And tonic?
• After Kamala explains the Clandestines' existence to Bruno and asks for his help.
  Bruno: I just don't know how I can help a group of ghosts, and their... average-looking son.
  (Kamala squints at this)
• While the DODC attempting an unwarranted search in the Mosque might not be all that funny, Nakia introducing herself to Agent Deever is mildly amusing.
  Nakia: Nakia Bahadir, mosque board member.
  Board Member: We still have a few more votes to count!
  Nakia: Okay, all right, prospective board member, but I feel good about our polling.
  • And if the scene detailed below is anything to go by, she did indeed win her position as a board member.
• Nakia bursts into Kamala's room without warning, throws off her hijab, and faceplants stiff as a board onto Kamala's bed to scream into her pillow. Kamala's only reaction is to tell her to not freak out over how much better she is than her at the planned wedding dance.
  Nakia: [still speaking into a pillow] Shut up, I'm phenomenal.
• Bruno attempts to explain what he learned about the Noor to Kamala... except he quickly loses her with his Techno Babble.
  Kamala: Try again. This time like you have a social life. Aaaaaaand go.
• Yusuf makes a late-night visit to the Circle Q to discreetly pick up his favorite snack without his wife knowing. And what is the snack? Something any Marvel fan worth their salt will recognize: Hostess Fruit Pies!
  Yusuf: Muneeba forbids me from having these. But, hey, look at them. You know, there's just something about their...syntheticness!
• It's tradition to hide the groom's shoes before a wedding. Aamir comes in and complains to his entire extended family that it's supposed to be one pair, not all of them.
• The infamous Hulk shalwar kameez returns as Gabe Hillman's wedding clothes.
• Kamala and Nakia's contribution to the dance party at the wedding, particularly Tyesha's reaction to Aamir revealing he was in on it by joining in on the choreographed routine.
• Part of the wedding ritual is guests walking up to the new couple and pressing their heads together. Bruno is a little confused.
  Bruno: So, what's the actual point of this?
  Auntie: Oh, well, it brings fortitude to your marriage so that every time you clash you become closer.
  Bruno: Is that actually true?
  Auntie: Who knows? Honestly, it's just good fun, isn't it? [mimes bashing their heads together, laughs]
• Whom did Tyesha and Aamir get as a wedding band? Brown Jovi, naturally. Jersey City's go-to musicians for Eid, Diwali, bar mitzvahs, sweet sixteens, and quinceañeras.
  • And of course, they couldn't have an MCU show take place in New Jersey without at least one song from one of the state's famous musicians appearing on the soundtrack. Thus the audience is treated to "Livin' on a Prayer" as Kamala is flung around the wedding venue by Najma and her crew.
  • Considering the motives of the Djinn/ClanDestine, it seems a bit of a missed opportunity to not use "Who Says You Can't Go Home?".
• The kitchen staff brushes off Kamala when she tells them they need to leave because the Clandestines are attacking. Only after Aadam knocks one guy out with one hit do they all promptly start rushing out.
  Cook: Absolutely not. Mmm-mmm. No.
• Kamran still thinks Bruno's name is "Brian". Bruno is certain he's doing this on purpose.

Episode 4: Seeing Red

• Kamala and Muneeba arguing on the plane while a stranger awkwardly sits between them.
• Kamala and Kareem waste no time engaging each other in Snark-to-Snark Combat when they first meet.
  Kamala: Where'd you learn to jump like that, Ninja Turtles?
  Kareem: Where'd you learn yours, Donkey Kong?
• Kareem throws a knife at Kamala, who catches it in an energy glove with a "hey, how bout that" expression. She then tries to throw it back only for it to barely go half a foot to the side.
• This exchange during Waleed's Infodump on the Clandestines, which is amusing considering how Thor arrived on Earth for the first time.
  Waleed: Our function is simple. To protect our people from threats of the unseen.
  Kamala: Like Djinn?
  Waleed: The Clandestines are not like the Djinn you've heard about in stories or in religious texts. I mean, if Thor landed in the Himalayan mountains, he too would have been called a Djinn!
• The Running Gag of Kamala being unable to eat spicy Pakistani food.
• The Running Gag of people making fun of Kamala's stuffed animal and her insisting it's a "napping pillow."
• Kamala ends up facing her greatest fear when she has to jack a vehicle with stick shift, in a country where you drive on the other side. The first thing she does is send the truck backwards. Again.
• Waleed taunting the Clandestines in his direction is less "over here assholes, come get me" and more "come and 'ave a go if ya think yer hard enough".

Episode 5: Time and Again

• When Aisha threatens Hasan with breaking his leg, Hasan just answers that his leg is useless anyway.
• While Kamala is missing, Sana talks about how she had her dog Magnum microchipped after he ran off; Muneeba chides her for the comparison but says she'd put one in her daughter if it was legal.
  • Then when she's told that she can track Kamala using their family plan, Muneeba just asks why she's only now learning about this feature.
• Kareem, still in his Red Dagger outfit, awkwardly saying hello to Muneeba and Sana before awkwardly running off, leaving Kamala to explain what's going on.
• Kareem tells Kamala she can always call him for help again. But preferably not in the United States as there are several warrants out for his arrest.
• Kamran awkwardly trying to make small talk with Bruno. He sees a poster of Nikola Tesla on his wall and thinks it's related to the Tesla car company, and lamely says argon is his favorite element.
• Kamran tries to establish a proper friendship with Bruno and offers him a handshake. Bruno's right arm is too badly injured and after a little struggle, he shakes his hand with his left arm instead.
• Kamran finding out that "Brian's" name is actually "Bruno". It turns out he wasn't trolling him, he genuinely thought his name was "Brian" this whole time.
• Sana showing an Embarrassing Old Photo of Muneeba with '80s Hair to Kamala.
• Sana recounts a story of Muneeba running off to follow Bruce Springsteen on tour (mistakenly calling him "Bruce Springfield"). An indignant Muneeba admonishes her not to tell Kamala such lies... it was Bon Jovi.

Episode 6: No Normal

• Aamir and Yusuf's Bad "Bad Acting" when Kamala reveals she's "Night Light", revealing they already know.
  Aamir: In classic Khan gossip train, you tell Ammi, she tells Abbu and we overhear because he always has his phone on speaker.
  • Yusuf is happy to blame the speaker rather than admit that he Cannot Keep a Secret.
• Deever marches into the mosque and demands all congregants show their ID's. Everyone whips them out instantly at the same time.
  Abdullah: This isn't our first rodeo.
• Rasheed tries to stall the agents with his "yummy-yummy chocolate chip cookies."
• Nakia misdirects the agents by trying to suspiciously keep them out of a room. Turns out the room actually hides Miguel and Nakia has to pretend he's her boyfriend, much to her displeasure.
• As the gang try to figure out a plan, Zoe pops up out of nowhere to offer help and how she's known about Kamala's powers. When everyone demands to know what she's doing at the school on a Saturday, she replies it's where she films her TikTok videos as the lighting is so much better.
• Sheik Abdullah does his part in getting Bruno and Kamran out the back of the mosque by providing a Paper-Thin Disguise - caps that say Halal and Haram. Even if you don't know the actual meaning, they look like a spin on "his and hers" fun wear. They wisely ditch the caps.
  • Ah, yes. The Running Gag of the "MCU Disguise" makes its return, albeit without the sunglasses.
  • When Kamala finds them, she asks them what they are wearing; Kamran and Bruno simultaneously ask her what she is wearing (referring to her superhero outfit).
• Several episodes and crises later, Aamir finally twigs that Kamran is not in fact a cousin. The betrayal in his voice when he asks if Kamran even likes Bake Off is hilarious.
• While storming the high school, Damage Control agents think they've come across a bomb and begin to run away when the device starts blinking... only to play a song in Urdu, accompanied by a descending disco ball. One of the agents just blows up the speaker.
• Kamala's surprise, followed by mild irritation, when Aamir shows up in the middle of her planning session.
  Kamala: What are you doing here?
  Bruno: How did you get in here?
  Aamir: Bathroom window. I went to school here too. Mom sent me to watch out for you.
  Kamala: Ooh! Superheroes don't need chaperones!
  Aamir: Take it up with her.
• Zoe has to go get the fire extinguisher behind the glass. She completely fails to notice the hammer chained to the case and instead awkwardly breaks it with weak elbow strikes.
• Kamala checking in on the two DODC agents in the sonic truck she smashed:
  Kamala: Hey guys! *the two snap back into their seats* You okay?
  DODC Agent: Yes Ms. Night Light!
  Kamala: Ugggh, not that name!
• Bruno plays more Urdu music and even pulls off the same dance moves he pulled in the wedding to distract the DODC agents.
• Zoe, Aamir, and Nakia's plan with the softballs only works for two seconds and they're unceremoniously ambushed and cuffed against the floor.
• Bruno pulls Kamala aside, telling her he found a mutation in her genetic code. The camera zooms in on her, the 90's theme music plays... and she simply brushes it off as "another label" and walks off. This is some time after her fight with the Noor denizens, traveling back in time, and living in a universe where there are giant green men, gods, and talking raccoons from outer space (which, this being Kamala, is something that she is obviously aware of). Of course, it's also likely that she's had so many revelations about her lineage in such a short amount of time that she's grown numb to it.
• There's just something hilariously Adorkable about Kamala briefly stopping at a red light before she goes on to meet Bruno and Kamran. Keep in mind— she's literally walking over Jersey City traffic, yet she still bothers to follow traffic signals!
• Kamala reveals she really doesn't know anything about driving by insisting Nakia keep her hands at ten-and-four on the steering wheel (it's supposed to be ten o'clock and two o'clock).
• The ending with a bunch of Instagram posts by people who were at the high school during the Damage Control raid. This includes Miguel, gloating that Nakia declared him her boyfriend, and Sheikh Abdullah, who jokingly wonders if his hot dog Instagram filter is halal and stating that there will be ice cream pizza.
  • The kid Kamala saved earlier is very impressed by her, but wonders why she dropped him and broke his leg the other day, before dismissing the incident as a beta test.
• Bruno insisting that he and Kamran really bonded during the time he was being hunted by Damage Control and he let him have his car. Neither Kamala nor Nakia believe this.
• Nakia taking the keys to Kamran's car from Bruno and stating, "Get in, losers! We're getting shawarma!"
• When they are stalling Damage Control, Kamala and company all wear similar hoodies to disguise themselves. The Damage Control Agents report that they are all "identical" which leads to them briefly thinking there might be duplication powers at work.
• Kamala's father says that her name could be translated to "Marvel." Kamala is baffled and incredulous that her name matches Carol Danvers' codename. Her father just says "I don't know who that is." Kamala gives him a look as if she's thinking "Hello? Her face is all over my room".
• Carol Danvers is suddenly transported into the bedroom of her biggest fan, and she's understandably weirded out by all the posters and pictures of her on the wall.

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