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Ms. Marvel has wrapped its six-episode Season 1 on Disney+ with the finale, titled “No Normal,” introducing yet another new superhero to the MCU, as well as a handful of non-powered characters we’ll no doubt be seeing again at some point in the future. And, perhaps most importantly of all, the show included a post-credits stinger that sets up some major developments for Phase 4 as well as a tease for what we can expect from the upcoming sequel to Captain Marvel, The Marvels.
So, with all this in mind, let’s take a look at what happened–spoilers and all. If you haven’t seen the finale episode yet, this is your warning to turn back.
Kamala, Kamran, and Damage Control
Following her return from Pakistan as well as her showdown with the Clandestine, Kamala’s best friend, Bruno, and new crush, Kamran, were immediately thrust into a conflict of their own. Kamran, the only Clandestine left in New York City, had become a major target for Damage Control, and he and Bruno were left scrambling to escape. Thankfully, Kamala, having come clean to her family about her abilities and short time spent acting as a superhero, was able to marshall support from her family and friends to help.
With a plan to rig their high school with Home Alone style traps in order to distract Damage Control while Kamran was spirited to safety, Kamala stepped into her new life as a superhero more officially–and was given a real costume by her mother. The fight also allowed dozens of onlookers to meet Kamala in her superhero alter ego for the first time–giving her an even more public debut than her hasty antics at AvengersCon.
Ultimately, Kamran was able to escape–not before learning of his mother’s demise back in Pakistan and having a crisis of faith that very nearly sent him down a dark path–and flee the country, meeting up with Kareem (AKA Red Dagger) in Pakistan, despite Kareem’s mission to protect the world from the likes of the Clandestine. We don’t get to see much from them at the end–just that they met up and that Kamran made it overseas safely, so we can assume their newfound partnership will be explored in a potential second season.
Back in the States, Bruno ends things by deciding to accept his CalTech scholarship, despite knowing that will take him to the other side of the country, while Nakia takes her duties on the mosque board to the next level. Kamala, meanwhile, looks to her family to start figuring out her superhero identity–but she still hasn’t settled on a name. With Damage Control mostly off her back (and a large social media following springing up with positive reactions), it seems like she’ll have a fair amount of time to figure things out as she goes, unless of course a major problem arises in the meantime.
But, before Bruno leaves for California, he drops one final bit of information on Kamala. It turns out that she might not actually have superpowers because of her family’s history and connection to the Noor Dimension after all–or, at least, that may only be a small part of it. It makes some level of sense, at least, because if it were simply just genetics, Kamala’s entire family would have access to the hard light powers she has.
It turns out that Kamala’s DNA shows signs of some sort of “mutation,” but Bruno is unable to elaborate further and Kamala is resistant to the idea of earning another label to place on herself. This will strike comics fans as very interesting, however, because in her original origin story, Kamala’s abilities come from her latent Inhuman DNA.
It’s unclear whether or not the mutation Bruno references is connected to the Inhumans (recently Black Bolt appeared in an alternate reality in Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the first time the MCU has included Inhumans in an official capacity) or if it’s a reference to the more traditional mutants of the superhero world, the X-Men (another group who will, presumably, be showing up in the MCU at some point in the near future.) Either way, it’s definitely something to look out for as Phase 4 continues.
And, speaking of Phase 4’s future..
The Post Credits Scene
Midway through the finale’s credits, we get our traditional MCU stinger–and, like WandaVision before it, this one ties directly into an upcoming movie. Kamala, in her bedroom (wearing her costume) is startled by her bangle seemingly reacting with something. She is suddenly hurled back from an invisible force, crashing through her closet door and disappearing from screen for a moment. Seconds later, Carol Danvers emerges from her closet, looking around the room confused.
It’s unclear what actually happened here or why–it certainly seems like Kamala and Carol suddenly swapped places in time and space, and that it was a phenomena related to her bangle, but as far as we know Carol’s abilities come from the Kree, not the Noor Dimension. Also, it’s definitely worth noting that while we see Carol in this moment, we have absolutely no idea where Kamala was sent.
Similarly, we can’t be absolutely sure that whatever happened was as simple as two people swapping places across space. With all the multiverses and magic happening in the MCU lately, there could be something much more complicated in the works–this might not even be the Carol Danvers we know from the previous films. She doesn’t have enough dialogue for us to really make the call.
Either way, as the final title card reads, Kamala will return in The Marvels, which is due out in 2023.
