One of Moon Knight’s best features was how it managed to remain detached from the rest of the MCU, and as the franchise’s next big character introduction, Ms. Marvel should strive to achieve the same. Moon Knight was the first Disney+ series to focus on an entirely new character. Up until this point, Marvel Disney+ shows had been anchored to heroes who have played an important part in the wider MCU but have never held the spotlight, including Wanda, Falcon, Loki, and Hawkeye.
While each of these series has been affected by the events of the wider MCU, they have also each addressed these plot points to differing degrees. Both WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier were pivotal to the events of Avengers: Endgame and referenced them repeatedly. On the other hand, shows like Loki and Hawkeye, while undoubtedly set within the MCU’s universe-616, used the wider events only in the background of their original stories.
Comparatively, Moon Knight is the first Marvel show that appeared to be able to stand alone, not needing to rely on wider MCU events to support its narrative. This was one of the greatest successes of the series. By removing many of its assumed ties to the franchise, Moon Knight focused uniquely on Steven Grant, Marc Spector and their relationship with their powers. This model stands apart from the rest of the MCU and sets a standard of unique storytelling that the franchise should aim to repeat in the future. The next Marvel series to air on Disney+, Ms. Marvel, would undoubtedly benefit from taking a similar approach to Moon Knight and focus on introducing its central hero rather than creating ties to the MCU. The Ms. Marvel trailer already demonstrated that Kamala Khan’s powers would be different from her comic book presentation, making it even more important that it is the hero’s origin that takes the greatest focus in the series. If the show focuses too heavily on the external MCU events surrounding the story – as was apparent in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – then Khan’s introduction risks being overshadowed by references and cameos, which will subsequently damage the hero’s reception going forward.
Unfortunately, due to Ms. Marvel’s character link to Carol Danvers’ Captain Marvel, the chances of the series existing in its own bubble are slim. Khan is a fan of all things superhero in the comics – even basing her name on Danvers’ heroic alias. The Ms. Marvel trailer shows that the series will take a similar approach, with Khan’s fascination with the female MCU heroes intrinsically attaching her to the wider MCU. If this is handled correctly, then the teenager’s passions can serve as a coming-of-age inflected nod to superhero idolization that the MCU is yet to really address. However, the more likely scenario is that the character’s attachment to Captain Marvel risks distracting from the story at hand, bringing up unnecessary references, and building cameo promises.
After her introductory series airs on Disney+, Ms. Marvel is then set to appear in 2023’s The Marvels, where she will star alongside Danvers/Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau as the MCU heroes powered by cosmic energy. The fact that the character is already lined-up to be a staple in the franchise only further emphasizes how unnecessary it would be for the series to dwell on wider MCU references – promising that there will be room for the franchise’s signature world-building later down the line. Moon Knight set a new standard for Marvel Studios’ stories in terms of building an insular, emotionally impactful narrative, and if it is to achieve a similar standard in the hero’s origin story, Ms. Marvel would be right to do the same.
