Ms. Marvel gets review-bombed on IMDb immediately following its Disney+ premiere on June 8, though the particular reason why is unclear. The new series serves as Kamala Khan's introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A 16-year-old Pakistani-American high school student and Captain Marvel superfan, Ms. Marvel gains the ability to harness cosmic energy and create constructs through a magical bangle. Khan is already primed for future appearances beyond her solo debut, as she will be appearing alongside Captain Marvel herself, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) in The Marvels, releasing in July 2023.
Newcomer Iman Vellani leads the Ms. Marvel cast as the titular teenage superhero alongside Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, Laurel Marsden, and Azhar Usman. The series is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name and written principally by Bisha K. Ali with Bad Boys for Life and Batgirl's Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah leading the directing team. Critics have called Ms. Marvel fun and original, with particular praise going towards Vellani's performance. However, some Marvel fans seem to think otherwise.
Soon after its Disney+ premiere on June 8, Ms. Marvel began being review-bombed on IMDb and other sites. At the time of writing, the series currently has an average 6.3 star rating made up mostly of 40 percent 10-star votes, 25 percent 1-star votes, and an even distribution of votes in between from IMDb users. The precise reason for the flood of negativity is unclear, though it seems to be due to a variety of criticisms.
A growing trend in recent years, the practice of review-bombing involves bombarding a certain title online with low ratings for illegitimate and often unsubstantiated reasons. This actually isn't the first time a Marvel project has been given this treatment online. Most recently, Moon Knight was review-bombed for its mention of the Armenian Genocide. Eternals was flooded with negative ratings before its theatrical release due to its LGBTQ+ representation and inclusion of a kiss between two men.
In this case, there doesn't appear to be one singular reason behind Ms. Marvel's review-bombing. Some are taking issue with the show's childish tone and how Kamala's powers are derived from the bangle, as opposed to Inhuman Terrigenesis as in the comics. While these are some of the more legitimate criticisms, many are hating on the show purely because of its Pakistani representation. One of the more interesting criticisms levied at Ms. Marvel is its lack of reference to the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, which some say puts Marvel at risk of losing its Indian audience. Whatever the justification for the review-bombing may be, audiences can now watch Ms. Marvel episode 1 on Disney+ and make up their own minds about the new series.
Source: IMDb
