Sorry To Say It, But Kamala’s Crush In Ms. Marvel Is Probably A Villain

Ms. Marvel’s premiere episode focused on the titular Kamala Khan. With the sole exception of the mid-credits scene, all the characters introduced were seen via her perspective. But Episode 2 not only featured Bruno, Nakia, and Zoe getting storylines of their own; it also introduced Kamran, a new kid in school who shakes up Kamala’s world. However, those already shipping the would-be couple may be disappointed, because there are already a ton of clues that suggest Kamran may be a Ms. Marvel villain.

Warning: Spoilers for Ms. Marvel Episode 2 follow. The Monday following Kamala discovering her superpowers began with her strutting through the school hallways with newfound confidence. She was hitting all the right notes... until she walked right into someone she’d never met before: Kamran, a newly transferred dreamy Pakistani high school senior with a British accent.

Much to Bruno’s confusion and Nakia’s amusement, Kamala insisted on attending Zoe’s party once she learned her new crush was going. Once there, although she came off like a hot mess, Kamran didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he rescued her and her friends when the cops came to break up the gathering, and even asked Kamala for her number and offered her driving lessons.

Kamran is charming, has many of the same tastes in movies and music as Kamala does, and understands her culture and language. However, he may not be the perfect boy she believes him to be. The “friendly enemy” trope is legion in superhero stories; there are multiple Marvel stories in which the possible love interest turns out to be working for the main antagonist, if not the actual Big Bad themselves. Any perfect crush who drops in from the sky like this must immediately be suspect.

In fact, there’s already circumstantial evidence that Kamran is not who he seems. Note the conversation about Bollywood movies, when Kamala asks Kamran what films he likes. He says, “Only the greats, like Baazigar.” For those unfamiliar with Baazigar, it’s by director Shah Rukh Khan (who Kamala calls “SRK”) and features a chaotic jerk assassin rather than Khan’s usual romantic hero. Perhaps it’s a harmless character detail that Kamran likes a little but of chaos, but it feels more like a warning in this context.

There’s another warning in that cafe scene as well. Kamala mentions her mother is a fan of Kingo, referencing Kumail Nanjiani’s Bollywood star persona from Eternals. Kamran replies his mother is a fan of Kingo Sr., who MCU fans know is just the previous persona of the same Eternal. It’s a cute easter egg, but it’s also suspect. If Kamran’s mother is a Kingo Sr. fan, she is either an old Bollywood movie buff or an entire generation or two older than Kamala’s mom, which could mean Kamran is hiding is true age — and identity.

The main clue comes at the end of Episode 2, when Kamran rescues Kamala from the DODC in a perfectly timed arrival. He knew where she’d be, knew she was in trouble, and was not surprised to see who it was under the mask. And Kamran’s car magically disappeared the moment after picking her up, so the DODC couldn’t follow them. Moreover, the woman in the back, his mother, is the same woman who has been appearing in Kamala’s visions. It’s unclear if she is the disgraced Aisha, Sana’s mother, who disappeared during the partition of India and Pakistan. She says she’s been waiting “a long time” to meet Kamala — whether that’s a good or bad thing remains to be seen.

Ms. Marvel continues with new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.