Relationship Spotlight: Kamala & Yusuf Khan (Ms. Marvel)

*A few Kamala-Yusuf spoilers.*

Last week, I talked about Kamala’s tricky relationship with her mom, which is probably the most important relationship on Ms. Marvel. But even though Kamala’s relationship with Yusuf doesn’t get as much screentime or importance to the overall story, it’s still absolutely worth highlighting.

First, full disclosure: I adore Yusuf. By the end of the first episode, I loved him, and by the time the season ended, he was at “protect at all costs” levels for me. I like that he’s a goofy dad who’s into technology/gadgets but doesn’t really understand them. It kills me that the rest of the family learns that Kamala has powers when Muneeba tells Yusuf, because he always has his phone on speaker. And I’m utterly charmed by how excited he is to help when Bruno claims his interest in researching djinn is for a homework assignment.

When it comes to their father-daughter relationship, Yusuf doesn’t have as hard a time with Kamala as Muneeba does. Even though he and his wife are basically on the same page re: rules and restrictions, Muneeba tends to come in hot with laying down the law. Yusuf on the other hand, is more likely to smile and say, “We only want what’s best for you, beta.” This puts them in open conflict less often, with Yusuf admittedly playing the friendly/understanding cop to Muneeba’s bad cop.

Not that this means everything between Kamala and her dad is smooth sailing. One of my favorite scenes of the pilot, as painful as it is, comes when Muneeba offers Kamala her AvengerCon compromise. I already discussed it last week, but I want to revisit it from this angle. Again, Kamala is horrified at the prospect of having to wear the father-daughter “Big Hulk, Little Hulk” costumes Muneeba made and essentially snaps that going to AvengersCon with her dad would be worse than not going at all. This is a bratty reaction for her to have no matter what—the series recognizes that Kamala is far from perfect—but it feels even worse because Yusuf had seemed so excited to share this with his daughter. He jumps into the room to dramatically reveal the cosplay, mock-growling and wearing green face paint. He’s all in. Only for Kamala to act like this would be the worst thing ever. (Side note: shoutout to Muneeba because, even though Kamala is mortified, those costumes are both sweet and adorable.)

Yes, there are extenuating circumstances here. Kamala feels like her parents don’t understand or trust her and aren’t listening to her. There’s the fact that, to her, having Yusuf go along would feel less like a chaperone and more like a babysitter, and no teenager wants that. And she’s already spent weeks on her own cosplay of Captain Marvel, who’s her favorite superhero by a mile (and she’s got the pictures plastering her bedroom walls to prove it!) But this is a hurtful reaction, and even though Kamala regrets the words almost as soon as they’re out of her mouth, she can’t unsay them, and she has to deal with seeing how much she hurt her dad’s feelings.

In an odd way, though, that’s an ability that Yusuf brings to the table. Muneeba makes Kamala so mad sometimes that she doesn’t always think clearly and can’t see things from her mom’s perspective. But Yusuf’s honest reactions remind Kamala that her words and actions have consequences, which helps prompt a more empathetic response.

Like I said, we don’t see nearly as much of Kamala and Yusuf together as we do Kamala and Muneeba, but their biggest scenes are consistently great. In the season finale, sitting out on the roof together, it’s Yusuf who inadvertently leads Kamala to her superhero name. He talks to her about her name’s origins, which isn’t a typical Pakistani name. However, he tells her about how thrilled he and Muneeba were when she was born, after nearly giving up on having a second child. And so they named her Kamala. “Beta, you were just so perfect,” he says. “That's what kamal means in Arabic. ‘Perfect.’ But in Urdu, it's more like... What's the word? ‘Wonder.’ ‘Marvel.’ Kamal means marvel.”

Excellent, no notes. I’m not crying, you’re crying. I know that Kamala is going to be joining up with Carol and Monica in The Marvels and it’s gonna be lit, but I need more Ms. Marvel too. Because Khan family content, people! I need more of this in my life.