Ms. Marvel Just Claimed A Shocking MCU Title

Let's be real, folks: Did anybody expect "Ms. Marvel" to defy the odds in the way that it has over the past two months? Following its June 8 debut, the critically acclaimed Disney+ series was reportedly the victim of review bombing on IMDb. Interestingly, most reviews left on the site came from males over the age of 30 (via NBC News). 

A lot of criticisms came from people who claimed the show is "too woke" and "cringe" due to its diverse subject matter, with lead star Iman Vellani being a 16-year-old Pakistani American girl who is struggling with identity issues and fitting in at school, along with the whole superhero thing. "Her whole arc in the show is self-acceptance, and subverting all the expectations and labels that have been thrown at her," explained co-creator and executive-producer Sana Amanat in a June 2022 interview with Muslim Girl. "Realizing that you can marry all these fifty million things that, when combined, make Kamala, Kamala," Amanat added. 

However, not everyone was ready to accompany this teenage girl on her journey to find her inner self, resulting in negative audience reactions and alleged review bombing. "I think it comes from a place of anger and a sense that their identities are being threatened," Amanat said in a July 2022 interview with NBC News. "If [viewers] can't connect with it, then that's OK. I just wish they wouldn't try to put it down." Despite all of the bashing and unwarranted ridicule, "Ms. Marvel" has managed to do something on Rotten Tomatoes that no other MCU project has ever done — not even "Avengers: Endgame" or "Black Panther," two of Marvel's most successful movies. 

As reported by Rotten Tomatoes, "Ms. Marvel" has officially become the titleholder for Marvel's highest-rated TV series or film with a final Tomatometer rating of 98%. The show's first season recently aired its sixth and final episode on July 13. At this point in time, every episode of the series has received a 92% score or higher. 

"This show is for Marvel fans," explained Iman Vellani in a July 7 interview with NME. "If you're a real Marvel fan, if any of those review bombers consider themselves a Marvel fan, then this show's for them too. We wanted Ms. Marvel to be a love letter to Marvel fans." Describing the review bomb haters, Vellani added: "I think change is scary for a lot of people. And having a show that surrounds a 16-year-old girl who's Pakistani and Muslim and a superhero is scary for a lot of people. I think this is just gonna rip the Band-Aid off and hopefully, people will fall in love with her." And fall in love they certainly did. 

Before the "Ms. Marvel" debut, Marvel's "Black Panther" and "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." were the top two highest-rated MCU projects on Rotten Tomatoes with scores of 96% and 95%, respectively. It only took one episode for "Ms. Marvel" to leapfrog the two of them and temporarily situate itself into first place with a 97% Tomatometer rating (via Axios). The final 98% rating is a compilation of all six episodes.