The first episode of Ms. Marvel, “Generation Why,” diverges from the source material in a few key ways, but it’s still a faithful adaptation of the story of Kamala Khan, the geeky teenager who dreams of becoming a superhero and then gets her wish. Of course, the series does differ from the comics in one key way: Kamala’s onscreen debut takes place in a world in which half of all living things have recently returned after disappearing for five years. The aftereffects of the Blip have been a constant presence throughout Marvel’s Phase 4, but not every Marvel series or film has brought them to the forefront, meaning that it can be tricky to place each new series or film on the MCU timeline. So when exactly does Ms. Marvel take place?
Ms. Marvel is definitely post-blip
The new series makes one thing clear from the very beginning: Kamala’s adventures begin after the Blip. Episode 1 starts with an adorable animated sequence that Kamala films for her YouTube channel, in which she relates the events of the climactic battle at the end of Endgame and explains how Captain Marvel helped defeat Thanos. Then, at AvengerCon, she and Bruno visit a shrine to Natasha Romanoff and Tony Stark that says, “Thank you for your service.”
But that’s all pretty obvious, right? At this point, with Endgame having hit theaters 3 years ago and Phase 4 well underway, knowing that Ms. Marvel is post-Blip doesn’t actually tell us much. The real question is “When does the series take place in the context of all the other Phase 4 events?” Does Kamala discover her powers while Wanda is brainwashing Westview, or while Doctor Strange is tumbling through the multiverse?
Luckily, Disney and Marvel haven’t been shy about revealing where Ms. Marvel falls on the MCU timeline. In an interview with The Direct, Ms. Marvel producer and writer Sana Amanat revealed that the writers imagined Ms. Marvel taking place a year or two after the events of Endgame, which would be the year 2024 or 2025 in the MCU.
So, I think right now, we haven’t put an official number on how many years have gone by since Endgame … I feel like it’s one to two years [after Endgame], something like that, but I don’t actually remember. But we do have that in our timeline.
Plus, if you go to the Disney+ Marvel menu and filter its contents by timeline order, you’ll notice that Ms. Marvel appears at the very end, making it the most recent entry in the MCU timeline. This means that humanity has had some time to heal from the trauma of the Blip by the time Kamala gets her powers, and the Avengers have had a year or two to become legends. Now we get to see how Kamala will rise to the occasion and join their ranks.
(featured image: Marvel)
