The Marvel universe officially inducted another popular star into its ranks. As Marvel expands its reach with new projects, both in the MCU and beyond, more stars in Hollywood are being drawn into the comic book fold. One of the latest Marvel releases on Disney+ is LEGO Marvel Avengers: Strange Tails, featuring a roster of exciting voice performers, including some new additions.
One particularly exciting new addition is Alia Shawkat, who joins the Marvel Universe as the voice of Meryet in LEGO Marvel Avengers: Strange Tails. Shawkat will be familiar to fans from her work in Arrested Development, Search Party, and The Old Man.
Shawkat is adding Marvel to her list of credits as she lends her voice to Meryet Karim among a roster of top talent on the project that includes Troy Baker (Hawkeye), Laura Bailey (Black Widow), Roger Craig Smith (Captain America), and Steve Blum (Wolverine).
Alia Shawkat's New Marvel Character Explained
LEGO Marvel Avengers: Strange Tails is an original adventure set in the LEGO Marvel world, following the Avengers as they grapple with a social media influencer intent on global devastation. Shawkat's Meryet Karim is the said influencer who serves as the villain in LEGO Marvel Avengers: Strange Tails.
Meryet is introduced as a cat content creator whose videos about felines are failing to grab attention. However, she receives a boost in likes and subscribers after capturing a livestream of the Avengers battling Magneto's mutant gang. Soon, the city is overrun by cats and cat lovers, much to Hawkeye's dismay.
Not long after, an army of evil cats attacks Avengers Tower, and Meryet reveals herself to be their master, having gained some special new powers that allow her to control cats and any people she touches. Her new intention is to build an army of followers and feed them with the best content.
Meryet: "First, I made Avengers videos and people liked them. But when I got these powers and used them for making cat videos... people really liked those. So I decided to mash them up. Everyone likes a good crossover. Cats versus Avengers."
The source of Meryet's powers is later explained when she posts a video revealing that she picked up a mysterious gem, which has gifted her new abilities.
Meryet: "Today I'm going to show you how I got my powers. Remember my video fo that big fight between the Avengers and that guy with magnet powers? Well, I found something that broke loose and it gave me power, all kinds of power..."
It's later confirmed that Meryet's powers come from Anath Na-Mut's (the Sphinx) Ka Stone, whom Meryet described earlier in the episode as "an evil wizard with an army of magic cats."
Anath Na-Mut is a character from Marvel Comics, whose Ka Stone granted him powers such as reality manipulation, illusion creation, energy manipulation, flight, and teleportation. Meryet exhibits several of these powers, with her abilities mainly retrofitted to suit her obsession with cats, giving her control over the felines and the minds of humans.
Meryet Karim is also a character inspired by the Marvel Comics character of the same name. In the comics, Meryet is a nomad who comes across Anath Na-Mut in the desert and absorbs some of the powers of his Ka Stone, which she uses to become the new Sphinx.
Similarly, in LEGO Marvel Avengers: Strange Tails, Meryet finds Anath Na-Mut's stone, which turns her into the female Sphinx. This time, she plans to force the Avengers to open Anath Na-Mut's tomb and capture whatever happens on her channel.
Will Meryet Shawkat Be Seen Again?
After orchestrating a major problem for the Avengers to deal with in LEGO Avengers: Strange Tails, does Meryet emerge victorious?
In a fight with Hawkeye, the Ka Stone is taken from Meryet and embedded in the Sphinx's tomb, which robs Meryet of her powers and frees the Avengers from her control, but awakens the Sphinx. The Avengers and their new allies, the Cat-vengers, then must fight to subdue the Sphinx, with Hawkeye eventually landing the critical arrow that destroys the Ka Stone.
Meryet is left powerless but captures the Avengers' battle on her channel. But she still doesn't win after Meryet's channel is flagged by the community, with destroying the world being deemed a violation. Her channel is taken down, and Meryet is left to consider her life without her followers.
While Meryet's journey in LEGO Marvel Avengers: Strange Tails is seemingly at an end after the events of the two-part special, her character is drawn from Marvel Comics, meaning a return in the Marvel universe isn't out of the question. This leaves the door open for Shawkat to have a longer career in the Marvel space.
