Ms. Marvel on Disney+ was a first for Marvel Studios in a number of ways. In addition to featuring Marvel's first Pakistani superhero, Ms. Marvel was a coming-of-age series that focused on family and real-world history and heritage in conjunction with the fictional and cosmic. While the hit series set the stage for future stories to come, Ms. Marvel also connected to past MCU stories and, particularly, the Disney+ series Loki in more ways than one.
In addition to both shows boasting high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and amongst fans and critics alike, Loki and Ms. Marvel's series runs were almost exactly a year apart. While Episode 1 of Loki premiered on June 9, 2021 and concluded on July 14, 2021, Ms. Marvel debuted on June 8, 2022 while its finale aired on July 13, 2022.
But there's something else that these two series share, and that's writer and producer Bisha K. Ali. And, now that Ms. Marvel has come and gone, Ali has opened up about a Ms. Marvel Easter egg that she hid in a pivotal episode of Loki.
Ms. Marvel Producer Discloses Loki Easter Egg
Before Bisha K. Ali was the head writer for Ms. Marvel, she served as one of the writers for Loki and the executive story editor for Episode 3, titled "Lamentis."
During this episode, Loki and Sylvie were trapped on the doomed moon Lamentis-1 and journeyed to the city of Shuroo in hopes of escaping on an evacuating ship called the Ark.
After having met with Marvel Studios about working on Ms. Marvel, Ali revealed on Twitter that she hid a Pakistani Ms. Marvel Easter egg into her Loki episode as it "was the start of something new for me:"
"The Urdu I snuck into Loki is on Lamentis - the city of شروع . Shuroo means 'to start' or 'the start' - and it's the start of something new for L & S: a transformation. And writing that ep was the start of something new for me (I had already met for MM & was feeling hopeful.)"
Urdu is the official language of Pakistan. Not only is it the native language of Kamala Khan's family, but in the Ms. Marvel finale, Kamala's father revealed that the Urdu word "Kamal" means "wonder" or "marvel." Therefore, this is how Kamala Khan gets her superhero name, Ms. Marvel.
An Easter Egg of Glorious Purpose?
Easter eggs and connections are one of Marvel Studios' many signatures, but who knew that a year before Ms. Marvel graced the Disney+ interface that a reference to Kamala Khan and Pakistan was already part of the MCU?
While fans love scenes like Ms. Marvel's AvengerCon which is bursting with references and connections to the wider MCU, Bisha K. Ali's hidden gem in Loki is powerful because it's personal.
It shows that there was an actual parallel between both Ali and Loki and Sylvie's journeys, and she was able to use something that was personal and to her - and to the future Ms. Marvel's - to encapsulate that.
It's no secret that the MCU is a connected universe, but thanks to this reveal, fans now know that those connections aren't limited to its on-screen characters and events but to its creators as well.
All episodes of Ms. Marvel are available to stream on Disney+.
