As expected, Marvel Zombies is more MCU cringe—stuffed with goofy jokes and characters nobody cares about.
True to Iman Vellani’s word, the series is all about Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, who now becomes the MCU’s “Last Avenger.”
Much like the equally painful Ironheart, the ending falls flat and insults fans.
Spoilers Ahead
Vellani openly said Ms. Marvel was the focus, so none of this is a surprise. The show feels like it was cooked up years ago when Kevin Feige was determined to make Ms. Marvel the MCU’s everything: she’s magical, she’s cosmic, she’s a mutant, and now she’s the “Last Avenger,” blessed by Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. Likely, I am forgetting a bunch of other stuff.
No character has been pushed harder on fans than Kamala Khan, and every time the response is the same—complete rejection.
The series kicks off with the usual DEI lineup that somehow survived the apocalypse: Ms. Marvel, Kate Bishop, and Ironheart. They’re being hunted by zombie white dude Hawkeye. Credit where it’s due: Bishop and Ironheart get killed off, but it only clears the stage for Kamala to shine.
She links up with the Thunderbolts and Moon Knight Blade, who’s easily the best character here. Their mission? Take a device to New Asgard to find a ship that can reach the Nova Corps. But wait?! Wasn’t Xandar destroyed by Thanos? Maybe not in this universe (I guess).
More MCU Baggage
The show keeps piling on unwanted characters. Shang-Chi and Awkwafina’s Katy show up, reminding me why no one is clamoring for a sequel. Shang-Chi’s father—arguably the coolest of the bunch—gets killed off.
Next comes Zemo, who brings them to The Raft, but even the ocean isn’t safe. Namor shows up with his submariners (they actually pronounced his name right!).
From there, it’s back to the MCU formula: non-stop quips, awkward teenage Kamala moments, and I think Valkryie made a dick joke to the teenage Kamala that they cut from The Marvels (imagine if that was a dude making the joke to her???).
The Finale
The final act is just reruns of Marvel’s greatest hits. Scarlet Witch is the big bad—again. It’s WandaVision, Endgame, and Ironheart all over. Lazy writing.
And of course, Kamala makes a ridiculous deal at the end that undermines the entire story, just like Ironheart did with Mephisto. There’s also a cliffhanger that may never be resolved. Nice touch (sarcasm).
The Verdict
If Marvel Zombies had more episodes and didn’t lean so hard on the same tired MCU tropes, it might have been decent. The animation was okay, though I’m not a fan of the What If style. The gore was nicely done, especially those Blade and Spider-Man scenes they spoiled in the trailer.
But the story relies on characters from failed movies and shows, with Spider-Man as the only exception. Instead of giving fans what they want, Marvel doubles down on the same formula that keeps turning people away.
Enough of this garbage. 4/10
