Ms. Marvel Episode 3: Who Are the Clandestines?

Ms. Marvel episode 3 — now streaming on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar — introduces a brand new race of heroes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They confer with themselves as Clandestines, although they’re often known as Djinn by others. (They have a complete lot of different names too, as one among the Clandestines factors out on Ms. Marvel episode 3, together with Ajnabi, Majnoon, and Unseen. Ajnabi and Majnoon are Urdu for overseas and loopy/ maniac, respectively.) Despite how all of this would possibly sound, the Clandestines and Djinn have their origins in the Marvel comics, proper right down to these very names. Of course, the MCU is placing its personal spin on it, because it has at all times carried out.

Here’s what the comics say about the Clandestines. Or relatively, ClanDestine or the Destines. Created by Alan Davis in 1994, they’re a secret household of supervillains who’ve been round for some time. It all started way back in historic Persia when the sorcerer Sujanaa Min Raghbah received maintain of a magic gem. Said gem contained a djinn often called Elalyth who served Raghbah for hundreds of years. Meanwhile in Twelfth-century England, one Adam Ravenscroft made contact with the djinn after almost dying. Owing to the miracle that stored him alive and pondering of his dream to be a prophecy, he was named Adam of Destine.

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Then, 20 years later, Adam travelled to the Holy Land for the Third Crusade, the place he encountered the djinn in the flesh after a Bedouin mage known as Al Kadhdhaab captured him. Al Kadhdhaab took Adam to Raghbah’s realm, the place Adam killed the Raghbah however was — as soon as once more — mortally wounded by Al Kadhdhaab. But as Adam minimize the rope that was hooked to the gem, it shattered and launched the djinn. Elalyth killed Al Kadhdhaab and healed Adam. The two turned lovers, giving beginning to a number of kids over centuries. These kids would come to be often called the Destines.

Of course, as anybody who’s seen Ms. Marvel episode 3 can inform, the MCU is making some massive modifications. While the Djinn idea may be very a lot concerned, there isn’t any reference to Persia or Adam. In truth, the MCU’s Clandestines will not be even from our world. Kamran’s mom Najma (Nimra Bucha) — one among six Clandestines we met on this Ms. Marvel episode — revealed that they arrive from the Noor Dimension. They have been exiled into our dimension, and have been attempting to get again, however they have been caught amidst all the pieces occurring throughout British India’s previous couple of years.

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Nimra Bucha as Najma in Ms. Marvel episode 3
Photo Credit: Disney/Marvel Studios

Kamala Khan’s (Iman Vellani) great-grandmother Aisha was additionally one among the Clandestines, who received misplaced whereas they have been on the lookout for the bangles — the identical one which Kamala now has — in 1942 British India. A pair of bangles is referenced on Ms. Marvel episode 3, and I’m fairly certain the different one will come into play sooner relatively than afterward the new MCU sequence. After all, Kamala and her mom have been known as to Karachi at the finish of this week’s episode. And I can wager that the present is not taking them there for some routine household journey. There’s received to be greater than that to it.

Anyway, again to Noor for now. It’s the Noor Dimension that slows down the Clandestines’ ageing — they’ve been round for 100 years, as Fariha (Adaku Ononogbo) says on Ms. Marvel episode 3 — and what provides Kamala her powers. (She briefly considers calling herself Noor Girl.) But the Clandestines seemingly cannot entry Noor’s full potential on this dimension, as Najma notes. (The 4 Clandestines appear to be fairly succesful as it’s, after they go from being saviours to villains on Ms. Marvel episode 3.) But as Kamala is (partly) from right here, Najma believes it may be completely different for her.

Now that the Clandestines have been launched to the MCU, with Kamala being one among them, it is sensible why Marvel Studios selected to excise the Inhuman angle of Kamala’s comedian guide origins. Not solely would that haven’t match with the place the MCU was proper now, Ms. Marvel creators have been additionally going for one thing completely different. By tying Kamala and her South Asian story to djinns, Ms. Marvel provides it an additional native flavour — on high of all the pieces else that we have seen already.

Ms. Marvel episode 3 is out now. Ms. Marvel episode 4 drops June 29, adopted by Ms. Marvel episode 5 on July 6, and — the sequence finale — Ms. Marvel episode 6 on July 13 on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar wherever obtainable. In India, Ms. Marvel is out there in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam.