This Tiny Ms. Marvel Easter Egg Fixes A Major WandaVision Plot Hole
But it could have a big impact on future MCU movies.
Those who read the Ms. Marvel comics knew before the show premiered that Kamala Khan was a huge Captain Marvel stan. But even that couldn’t prepare audiences for how big a fangirl she turned out to be. Seeing the MCU through the eyes of an in-world Avengers devotee turned out to be an educational experience even starting with Ms. Marvel Episode 1, including the podcast easter egg that quietly fixed one of the franchise’s biggest running plot holes.
Warning: Spoilers for Ms. Marvel Episode 1 follow. Ms. Marvel’s opening sequence reveals the depths of Kamala’s fandom. In a sequence made up of the sorts of comic illustrations that decorate a high school composition book, fans watch Kamala’s most recent project — a YouTube vlog dedicated to preaching the gospel of Captain Marvel’s powers and setting the record straight about her 20-year absence. Her drawings and voiceover accurately detail the significant beats of Avengers: Endgame’s final battle.
It’s not the first time Marvel has shown the general public as having an awareness of what went down at the compound. Since WandaVision — the first official MCU release of Phase 4 — characters who did not witness the event have shown a surprising amount of knowledge about the events of that day. It’s been the cause of some confusion. For example, in WandaVision, Monica Rambeau and Jimmy Woo debated the details of the showdown with Thanos. However, they weren’t there. (Monica was dusted at the time!) So, how did they know what happened?
It’s not like CNN had cameras on the scene; there were no reporters embedded in with M’Baku’s troops to report from the ground. It’s one thing for Clint Barton to recount Natasha’s passing in Hawkeye; he was there. The Midtown High tribute at the beginning of Spider-Man: Far From Home is basic enough; it just pictures those whose passing would have been publicly confirmed. (It also has the error of assuming Steve Rogers is dead, which would have been the official line for those not in the know.)
Kamala Khan’s recap of the Endgame battle initially seemed like the MCU was about to repeat this plot hole, but it turned out it was setting the record straight. Kamala goes full Credible Hulk and cites her sources: “Due to my extensive research and my diligent studying of Scott Lang’s podcast interviews.” This reveal of Scott Lang’s podcast finally answers how the details of that day got out. Lang’s podcast (brilliantly titled “Big Me Little Me” and brought to listeners by “The Powered Life”) hands audiences the first-person source for Endgame’s events. Fans no longer have to imagine the New York Times running a Pulitzer prize-winning series on The Avengers Endgame As It Happened or the eventual HBO miniseries drama based on true-life events. Kamala has filled in the gaps. Everybody knows the details of Endgame’s battle because they listened to Scott’s hit podcast.
Moreover, as Kamala notes, Lang comes across as a cool guy and has direct access to the battle’s survivors. Not everyone would be willing to be a guest on the pod, mind you. (It’s doubtful Wanda Maximoff would agree to be interviewed, for example.) But Lang’s ease with the other Avengers and his willingness to be discreet about whatever needed to be kept quiet (like Barton being Ronan) would go a long way.
Now all viewers need is for the MCU to go the extra mile and have Paul Rudd record a few episodes of Lang’s “Big Me Little Me” podcast, and the fandom will be set on this subject.
Ms. Marvel continues with new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.
