Who Are The Red Daggers In Ms. Marvel?
Before the release of Ms. Marvel, we already found out about the fact that Kareem, known as Red Dagger, was going to be part of the series. However, episode 4 of Ms. Marvel allowed us to see that Red Dagger was more than just one person. Instead, the Red Daggers are groups of people that have a benevolent purpose in their existence. So, with that said, who are the Red Daggers in Ms. Marvel?
The Red Daggers are a secretive group of people who are charged with the protection of the citizens of Pakistan from any threat that is unseen. In that regard, they mostly operate as deterrents against threats that are otherworldly or supernatural in nature, such as the Clandestines.
It is worth noting that the Red Daggers in the MCU are many people instead of just one. Of course, they still also operate like vigilantes. But instead of fighting common criminals, they fight beings like the Clandestines. So, with that said, let’s get to know more about the Red Daggers that are featured in Ms. Marvel?
Who Are The Red Daggers In Ms. Marvel?
In the Ms. Marvel comics, one of the recurring characters is a Pakistani vigilante named Kareem, who ended up staying with the Khan family after moving to Jersey City in an exchange student program. He ended up revealing himself as a vigilante named Red Dagger, who specializes in fighting crime using his daggers while he is wearing a scarf to hide half of his face. Kareem also became one of Kamala’s romantic interests in the comics.
Before Ms. Marvel was even released, we already knew about the fact that Red Dagger was going to appear in the live-action series adaptation of the comic book. We also knew that Aramis Knight, the young actor who made his name in Into the Badlands, was going to portray the role of Red Dagger. But what we didn’t know was when Red Dagger was going to be revealed or what Kareem’s role would be in the series.
It took four episodes for Kareem to finally make his appearance in Ms. Marvel. In episode 4, Kamala and Muneeba went to Pakistan for a trip because Sana wanted them to come home when she saw the same train vision that Kamala saw at the end of episode 3. That was what prompted Kamala to investigate the train station where Sana and her father got off when they finally moved to Pakistan after leaving India during the Partition period.
While she was investigating the train station, Kamala came under attack from an unknown assailant who said that he sensed the Noor in her. This assailant was Red Dagger, who was able to fight on par with Kamala using his skills even though the Jersey City girl had the advantage in terms of powers. They eventually halted the fight when Red Dagger realized that she was not a Clandestine and that the authorities were on their way.
Red Dagger, who later introduced himself as Kareem, took Kamala to the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant before he pressed a secret button to open the path to the hideout of the Red Daggers. In that regard, there is not only Red Dagger in the Ms. Marvel live-action series. But who are the Red Daggers in Ms. Marvel?
After Kareem took Kamala to the hideout of the Red Daggers, she was able to meet a man named Waleed, who warmly welcomed her into their sanctum. Waleed was also a Red Dagger as he showed Kamala what she needed to know about the Clandestines.
Waleed told Kamala the nature of what the Clandestines are and what they want to do. He told her that they wanted to use her and the bangle to open a portal to their home dimension, which is the Noor Dimension, so that they could not only return to where they came from but also destroy the veil between that dimension and the Earthly plane. Waleed said that the Noor Dimension would eventually overtake the Earthly dimension if Najma and the Clandestines were to succeed in their plan.
In that regard, the Red Daggers are actually vigilante fighters that exist in secret in Pakistan. And as Waleed said, the Red Daggers have existed for hundreds of years, and that means that they were not only formed during the time when Aisha was the one who possessed the bangle but long before that time.
What Do The Red Daggers Do?
While Kamala was in the Red Dagger hideout, he and Kareem had a quick exchange of quips. Kamala said that it must have taken Kareem quite some time to find a scarf big enough to cover his mouth, and that was when Waleed said that the red scarf of the Red Dagger has been protecting for hundreds of years those who are willing enough to take the mantle of the Red Dagger.
Waleed also said that the duty of a Red Dagger was to protect the people of Pakistan from threats of the unseen. In that regard, the Red Dagger mantle has been passed on from generation to generation to those who are willing to take on such a big responsibility.
Meanwhile, the responsibility that we are talking about here is to protect Pakistani people from threats that are otherworldly or supernatural in existence, such as the Djinn or the Clandestines. That is why Waleed and the rest of the Red Daggers are intent on preventing the Clandestines from getting their hands on Kamala and the bangle, as they are charged with the responsibility of protecting the people from beings that came from other worlds or dimensions.
In fact, Waleed gave his life up for the cause when he chose to save Kamala and Kareem instead of facing Najma in battle. As such, Najma took the opportunity to kill Waleed when the opening to stab him from behind arrived.
Who Are The Members Of The Red Daggers?
While we do know that the Red Daggers are composed of several members that could be out there patrolling the streets for threats that are unseen, we only know two members who are surely Red Daggers. We are talking about Kareem and Waleed.
Meanwhile, during the night of the day that Kamala visited the Red Dagger hideout, Kareem invited her over to a bonfire with his friends. Kamala made a quick quip about this being a Red Dagger party, as we can make the assumption that the other people who were with them in that bonfire were also Red Daggers. The only person named in that group was Faizaan, but there were at least four other possible Red Daggers there.
