Who Is Aisha in Ms. Marvel? (& Why Is Kamala’s Great-Grandmother So Important)

One of the things that have been the focus of the live-action Ms. Marvel series is the cultural and traditional side of the character and her family. There is a deep focus on Kamala Khan’s family and the culture and history surrounding her Pakistani Islamic heritage, as Marvel Studios is becoming more inclusive. But the thing about the series is that it goes all the way back to Kamala’s great-grandmother named Aisha. So, who exactly is Aisha in Ms. Marvel?

Aisha is Kamala’s great-grandmother, who is widely regarded as someone who brought shame to their family for unknown reasons. It can be hinted that, before Kamala, she was the last one who used the powers of the bangle, as hinted by the family’s origins back in India before the Partition.

The Khan family’s origin story in Ms. Marvel is one of the most interesting parts of the series because it allows us to see and understand the history behind the family and the bangle that Kamala uses. This is why Aisha is so important, as it is possible that she used to be the wielder of the bangle before. That said, let’s look at what we know about Aisha in Ms. Marvel.

Who Is Aisha In Ms. Marvel?

The introduction of Ms. Marvel to the MCU opens a bigger and more open world that is now incorporating all types of different cultures in the next phase. We already saw how Chinese culture plays a role in Phase Four, especially with Shang-Chi and the seemingly cosmic Ten Rings that he uses. Now, Ms. Marvel allows us to see more of the culture and traditions of South Asians and Muslims.

A good part of Ms. Marvel focuses deeply on Kamala Khan’s family and how traditional it is. As such, we get to see a lot of the cultural and traditional aspects that this Pakistani Islamic family lives by, as audiences are made to understand how beautiful and different Kamala’s family is when compared to mainstream culture. Of course, a good part of the story also dives into Kamala’s culture.

We all know that Kamala’s powers come from the bangle that her grandmother sent to her family. But what Kamala and we don’t know is the origin story of this bangle and how it is tied to her family. That is where her great-grandmother comes in, as Kamala ended up investigating her family’s history throughout a good part of episode 2 of Ms. Marvel.

During a family dinner with Kamala’s brother’s fiancé, the family patriarch shared a story regarding Muneeba (Kamala’s mother) and her history during the Partition of India. Kamala’s father said that his family was always from Pakistan, but that was not the case for Muneeba’s family, which had to move to Pakistan during the Partition. As Muneeba’s mother Sana (Kamala’s grandmother) was supposed to board the train to move out to Pakistan, she got left alone but still managed to find her way to the train and get back to her father when she “followed a trail of stars,” which oddly resemble the constructs that Kamala could create using the power of her bangle.

However, the story ended there as Kamala ended up blacking out when the bangle started glowing and allowed her to see a vision of a woman. Upon waking up, she went to her room to call Sana to ask her about the bangle. Her grandmother said that it belonged to Aisha, who is Kamala’s maternal great-grandmother. But Sana stopped there because she wasn’t supposed to tell that story.

A confused Kamala, the next morning, asked her mother what she knew about Aisha, a name that surprised Muneeba because she had never mentioned that name to her kids before due to the connotation that it came with.

Muneeba simply shut Kamala down by telling her that Aisha brought great shame to their family. It was also because of the shame that Aisha’s name came with that forced her to move to America so that she could forget all about it.

Considering that Kamala could not get any answers from her own family, she decided to ask some of the aunties and uncles of her mosque during Eid to learn more about what they knew about Aisha. They didn’t know a lot about her except for the fact that they also knew about how she allegedly brought shame to her family’s name during the Partition.

After that, one of the kids got stuck on the roof and was about to fall while he was hanging for dear life. That was when Kamala, in her Captain Marvel costume, sprang into action to save the child as she used her constructs to save him.

Upon creating a big construct that acted as a foothold for both of them, Kamala jumped onto the roof and was about to reach for the child before the bangle started glowing again. This led to her seeing another vision of a woman that could possibly be Aisha as Kamala lost focus. Luckily, she was able to save the boy from falling by creating more constructs that cushioned his fall.

From what the episode revealed, Aisha is Kamala’s great-grandmother from her mother’s side. She is also said to have brought shame to the family, as that’s something that we are yet to learn more about. Of course, it is also possible that she used to wield the same bangle that Kamala is wearing and that her shame is connected to the abilities that the bangle allowed her to have.

Why Is Kamala’s Great-Grandmother Important?

One of the biggest changes that Ms. Marvel introduced to the live-action version of the story was Aisha’s overall importance to the narrative. That’s because, in the comics, her backstory wasn’t something that was entirely important because it only told the story behind how Kamala’s family migrated from India to Pakistan during the Partition.

However, in the live-action series, it is quite possible that Aisha’s backstory will have a bigger impact on Ms. Marvel and the bangle. That’s because there is actually a rumor of a flashback scene involving Aisha and her husband so that we could get a better understanding of how she “brought shame” to her family.

Of course, Ms. Marvel’s powers in the live-action series are very different compared to her abilities in the comics because she has powers that seem to be cosmic in nature in the Disney+ show. This could possibly mean that there is a history behind her bangles and that it is a cosmic artifact that has been passed down in her family from one generation to another. As such, Aisha could have been the last one to use it, considering that neither Sana nor Muneeba was willing to have something that connected them to her because of the shame that she brought.

It could be possible that Aisha could also have some sort of a connection to Kamran’s family, as it was clear that the new boy in town was aware that Kamala had powers. And it is this familial connection between them that could eventually become the focus of the show’s conflict, as we know that Kamran is a villain in the comics.

Nevertheless, it seems that we are in for more reveals in the next episode of Ms. Marvel, especially in relation to Aisha and her past. All our answers regarding Aisha and her importance to Kamala could finally be answered in the next episode, as it is possible that she will learn more about her family’s history from Kamran and his mother.