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Ms Marvel Just Made Cap's America's Ass Gag Even Better
Warning! SPOILERS for Ms. Marvel episode 1.
A throwaway gag in Ms. Marvel episode 1 makes the joke in Avengers: Endgame about Captain America's ass even better. Introducing Avenger mega-fan Kamala Khan as the titular hero, Ms. Marvel episode 1 spends a fair amount of time at the first annual Avengercon. AvengerCon is littered with Easter eggs and references, with one blink-and-you'll-miss-it sight gag referencing the memeable joke from Endgame.
Kamala (Iman Vellani) and her best friend Bruno (Matt Lintz) spend the majority of Ms. Marvel episode 1 getting ready for the first Avengercon. Complications and drama arise, but the two friends are able to make it to the convention with time to spare before Kamala's anticipated cosplay contest. They spend a fast-paced montage enjoying various aspects of the convention, including booths, cosplayers, and themed food and drinks. At one booth, a piece of fanart shows a cartoonish Captain America with a pronounced posterior, looking over his shoulder (a la Black Widow) with the caption, "You're Welcome, America."
That Ms. Marvel episode 1 references a popular joke and meme from an earlier MCU property is fitting, given its main character's fandom proclivities. Referencing the occasionally problematic sexualization of female Marvel characters—notably Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow—brings the joke around in an even more satisfying way. Marvel is not only acknowledging its fans and their memes but lampshading its own history of blindness to, or unconcern for, the over-sexualization of its female superheroes.
This is even more satisfying given that the joke exists in Ms. Marvel. The series uses meta-reference for a lot of its humor. It's also about a strong, teenage, Muslim superhero who dresses in a functional and not sexualized way. Kamala Khan worships Captain Marvel who has likewise avoided over-sexualization—in the MCU, at any rate. The added humor in Marvel not only pointing to the joke about Captain America's ass but doing it by poking fun at its history shows both growth and a fresh sense of meta-reference that fits squarely with the tone of Ms. Marvel.
While how in-universe fans of the Avengers know about the joke made in Endgame remains a mystery, the reference to the Captain America joke in Endgame fits right in with Ms. Marvel's meta-humor. Ms. Marvel's first episode is littered with meta-reference and Easter eggs. Including the gag about Captain America's ass, while also making a reference to Black Widow, shows a refreshing sense of acknowledgment of the MCU's past. Putting it in the female-driven Ms. Marvel suggests positive momentum for Marvel and a willingness to fix problems in the MCU's past.
