This could also be a shout out to the overlap between Ant Man and the comic book version of Kamala’s powerset: as a polymorph, she could get very big or very small, but those changes depleted her of energy, eventually leaving her exhausted and vulnerable. Sound familiar?

Speaking of Kamala’s powers…

Kamala’s Powers

Beyond testing for Ant-Man powers, Kamala asks Bruno if she might be Asgardian and related to Thor. Zoe dubs her “Night Light” and we hear someone in the crowd at the Eid celebration call Kamala that. It seems like other people naming her, dressing up as Captain Marvel, and searching for the source of her powers among all these white heroes are combining to serve the theme in the comics of Kamala thinking she had to literally become a white woman to be a hero, before realizing the best hero she can be is herself, in her own skin and dressed the way she feels comfortable. 

The Inhumans and Kamala’s Origin

Kamala’s great-grandmother Aisha’s bangle unlocking the superhuman part of Kamala is similar to the Terrigen concept from the comics: an outside force unlocking something internal, inherent to her. It reinforces the fact that this power was passed down to her from her ancestors, that superpowers originate among her people, too. 

Kingo and The Eternals

Kamran and Kamala have a moment connecting over several shared pop cultural touchstones, including Swet Shop Boys, Baazigar, SRK, ddlj, and Kingo. SRK stands for Shah Rukh Khan. But in particular, the line “Don’t tell me you have a massive crush on Kingo, too,” refers to Kumail Nanjiani’s character in Eternals, the member of the squad who has spent much of his immortal life as a celebrity.

Bill & Ted?

Bruno’s convenience store is a Circle Q instead of a Circle K, probably for brand reasons, but I’m taking this as a Bill & Ted reference regardless. In this show, Kamala and her friends are the “strange things” that will be afoot at the Circle Q.

Danofgeek