Ms. Marvel Episode 3: Who are the Jinn and Clandestine?

Ms. Marvel Episode 3 reveals the villainous characters of the Jinn, but who are they? And what do they want from Kamala? SPOILERS FOR MS. MARVEL AHEAD…

The third episode of the newest MCU show Ms. Marvel has premiered on Disney+ today. The episode – which marks the halfway point in the season – was filled with both emotional stakes and fun action.

However, this episode also finally revealed a major villain of the series: The Jinn.

What are the Jinn?

Jinn, or Djinn, or Jinni, are mythical creatures born from Middle-Eastern folklore. They generally have supernatural abilities, are immortal, and often have similar wish-granting powers as genies, as genie folklore tends to overlap with Jinn folklore. They also have some weaknesses, which include being sensitive to low temperatures, and being forced to serve the men who hold their name.

These beings have shown up in Marvel comics before, and are usually portrayed as villains, as the Jinn can also be considered demonic entities.

There is even a Ms. Marvel comic, titled “Bottled Up,” that came out last month, for which the synopsis is as follows:

To escape the heat of the city, Kamala Khan and her friend Nakia visit a local museum’s hallowed, air-conditioned halls. Unfortunately, it ends up being less of a refuge as the girls are blocked at every turn by sticky-fingered campers. But when one of the kids accidentally releases a jinn trapped in an ancient Mesopotamian exhibit, it’s up to Ms. Marvel to contain it before it possesses a camper and escapes into the streets of New York City to wreak havoc!

• Read More: Ms. Marvel – Who is the Red Dagger?

Viewers may wonder if this will be the same Jinn as the villainous group in the show. There was even a fan theory going around that Ms. Marvel herself, aka Kamala Khan, was going to be a genie, though this was disproven by journalist and Twitter user KC Walsh.

Besides, this screen iteration seems to be an original MCU depiction of the Jinn.

What are the Jinn in Ms. Marvel?

In Ms. Marvel, the Jinn are a bunch of immortal beings, though the extent of their power is unknown so far. They originally resided in the magical and light-filled Noor Dimension, which is a place that doesn’t exist in any of the comics. But they have been mysteriously trapped on Earth since at least 1942, as the opening scene of Episode 3 shows the group in India during the partition.

• Read More: Ms. Marvel fights a Genie in Marvel Unlimited’s June offerings

In prior episodes, Kamala (Imani Vellani) had been seeing visions of the Jinn, as it is heavily implied that her grandmother, her great grandmother, and herself, are also Jinn. It seems likely that the mysterious bangle that her great grandmother gave her – which triggered her powers – has something to do with the Noor Dimension. Especially since that same great grandmother, Aisha (Mehwish Hayat), can be seen with the Jinn in that Episode 3 opener.

Kamala’s potential love interest Kamran (Rish Shah) may also be a Jinn, since his mother, Najma (Nimra Bucha) is the group’s leader. And because of her feelings for Kamran, Kamala initially believes that the Jinn are on her side.

However, the Jinn – potentially including Kamran – have some less than heroic goals in mind. The Jinn require Kamala’s power to open a portal for them to return to the Noor Dimension. This sounds innocent enough, but the power needed to create the portal could have sun-exploding, world-ending capabilities, which the Jinn doesn’t seem to care about. And they don’t care about hurting Kamala in order to get what they want.

Now, while the Jinn can go by many names, in Ms. Marvel they also go by another name: The Clandestine.

What is The Clandestine?

In the wide range of Marvel comics, the Clandestine have a slightly chaotic continuity. They were a group of super-powered individuals that were first introduced in 1994’s Marvel Comics Presents #158 by Alan Davis. The group were all descendants of a man named Adam, and a woman named Elalyth, who turned out to be a Jinn herself.

• Read More: What are Ms. Marvel’s powers, and how do they differ to Captain’s Marvel’s?

While the show will likely go for its own backstory rather than the comics’, looking back at comic lore may give some insight into what the show will reveal about the Jinn in the future. And hopefully Kamala will find this information out before they are able to destroy the whole world.

The fourth episode of Ms. Marvel hits Disney+ next Wednesday, June 29. Read our review of Episode 3 here.