2023 marks 10 years since Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, was introduced to Marvel Comics, with the Pakistani teenager gaining her shapeshifting powers after she breathed in Terrigen Mist, which activated her Inhuman genes. The Marvel Cinematic Universe opted to go a different way with her genetics, as it was revealed in the finale to Disney+’s Ms. Marvel series that Iman Vellani’s Kamala is a mutant. Now thanks to a major turn of events in the life of Marvel Comics’ Kamala, some fans are wondering if that mutant background might be incorporated into the mythology depicted on the printed page.
Before going any further, what I’ll be discussing concerns a plot twist that happens in Amazing Spider-Man #26, which will be released tomorrow. This twist was initially leaked online, and has since been officially acknowledged by Marvel. So here’s your warning: SPOILERS are ahead!
The current run of Amazing Spider-Man from writer Zeb Wells and artist John Romita Jr. has featured Kamala Khan as an intern at OsCorp who’s keeping an eye of Norman Osborn, the form Green Goblin who’s supposedly reformed, on Peter Parker’s behalf. Unfortunately, Amazing Spider-Man #26 sees Kamala dying, though the events that lead to her demise are still a secret. EW shared this pivotal issue will be followed on July 12 by Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel, a one-shot written by G. Willow Wilson, Saladin Ahmed and Mark Waid (all of whom have extensive history writing for the character) that shows various Marvel heroes gathering to remember Kamala.
Kamala’s death has already drawn a lot of negative reactions from Marvel fans, particularly because her death is occurring in a Spider-Man book rather than her own. That’s not what I’m here to talk about. Rather, given how often characters return from the dead in superhero stories, it’s already widely assumed that Kamala will eventually be resurrected. Remember, later this year Iman Vellani’s Kamal will co-lead The Marvels with Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau. Marvel loves synergy between the comics and the MCU whenever possible, so count on either a new Ms. Marvel ongoing series or a team-up book featuring these three launching before that upcoming Marvel movie’s arrival.
But there may be more to it than this. Oftentimes Marvel likes to retcon certain aspects of characters in order for the comics to better align with the MCU’s continuity, like when Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were revealed to not actually be mutants around the time Avengers: Age of Ultron came out. With that in mind, some fans are now speculating that when Kamala is resurrected, that will pave the way for her either be changed from an Inhuman to a mutant, or just having been a mutant this entire time. Regarding the latter option, the Resurrections Protocols that have been set up on the sentient mutant island of Krakoa allow any mutant to be brought back to life in a new body, as decreed by the governing Quiet Council.
If Kamala is resurrected like this, then her mutant heritage will be set in stone, though that then begs the question of why her powers didn’t awaken until she was exposed to Terrigen. Whatever that answer is, this would bring the comics’ depiction of Ms. Marvel more closely in line with how she’s shown in the MCU. Sana Amanat, one of Kamala’s creators, even said to Empire last year that they were originally going to have her be a mutant before changing her into an Inhuman. So in a way, this is getting back to the character’s roots, though obviously there would still be a number of differences between the comics and MCU Ms. Marvels, such as Iman Vellani’s version making hard light constructs rather than being a shapeshifter.
Again, this is all just speculation for now, but even with Kamala Khan dying in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, don’t assume that’s going to stick, especially as we get closer to The Marvels’ release. For now, use your Disney+ subscription to stream Ms. Marvel and nearly all other MCU content, or learn what the streaming platform has coming up for this franchise by reading through our upcoming Marvel TV shows guide.
