A lot of Marvel shows are headed to Disney+ in the future, from Moon Knight to Hawkeye and then some, and one of the most anticipated debuts centers on Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel. It's a hero audiences have wanted to see for a while in general, and many are excited to specifically see Kamala make her live-action debut in the MCU.
With that being said, Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel obviously isn't a character as well known to the mainstream as Spider-Man and Wolverine, so it's understandable if there are a number of MCU fanatics who are completely clueless about Ms. Marvel and what makes Kamala Khan so unique. For those in the dark, let this crash course in Ms. Marvel serve as a shining light on the details of her character, and why there are so many people jazzed to see her get a series.
Kamala Khan Was Marvel's First Muslim Character To Headline A Comic Book
In an age where Hollywood is largely making an honest push for more inclusion for all walks of life, it could not be a better time to tell the story of Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel. Kamala is a New Jersey teenager, and is the daughter of Pakistani immigrants. She's also Muslim, which is a religion that rarely gets the spotlight in American television in general.
Muslims rarely get any kind of heroic spotlight in films either, which makes it so great that this Disney+ series will presumably lead to a Captain Marvel team-up down the line, with Kamala possibly taking the mantle from Carol Danvers. It's a well-deserved, given how acclaimed the character's run in the Marvel universe has been on the page, so hopefully the studio services Kamala's story as well as it has with others who have joined the franchise in recent years.
Canonically, Ms. Marvel Is An Inhuman
Kamala Khan's super powers stem from the fact she's an Inhuman, which is not something she knew about until a Terrigen Bomb unlocked her dormant abilities. That Khan the ability to go galavanting around as Ms. Marvel, modeled after her idol Carol Danvers, all thanks to the fact she had some Inhuman blood pumping through her veins. It's a solid origin, although one that Disney and Marvel executives are likely tiptoeing around.
After all, the MCU already tried to make Inhumans happen and it was nothing short of a primetime disaster. Sure, Marvel shows have failed before, but none with a heavy promotional push that included a limited IMAX release, and the show couldn't outrun its early negative criticisms. It was a bad look for Marvel TV, and it wouldn't be too shocking if Marvel Studios attempts to minimize Kamala's Inhuman origin as much as it possibly can, avoiding any and all crossover opps. Fortunately, that doesn't seem like it'll be too hard to do.
Ms. Marvel Is Stretchy, Strong, And Able To Self-Heal
Kamala Khan's most celebratory ability is that she is a polymorph, which means she can stretch her body parts, as well as increase and decrease their sizes. Her shape-shifting ability is similar to that of Mr. Fantastic, which means Khan can change her shape to impersonate other individuals and also pose as inanimate objects. As well, her strength ramps up with size, even if she's just making her fists massive and not the rest of her body.
Kamala can also heal herself if need be, but it's not a passive ability. Her self-healing only occurs if she's in her normal form, and she cannot transform her body again until she has completed the healing process. That's a pretty big advantage for any villain to have, provided they can land a shot and take the hero out for a minute or two. It's easier said than done, of course, but look for that move to be many villains' chance for escape in the Disney+ series.
Kamala Khan Is A Captain Marvel Super Fan
In Marvel comics, Kamala Khan is a huge fan of superheroes. I mean, it's weird anyone wouldn't be in a world where they exist, unless they're like the largely immoral heroes in Amazon's The Boys. But Khan is especially a fan of Carol Danvers, and a large part of why she takes up the Ms. Marvel mantle is to pay homage to Carol's days under that title. At least, that's how it goes in the comics.
In the MCU, however, Brie Larson's Carol Danvers was never known as Ms. Marvel, so expect that bit of the story to change in some way. Khan will almost definitely still go by Ms. Marvel, but it'll possibly be an original identity she creates herself to honor her favorite superhero Captain Marvel. Honestly, that sounds like a cooler origin than merely taking someone else's costume and moniker, and the change could make for a neat discussion between the two when Kamala and Carol finally meet.
Ms. Marvel Has A "Shocking" Weakness
In addition to needing to halt her transformations to heal, Kamala Khan can also be stopped in her tracks with the use of electromagnetic pulses. They screw with her ability to morph her body, which is the crux to all her powers other than healing. So if there's an EMP going off anywhere close to Khan, expect her to be in some real trouble.
It's actually really interesting that Khan has such a specific weakness, as that doesn't seem to be the case with a ton of heroes in the MCU. Many heroes just fight until the point of collapsing, so it will be interesting to see how often the Disney+ series calls attention to Ms. Marvel's weakness, and whether it will revealed or examined in Season 1. After all, EMP's haven't been all that common in the MCU before, so why would they be regularly occurring now?
Kamala Khan Is Pretty Geeky, Too
Kamala Khan's Carol Danvers super fandom may have been a clue Ms. Marvel was a geeky kinda gal, but that could have easily been explained in another way. However, Kamala is secretly quite the prolific writer of fan-fiction, and she has an affinity for Avengers-based storytelling in particular. She also plays the Marvel equivalent of World of Warcraft, so yeah, she's a bit of a fangirl.
Which is not a knock on Kamala Khan at all, and we love to see it. Hell, not every teen can have a super-troubled past that forces them to mature at a young age. After watching the drama and sadness tearing characters up on Runaways and Cloak & Dagger, I'd love to see Kamala Khan burst into the MCU with a smile while letting that geek flag fly. Wave it proud, Ms. Marvel, and maybe teach those other teens to lighten up just a bit, too.
How Captain Marvel 2 Could Be Set Up Using Disney+ Phase Four
Ms. Marvel is headed to Disney+ here in the future, but we're presumably some time away from its release date. Stick with CinemaBlend for more updates on the series in the meantime and for a look at what's happening in the world of television and movies.
