She’s marvelous! She’s magnificent! She’s… a teenager from New Jersey? Don’t let Kamala Khan’s humble beginnings fool you—she’s one of the newest heroes in the Marvel Comics universe and also one of its most compelling. And now Kamala, aka Ms. Marvel, is joining the MCU thanks to her Disney+ television series, where she’s played by newcomer Iman Vellani. Vellani will also appear in the Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels.
Fans of Marvel’s Avengers video game of course also know who Kamala Khan is. But some others might be asking, why does she have the Ms. Marvel name? What are Ms. Marvel’s powers? And what might we expect from a series starring the teenage hero? So let’s take an embiggened look at the Avenger-turned-Champion and her place in the Marvel universe for some ideas. Read on for the following topics, and then check out our Ms. Marvel review:
A smart Pakistani-American geek who loves playing video games, hanging out with friends, and writing Avengers fan fiction, Kamala is the first Muslim character to star in her own Marvel Comics series.
As Ms. Marvel, Kamala is an Inhuman with the ability to polymorph all or parts of her body. She began her superpowered career as a friendly neighborhood hero, but the universe had other plans for Ms. Marvel, and she soon found herself embroiled in landmark events ranging from the superhero conflict of Civil War II to the end of the world in 2015’s Secret Wars. Through it all, Kamala retains her humor and hope thanks to the family, friends, and teammates at her side.
Kamala Khan was created by writer G. Willow Wilson, artist Adrian Alphona, and editor Sana Amanat in 2014’s Ms. Marvel #1.
Ms. Marvel’s story began when Kamala was a typical 16-year-old in Jersey City. Kamala often clashed with her parents over adhering to Muslim traditions and values, but she was very close to them. One night, after another argument at the dinner table, Kamala’s parents forbade her to go to a high school party. In a rare rebellion, she decided to sneak out—and everything changed.
As it would happen, a strange, transformative chemical cloud known as Terrigen Mist was drifting over the city, unleashed by the events of Marvel’s Infinity storyline. The blue gas flooded the dark streets, surrounding Kamala as she walked home alone. Her dormant Inhuman genes were activated by the Terrigen, and she was instantly enveloped in a cocoon to begin her transformation.
When she woke up, Kamala discovered she had the extraordinary ability to shapeshift her body. A new life as a hero was just beginning, but would she be able to juggle it with her old life as a normal teen as well? (Spoiler: No.)
Ms. Marvel has the ability to shapeshift, whether it’s changing her appearance or altering specific parts of her body like her fists or legs. She can also change her size at will, “embiggening” or shrinking, with the proportional strength to match. Kamala also has an advanced regeneration factor that is most effective when she’s not using her shapeshifting abilities.
In addition, Kamala is a devoted fan fiction writer, and she even had the chance to tell Wolverine all about the stories she wrote about him.
Based on the trailers, the show seems to have changed Ms. Marvel’s powers some. It looks like she has some kind of energy aura rather than being “stretchy,” though she’s still able to, say, make a huge fist out of said energy.
While Kamala was inside the cocoon, she dreamed of Carol Danvers, her longtime hero, who used to go by the name Ms. Marvel before she became Captain Marvel. Kamala wished she could be just like her—tough as nails and clad in the classic black costume of Ms. Marvel (because thigh-high boots). When Kamala awakened, that’s exactly who she looked like, thanks to her new shapeshifting powers. As she dealt with the weird things happening to her body, she heard a cry for help, and saved a life while still in Ms. Marvel’s form.
Word got out that Ms. Marvel was back to her old name and costume, and Kamala decided to keep it—with her own masked likeness and take on the costume—in honor of her hero. “Maybe the name belongs to whoever has the courage to fight,” she mused. Kamala eventually received Carol’s blessing to use the name and make it her own.
The first major story arc of Ms. Marvel’s solo series had her taking on a villain calling himself The Inventor. Preying on lonely Jersey City teenagers, The Inventor recruited them to do his dirty work. The Inventor was eventually revealed to be a man-bird hybrid who was kidnapping teens to use their bodies as power sources in his robotic experiments. Kamala defeated The Inventor with the help of her friends in her first major battle.
Her heart remains with Jersey City no matter where her adventures take her, and when an effort to gentrify her neighborhood was revealed to be the result of machinations by Hydra, she took it personally. (Especially since they used her likeness around town in advertisements.) With the help of a new friend from school, she stopped Hydra in their tracks and once again saved her hometown. She would take Hydra on again with the Champions at her side at the culmination of the Secret Empire event.
Since her first transformation into Ms. Marvel, Kamala has gone on not just to save her hometown of Jersey City, but the world as well as a member of the Avengers, New Warriors, and Champions.
During the events of Civil War II, Kamala would find herself at odds with her idol and mentor Captain Marvel. Realizing that they landed on different sides of the philosophy at the heart of the conflict, Kamala chose to walk away from her hero in one of the most difficult decisions she has had to make.
After becoming disillusioned with the Avengers, Kamala quit the team to lead a new team with Spider-Man (Miles Morales) and Nova (Sam Alexander). They were quickly joined by Hulk (Amadeus Cho), Viv (daughter of Vision), and Cyclops (a time-displaced Scott Summers). Together as the Champions, they fought for the little guy, from taking down a human trafficker, to fighting militant oppressors in another country, to rescuing a group of helpless Chitauri in far off space. Kamala left the team to clear her head and take some time to herself, but the Champions team continues to grow as more young heroes vow to make a difference.
Most recently, in her newest solo title The Magnificent Ms. Marvel, Kamala traveled to a distant world to defend its inhabitants from an invading force. She discovered an ancient Kree ship in the sky, which Kamala entered alone. Inside she learned a Kree warrior had once fought the invasion back before, and Kamala was granted the warrior’s costume with abilities she’s still discovering. She saved the entire planet but returned home to personal tragedy, learning that her father is afflicted with a rare disease. Not even her superpowers nor the resources of Tony Stark can save him.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is ready for a character like Kamala: young, hopeful, and selflessly brave. And Marvel looks to have found those qualities in actress Iman Vellani, who will be the first to portray Kamala in live-action. What will the future hold for Kamala in the Disney+ series—will she be saving entire planets or staying local as Jersey City’s homegrown hero? And how big of a role will Captain Marvel play, if any?
Only time will tell, but we can’t help but hope that Brie Larson makes an appearance, even if it’s just her appearance in Kamala’s first transformation, staying true to the comics.
Iman Vellani will also star in The Marvels, the sequel to Captain Marvel, where she’ll appear alongside Larson and Teyonah Parris, who reprises his role as Monica Rambeau. In the comics, Rambeau was once Captain Marvel as well, and clearly the three characters’ paths are bound to cross on the big screen too. The Marvels is currently scheduled for a July 28, 2023, release.
Note: This story was updated with the latest information about Ms. Marvel on 6/7/22. It was originally published in September 2019.
Kelly Knox is a freelance writer who also contributes to StarWars.com, DCComics.com, Nerdist, and more. Follow her on Twitter at @kelly_knox to talk Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons, and comics.