Ms. Marvel, the newest MCU limited series on Disney Plus, is coming on June 8th! Like the rest of the MCU, Ms. Marvel is based on a comic book superhero—and that hero has a surprisingly complex history. We’re counting down the days until the show drops (it looks so good!), but until then, there’s plenty to explore from the comics to prepare. Here’s everything you need to know!
Who is Ms. Marvel?
Ms. Marvel will introduce Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), a 16-year-old Pakistani-American girl living in Jersey City. Kamala loves the Avengers and Captain Marvel, and so she’s floored when she suddenly gains superpowers (getting the chance to become one of the heroes she idolizes). The series will follow Khan as she finds out that the superhero life isn’t everything she imagined it would be.
Originally, Ms. Marvel was the title used by Carol Danvers, while Captain Marvel was a Kree superhero named Mar-Vell. Then, in July 2012, Carol took on the mantle of Captain Marvel herself, paving the way for the MCU version of the hero played by Brie Larson.
Then, a new Ms. Marvel series debuted in 2014, written by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Adrian Alphona. The new Ms. Marvel series was groundbreaking, as it was one of the first series to highlight a Muslim Pakistani-American character. The new Ms. Marvel was an instant success, with ComicsAlliance.com calling it, “the most important comic published in 2014.” In addition to showcasing a Muslim character written by a Muslim writer, Ms. Marvel was filled with both written and visual humor, and a cast of fun and memorable characters.
With the original comics so beloved, how will the series compare? Will the MCU capture what fans love most about Ms. Marvel?
Secret Wars, Nega-Bands, and More
So far, it looks like the new series will be faithful to all the best elements of the comics. Iman Vellani’s Kamala looks like she’ll be the same awkward, lovable Avengers fangirl who adopts Carol’s old moniker. It also looks like she’ll face the same struggles as the original Kamala—juggling school, overprotective parents, and her obligations to her Muslim Pakistani community with her newfound powers and desire to be a hero. Plus, all the supporting characters readers love—her brother Amir, her best friends Bruno and Nakia, the mysterious Red Dagger—will also be making their on-screen debuts. (No word yet on whether Lockjaw, the biggest and goodest boy in the universe, will also make an appearance.)
Interestingly, the original Ms. Marvel run intersected with Marvel’s 2015 Secret Wars event, in which Earth-616 is almost destroyed in a collision with another universe. In it, Kamala finally meets Carol when the world is on the brink of annihilation. With the theme of the MCU’s Phase 4 being the multiverse, and Kang the Conqueror looking to destroy some realities in his multiversal war, will Ms. Marvel take some elements from Secret Wars? If it doesn’t happen in the Disney Plus series, it could happen in 2023’s The Marvels, in which Kamala will team up with Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau.
Of course, MCU movies and series aren’t direct adaptations of the comics they’re based on, so we’ll see some significant differences in the series, too. For starters, the nature of Kamala’s powers will be different. In the comics, Kamala is an Inhuman—a race of humans whose ancient ancestors were genetically modified by the Kree. Kamala’s powers are activated in the first issue when she’s exposed to a vapor called the Terrigen Mist, which awakens her dormant Inhuman genes and gives her the power to shapeshift, grow, and shrink.
In the series, Kamala will be getting her powers from a set of bracelets that look like the Nega-Bands, Kree artifacts that Captain Marvel uses in the comics. Instead of shapeshifting, she’ll be able to manipulate some kind of cosmic energy. There’s speculation that Marvel doesn’t plan on introducing the Inhumans into the MCU anytime soon, so it makes sense to have a simpler explanation for Kamala’s sudden new abilities than a separate species of human. Plus, the Nega-Bands connect Kamala more closely to Captain Marvel, which will set her up nicely for her team-up with Carol and Monica.
Another significant difference that we’ll probably see in the show is that, unlike her comics counterpart, the MCU’s Kamala will be living in a post-Blip world in which all of humanity is still reeling from Thanos wiping out half of the population for five years. The Blip has had some kind of impact on most of the MCU entries that have come out since Endgame, so don’t be surprised if it affects the plot and characters in Ms. Marvel, too.
Ms. Marvel premieres on Disney Plus on June 8!
(image: Marvel)
