The trailer for the Disney+ Ms. Marvel series dropped yesterday, and we got out first official look at Kamala Khan in action. People have already noted that her powers are displayed differently than in the comics, which makes me wonder if this means the MCU is officially closing the doors on the Inhumans.
The Inhumans, for those who don’t know, are (long story short) genetically enhanced humans who are connected to the Marvel alien race the Kree. The Inhuman race was created by the Kree billions of years ago to play a role in the Kree-Skrull war, and they were experimented with by a mutating gas called Terrigen Mist, which granted them superhuman abilities.
The Kree heard a prophecy about the Inhumans being too dangerous and abandoned the project, but the Inhuman society continued, and several members of the Inhuman royal family—most importantly Black Bolt and Medusa—have teamed up with the Avengers to save Earth at times.
For background, in Marvel comics in 2013/14, there was an “Inhumanity” storyline dealing with the aftermath of Terrigen Mists being released on Earth, which activated the dormant Inhuman cells in ordinary people who are descendants of Inhumans. One of those people was Kamala Khan. She developed the powers of shapeshifting, healing, and elongation, the latter being her most well-known power and tied in with her catchphrase “embiggen.”
Kamala took on the Ms. Marvel title from Carol Danvers, who then became Captain Marvel, and went on to become one of the most popular new comic book characters after her introduction in 2013. Comic book writer Dan Slott favorably compared her to teenager Peter Parker, as a character who is “juggling her life, making mistakes, trying to do everything right.”
In the trailer, Kamala seems to put on these mysterious cosmic bracelets that give her cosmic energy very similar to Captain Marvel. This is completely different from her comic counterpart and leads me to believe that, despite rumors that Black Bolt will be showing up in Doctor Strange 2, the MCU is not interested in bringing the Inhumans back.
After all, the failure of their TV series—if you find yourself asking, “What TV series?” well, there you go—represented one of the MCU’s first definitive failures as a brand, and when it comes down to it, the Inhumans have never been that popular even in the comics. While Eternals has done well, it might have been seen as a lot to bring back in another god-like, humanoid group of aliens so soon.
That is somewhat disappointing, as someone who does love the weird alien stuff in the Marvel universe, but what really matters is getting to see Kamala in action and kicking butt. We can all celebrate that. Plus, leaning into her connection to Captain Marvel is a much more instantly identifiable connection, and since Kamala will show up again in The Marvels, the focus is probably more organic.
Ms. Marvel will embiggen our lives on June 8, 2022.
(featured image: Marvel)
