While MCU fans only have a short time until new content premieres, Marvel Studios is keeping viewers entertained with a brand-new trailer for the upcoming Ms. Marvel series. Iman Vellani made her first full appearance as Kamala Khan in the show's official trailer, giving the franchise its second new hero of the year, including one of its youngest in history.
Ms. Marvel holds a key place in the MCU's Phase 4 slate, as it sets the new hero up for her first movie appearance in The Marvels alongside Brie Larson's Carol Danvers and Teyonah Parris' Monica Rambeau. This also comes with a powerset never seen before in the MCU, although that very powerset is the subject of some controversy ahead of the series' June 8 debut.
Reports teased that Marvel Studios was drastically altering Kamala Khan's powers from the comics, making them similar to DC's Green Lantern rather than allowing her body to expand physically. Now, after seeing those powers in action, fans are making their voices heard about this unexpected change.
Marvel Fans Outraged over Ms. Marvel's MCU Powers
The first full trailer for Ms. Marvel confirmed that Kamala Khan's powers are vastly different from those in the comics, as she uses cosmic energy constructs instead of enlarging, extending, and 'embiggening' her physical person. This change induced angry reactions from fans as the footage debuted to the public, including the following thoughts on Twitter.
@lesbobomb facetiously looked into the thought process behind this change, using some NSFW language to explain why Marvel wanted to make Ms. Marvel look different from the Fantastic Four's Mr. Fantastic:
''they rightfully changed ms marvel's powers because mr fantastic already stretches' get the fuck out of here"
@EvanReadsComics shared his disappointment with the change. Despite not even being a diehard fan of the character, he saw his disappointment as a "telling" sign for how important this change is for the character:
"I'm not even Ms. Marvel's biggest shooter. I'm like a very casual fan of hers. So the fact that even I still feel a weight of disappointment on my chest over her powers is probably very telling."
@MattDraperYT wasn't pleased with the change in Kamala Khan's powers, but he still has hope that her character and personality "will remain intact" as the show progresses:
"I’m disappointed they changed Kamala’s powers for the show. There’s more to Ms Marvel than powers, but they play a big role in her growth. Hopefully, Kamala’s relationship to her culture, faith & family will remain intact because it’s the specificity of her story that’s special."
@planetfrosts isn't as optimistic that the show will be good without Kamala's "actual powers" being used in the MCU:
"the ms marvel show could’ve been so good if they kept her ACTUAL POWERS"
@chaoscorpss expressed hope that the bracelets giving Kamala her powers don't make it out of the end of the series. Should this happen, they feel the hero may have a chance to gain more comic-accurate powers:
"praying that bracelet breaks by the end of the show and activates her real powers cuz this ain’t it #MsMarvel"
@GleanTheReynard sees Kamala's embiggening powers as something "integral to her character," particularly as they tie back to her culture and history.
"Once again. Kamala’s powers are integral to her character arc of embracing her ethnicity and culture, stripping those away erases a big part of her character."
@Anthony39567472 understands why some fans are upset with the change, especially with them being similar in nature to Captain Marvel's. Even so, he described the change as "alright:"
"So I've watched the Ms. Marvel trailer and imo it's alright I like it, BUT I understand why the other people hate it. Her having captain marvel powers is sooo weird"
@0MEGARANGER has no faith that the MCU will do the character justice, especially with her powers looking so similar to DC's Green Lantern. He bluntly said the change is "a grave mistake" and urged fans to read the comics to learn more about the real character:
"I urge all of you to read these runs. The MCU is not going to and will not do her or her comics justice. Kamala being the Green Lantern of Marvel is not her character whatsoever and deciding to change her powers was a grave mistake. Read about the real Ms. Marvel!
@matheusthemelo isn't sure how to feel about the drastic change to Kamala's powers, seeing it as "one of the most important elements" of her character in the comics:
"I don’t know how I feel about Kamala’s change of powers and origin story. Her origin is so unique and add so much to her. It’s one of the most important elements of her character arc btw. #MsMarvel"
The Hollywood Reporter's Richard Newby looked back to an interview with Ms. Marvel creator G. Willow Wilson, where she said the character's powers may not translate as well into live-action. Even so, he's optimistic about the cosmic direction the show is taking if Kamala's Inhuman backstory isn't being explored:
"I really like the Ms. Marvel power change. Like G. Willow Wilson said in 2019, those embiggening powers are very comic booky and weren’t created with an eye towards live-action adaptation. I also appreciate the cosmic route since they’re not going the Inhuman direction."
Fans Not Shy About MCU's Ms. Marvel
Despite how much success the MCU has built over the past 14 years, the franchise doesn't always take every aspect of every character directly from the comics to the big or small screen. But this time, with the change to Ms. Marvel's powers being so drastic compared to what she does in the comics, many fans aren't exactly happy with the change at the moment.
Since Marvel is still seemingly avoiding its cache of Inhuman-centric storylines, the bracelets seen in the trailer appear to be the source of Kamala Khan's powers in the MCU. It's still largely a mystery how she finds herself in possession of those bracelets, but they will lead to Kamala gaining her abilities in the MCU rather than her going through Inhuman terrigenesis.
Although there's currently an outrage over this change, there is still plenty of mystery regarding how these powers will affect Kamala as a person and an MCU character. Hopefully, the MCU will be able to give fans a version of Kamala Khan that feels enough like her comic counterpart to justify the new power set.
Ms. Marvel will begin streaming on Disney+ on June 8, 2022.
