Following Marvel Studios' efforts with Moon Knight, the next Disney+ series on the docket is Iman Vellani's Ms. Marvel, with the young heroine set to make her long-awaited MCU debut in June. While fans are surely excited to see Kamala Khan find her way in the Marvel universe, especially ahead of her inclusion in The Marvels, her superpowers have been a hot topic in the last few weeks.
The first full trailer for Ms. Marvel revealed that Kamala's powers will be changed from how they appear in the comics, giving her cosmic energy rather than embiggening abilities. While this is already causing some major backlash from fans due to how drastic the alterations are, there's still interest in seeing how this new version of Ms. Marvel ties into the MCU.
These powers will seemingly come from a set of hefty bracelets that were shown in the trailer, although there is still plenty of mystery surrounding their place in the story as it progresses. Now, their cosmic powers have seemingly been confirmed in a recent report detailing what fans are in for with Iman Vellani's debut series.
How Does Ms. Marvel Get Her Powers?
A recent excerpt from Empire Magazine confirmed how Kamala Khan gets her superpowers in Marvel Studios' Ms. Marvel series.
The article explained that Kamala finds a pair of bangles that give her "cosmic superstrength" along with the "ability to manifest purple crystals" when she puts them on her wrists.
"...When Khan obtains her own cosmic superstrength and ability to manifest purple crystals via a pair of bangles, she learns that, in a similar way to Peter Parker and Miles Morales, having a dual identity is messy."
This is a drastic change from the comics, in which a mutation-causing Terrigen Mist that was released into the Earth's atmosphere unlocked her Inhuman abilities that allowed her to grow to almost any size and stretch out her limbs. In the comics, Kamala doesn't need bangles or any other type of device to use her shape-shifting powers.
Ms. Marvel comic writer Sana Amanat also shared her excitement for the series, on which she served as a consultant during its development. She compared Kamala Khan's high school adventure to past coming of age stories like Saved by the Bell and Degrassi:
“I grew up reading Nancy Drew mysteries and watching Saved by the Bell and Degrassi. I loved coming-of-age stories. It's all about having crushes and self-discovery."
Helping to reimagine the character in 2013, Amanat wanted to make sure that the new version of Ms. Marvel related to younger readers with her "fun and awkward" personality. Now, having put in two years of work on the character's MCU introduction, the writer is feeling the nerves ahead of Ms. Marvel's upcoming June release:
“I wanted to create a character that was relatable and fun and awkward, who happened to be Muslim. It's a historic moment, but it's also nerve-racking. I've given two years to this show; it, been made with a lot of love and a lot of sweat.”
The MCU Reimagining Ms. Marvel on Disney+
Even though Kamala Khan will still have the effect with her powers that fans expected in terms of the action and fighting, this report confirms that they'll be vastly different from her comics counterpart. This isn't the first time a Marvel movie has made this kind of change (see Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man), but it's one that's causing plenty of discourse amongst the fan base.
While this drastic change is certainly a concern for many viewers, there may be some reasoning to it as she joins the MCU's biggest names.
2023 will see Ms. Marvel team up with both Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau, both of whom got their powers from different cosmic sources in Captain Marvel and WandaVision. The fact that the teenager's powers come from a similar cosmic source will likely help tie her more closely with her The Marvels co-stars, particularly with Kamala already confirmed to be a die-hard Captain Marvel fangirl.
In the end, fans will likely never know what prompted Marvel to make this adjustment for the new character, even with various potential reasons on the table - such as separating her from Mr. Fantastic. Even taking concerns about this being too big of a departure from the comics into account, fans are hoping that everything else coming in the series will help make that change less noticeable.
Ms. Marvel will premiere on Disney+ on June 8.
