Ms. Marvel just finished its impressive run on Disney+, giving Kamala Khan her MCU introduction in a record-breaking time after her debut in the comics. The series had to deal with plenty of complaints and issues from different sects of the fandom, but almost no topic was more hotly contested than the new take on her superpowers.
Instead of Kamala having her comic-accurate embiggening powers, which flowed directly through her body, the Ms. Marvel show took a more cosmic route by using her bangle to unlock her abilities. These allowed her to project light in all shapes and sizes, although she took on some of her classic comic powers by the end of Episode 6 as she faced Damage Control's impending attack.
Even with the controversy surrounding this change, these new superpowers hit the mark with many fans as Kamala went on her journey from Avengers fangirl to actual superhero. However, thanks to a new round of concept art from development, it's been revealed that those powers almost looked drastically different for the heroine's MCU debut.
Ms. Marvel's Different Superpowers in Concept Art
New concept art from multiple Marvel artists shared a look into the development process for Kamala Khan's powers in Ms. Marvel.
Marvel Studios Visual Development Supervisor Jackson Sze posted a look at Kamala using powers that have a vastly different color and feel than what they were in the show. The light in her powers is yellow instead of blue, and the visuals reference Kamala being a gamer as she shows her "youth and passion:"
"An early keyframe done to explore Ms. Marvel light powers and how she uses them to traverse the city. Leaning into her as a gamer and how her powers manifest to reflect her youth and passion."
In Ms. Marvel, Kamala used small light platforms to traverse across the city instead of the long ramps and loops seen in the concept art.
Instead of projecting a path ahead of her, Kamala's powers were kept more contained while she moved quickly across Jersey City.
Concept artist Jeff Simpson shared another image of Kamala using her powers, which seems to be from the end of Episode 5. This looks similar to when the dimensional rift broke in Pakistan, and it even appears to have Kamala's grandmother in then scene as well:
"One of the keyframes I did for Mrs. Marvel! Ms. Marvel With Jackson Sze as lead!"
Concept artist Karla Ortiz added her own art to the mix, providing early looks at two versions of Kamala's Captain Marvel costume that she wore for AvengerCon.
One of them looked almost identical to Brie Larson's classic costume with blue shoulders and a red torso, also including a blue sash around her waist. The image also includes cosplayers recreating looks for Captain America and Thor in the background as Kamala poses for her own pictures.
Ortiz included the same image with another version of the Captain Marvel costume, this one more similar to the one Carol Danvers wore in Avengers: Endgame. The blue and red are inverted in this look, all the way down to the sash being red, and the legs more distinctly use both colors instead of them being meshed together.
Ortiz noted how these pictures were developed long before Iman Vellani joined the cast, remembering how much fun she had bringing a Comic-Con feel to the scene in the image:
"Excited to share some of the art I've done for Ms. Marvel in the coming days! We'll start with Kamala's Captain Marvel cosplay concept art! These were done long before the wonderful Iman Vellani was cast. I had a lot of fun getting that 'get your pic taken at a con' feel! :)"
The Many Takes on Ms. Marvel's MCU Powers
Ms. Marvel's powers coming into a live-action setting in the MCU have been a hot topic over the last few months, especially with the drastic changes Marvel used to bring them to the small screen. As it turns out, those adjustments were almost even more drastic, although it was all in service of showcasing the kind of person Kamala Khan is within the MCU.
Highlighting her time as a gamer would have fit in fairly seamlessly with her fan-fiction storytelling abilities, particularly considering how she's a 16-year-old who's a diehard superhero fan in the MCU. In the end, the show did the best they could with Kamala exploring her new powers, taking one step at a time literally and figuratively as she evolved into the world's newest hero.
As for the costume, the look in the concept art appears to be a more direct replication of Captain Marvel's outfit rather than one that looks more like homemade cosplay. Even though Kamala and Bruno's work on her outfit was impressive of its own accord, it looked more reminiscent of something two teenagers could make at home before Kamala's mother gifted her with her new superhero threads.
All six episodes of Ms. Marvel are now streaming on Disney+.
