The Ms. Marvel fandom has been in an uproar since the recent reveal that Kamala Khan’s superpowers will deviate from her comic book power set and have a different look and feel from the elasticized polymorphing abilities she uses in her long-running series. Co-creator Sana Amanat recently spoke up to let fans know they won’t be disappointed with the on-screen version of Ms. Marvel.
There’s no question that whatever her onscreen origin story turns out to be, Kamala will get her power in a different way than she did in the comics. The Earth-616 comics origin hinges heavily on outside plotlines involving the Inhumans and their mutagenic Terrigen Mist and though there’s definitely signs that the Inhumans may be making a comeback to the MCU they almost certainly won’t in time for Ms. Marvel’s onscreen debut. Therefore the series creators felt that MCU Kamala should be more grounded in the MCU proper.
Amanat, who co-created the character with writer G. Willow Wilson, and artists Adrian Alphona and Jamie McKelvie, explained to Entertainment Weekly, “so much of the show is an adaptation, and we thought it was important to make sure that her powers are linking to larger stories in the Marvel universe. We wanted to make sure there is a little bit more story to tell after this series.”
Khan’s powers in the trailers appear to be based on alien, perhaps Kree, artifacts, much like the original Captain Marvel comic book character relied on Kree “Nega-Bands.” Amanat, explains, “The powers do look different, which is very controversial. I know people are like, ‘How dare you change the powers!’ I know people are upset about it, but as someone who’s probably one of the closest people to this character from the inception, and having spoken to Willow about this as well, I think Willow and I have always felt that this made sense. This was the right move because there are bigger stories to tell.”
Amanat also maintained that Khan’s on-screen powers are going to be presented in a way that’s just as fun and big and “bouncy” as her comic book powers — and are specifically intended to make the character shine both as a superhero and as a TV star. Speaking on the look of the character, Amanat noted:
It’s really fun to give Kamala different kinds of powers that feel big in scope and cinematic in a different way. We can do a lot of fun things with her. I don’t want to spoil too much about how she uses her powers, but they’re fun and bouncy. At the same point, the essence of what the powers are in the comics is there, both from a metaphorical standpoint and from a visual standpoint. We’re doing the embiggened fist. We’re doing the elements that make her feel and look kind of crazy, but also really cool. I think it’s going to be familiar to people, but at the same time, different in a fresh and unique way.
Amanat also assures longtime readers that she’s not the only one on board with the character’s new interpretation. Fellow creator and longtime series writer G. Willow Wilson has also given her stamp of approval. “Having spoken to Willow about this as well, I think Willow and I have always felt that this made sense” Amanat told EW. “This was the right move because there are bigger stories to tell.”
Ms. Marvel will premiere on June 8, 2022 on Disney Plus.