Although Kamala Khan broke the comics mold in 2014 as Marvel’s first Muslim superhero, her polymorphic stretching powers weren’t entirely unfamiliar. After all, the House of Ideas had already popularized similar abilities in 1961 with Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. But when Kamala makes her live-action debut on Disney+ next month, we can definitely expect a few tweaks to her character. In a new interview with Empire, Kevin Feige explained why Ms. Marvel made some of these changes.
The first trailer for Ms. Marvel previously suggested that Kamala’s powers are more cosmic in nature than those of her comic book counterpart. Now, Feige confirms once and for all that this is indeed the case. Many fans have assumed that this is because Marvel is currently developing a Fantastic Four reboot and doesn’t want to introduce two stretching superheroes in the same timeframe. Regardless, Feige hinted that it’s a bit more complicated than that. Specifically, the origin of Kamala’s powers might relate to the overarching storyline that ties all Phase Four projects together.
“[Kamala] came about in a very specific time within the comic-book continuity,” Feige says. “She is now coming into a very specific time within the MCU continuity. And those two things didn’t match…What we will learn about where those powers come from, and how they come about, is specific to the MCU.” He adds, “If you want big, giant hands and arms, well they’re here in spirit, if not in stretchy, plastic-type ways.”
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Feige also discussed Kamala’s role in 2023’s The Marvels, which finds her sharing the screen with Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau. Naturally, this isn’t your typical solo MCU film, as it features three headliners and functions as a sequel to three different Marvel projects. But it sounds like the source of Kamala’s powers will play a major role in driving the plot forward.
“It taps into the future of her story as it connects to her other friends that she will meet in the upcoming film,” added Feige. “She’s interested in knowing, ‘Great, does that mean I’m an Asgardian? Did I get hit with gamma rays?’ No, it’s seemingly none of those things. It goes to her own past and her heritage and lineage.”
Ms. Marvel will premiere on Disney+ on June 8.
How do you feel about Marvel’s changes to Kamala’s backstory? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal
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