The upcoming Disney Plus series Ms. Marvel has already upset some comic book fans with changes to Kamala Khan’s powers, but Ms. Marvel’s co-creator has defended the decision.
In the comics, Kamala Khan is an Inhuman who becomes Ms. Marvel after her powers are activated via exposure to the Terrigen Mist. This grants her the ability to stretch and reshape her body in various ways. Initially these powers, which also allowed Kamala to shapeshift and originally saw her taking on the appearance of Carol Danvers, tied into her insecurities over her own appearance and heritage. The story of Kamala learning to use her powers also became the story of her learning to see herself as a hero.
In the Disney Plus Ms. Marvel series, Kamala’s powers are instead based on energy projection. While trailers still tease her using enlarged fists, as in the comics, they are now fists made of bright purple light. The change has proved controversial and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige recently explained the decision. Now, Kamala Khan’s co-creator and Ms. Marvel executive producer Sana Amanat has weighed in on the reasons for the change. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Amanat cited a desire to tie Kamala more closely to Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau, with whom she will appear in The Marvels:
“Obviously, 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. Obviously, she goes into The Marvels.”
Amanat went on to recognize the concerns of fans, but offered reassurance that both she and her fellow Ms. Marvel co-creator G. Willow Wilson felt that the change made sense in the context of the stories being told in the MCU:
“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 reassured fans that the spirit of Kamala’s powers remains the same:
“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.”
Fans will be able to judge for themselves whether the change to Ms. Marvel’s powers was the right move for the MCU when Ms. Marvel arrives on Disney Plus next month. The series welcomes Iman Vellani to the MCU as Kamala and will see the character’s origins changed, along with her powers, although details of her the new source of Kamala’s powers are yet to be revealed.
Here is the synopsis for Ms. Marvel:
Marvel Studios’ “Ms. Marvel” is a new, original series that introduces Kamala Khan, a Muslim American teenager growing up in Jersey City. An avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, Kamala is a Super Hero mega fan with an oversized imagination—particularly when it comes to Captain Marvel. Yet Kamala feels like she doesn’t fit in at school and sometimes even at home—that is, until she gets super powers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Life gets better with super powers, right?
The upcoming MCU series Ms. Marvel stars Iman Vellani, Aramis Knight, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Matt Lintz, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Fawad Khan, Mehwish Hayat, and Farhan Akhtar. Episodes of the series will be directed by Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah, Meera Menon, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, with Bisha K. Ali serving as the head writer. Kevin Feige is involved in the series as an executive producer.
Ms. Marvel will hit Disney Plus on June 8th. Stay tuned for all the latest news surrounding the upcoming Disney Plus series from Kevin Feige, and subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: Entertainment Weekly