Ms. Marvel, the seventh television series in the fourth phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), starts streaming on Disney+ Hotstar on Wednesday, June 8. The television miniseries is based on a Marvel Comics character named Kamala Khan, who aspires to be a superhero, and considers Carol Danvers a.k.a Captain Marvel her role model.
Pakistani-Canadian actress Iman Vellani will be starring as Kamala Khan a.k.a Ms. Marvel in the series. Kamala is from Pakistan but lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is Marvel's first Muslim superhero. We bring you several interesting theories about Kamala's superpowers, and what to expect from the show, based on the Ms. Marvel comics and the trailer.
Most of the time, she lives in a fantasyland, dreaming about becoming a superhero and saving the world.
The trailer for Ms. Marvel shows Kamala doodling in her notebook. She draws some flying pigs, and writes reminders like "driving lesson today" and "essay is due".
"When pigs fly" is a way of saying that something will never happen. Probably, Kamala feels that she will never be able to fly like Captain Marvel. She also draws a sketch of Ant-Man vs Ant-Man, which could be a nod to the series' connection to the upcoming MCU movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. There is also a book on ancient Egypt on the table, which could be a nod to Marvel Studios' Moon Knight.
Kamala Khan In The Marvel Comics
The character of Kamala Khan was introduced by Marvel Comics in 2013 in a Captain Marvel issue. Kamala got her own solo series for the first time in 2014.
In the Marvel Comics, Kamala is an Inhuman, who acquired her powers when a Terrigen Mist bomb enveloped her. Terrigen Mist is a gaseous substance produced by Terrigen Crystals. When Inhumans are exposed to Terrigen Mist, they undergo Terrigenesis, developing superhuman powers.
Inhumans are a race of altered human beings that are the result of experiments on prehistoric humans by the extraterrestrial race, the Kree, who manipulated their genetic code, causing them to develop the potential to acquire superhuman abilities through a process called Terrigenesis.
The concept of Terrigen Mist was introduced to the MCU through Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, in which Baron Mordo tells Doctor Strange that Blackagar Bolt is the Keeper of the Terrigen Mist.
Terrigenesis is a genetic mutation triggered when an Inhuman is exposed to Terrigen Mist.
In the Marvel Comics, the Terrigen Mist enveloped Kamala, causing her to envision her favourite superheroes Iron Man, Captain Marvel, and Captain America. After being exposed to the Terrigen Mist, Kamala takes on the appearance of Captain Marvel, and realises that she could stretch her limbs. However, she decides to be herself and embraces her new-found powers.
Kamala Lives In Fantasyland
The Marvel Studios' title card that plays in the trailer is stylised like comic book illustrations, and the frame has a hand-written look. Speech bubbles are shown, depicting Kamala's fantasyland.
Kamala speaks to a counsellor in her school, who has a cup with G.W.W. written on it. This is most likely a nod to G Willow Wilson, the writer of the Ms. Marvel comics.
Zoe Zimmer, Bruno Carrelli, Kamran And Kareem Are New Characters To Be Seen In Ms. Marvel
Several new characters such as Zoe Zimmer, Nakia Bahadir, Bruno Carrelli, Kamran and Kareem will be seen in Ms. Marvel. Zoe is a popular girl in Kamala's school who bullies the latter. In the Marvel comics, Kamala saved Zoe from drowning in the Hudson river, following which they became friends.
Nakia and Bruno will be seen in the series as Kamala's friends. Bruno works at Circle Q, a convenience store in New Jersey, which will later serve as the unofficial headquarters for Ms. Marvel.
In the comics, Kamran is an Inhuman who was exposed to the Terrigen Mist. As a result, he acquired the power to emanate bluish energy, or exhibit bioluminescence. However, a villain named Lineage later recruits Kamran.
Captain Marvel Is Kamala's Role Model
The Weeknd's Blinding Lights plays in the background of the trailer, and is a metaphor to the brightness of the energy Ms. Marvel emanates. Kamala imagines herself wearing Captain Marvel's costume, and winning the title of the Homecoming queen. Though Ms. Marvel is an Inhuman in the comics, she will probably be depicted differently in the series.
Kamala wears a jacket similar to the one Carol Danvers wore in Captain Marvel (2019). Kamala's jacket has a Captain Marvel patch on it, and her helmet is painted with the colours seen on her role model's costume.
How Kamala Khan Becomes Ms. Marvel
At some point in the series, Kamala will enter an attic, which could be a secret laboratory. She will notice a box, and on opening it, she will find a pair of bracelets. In the trailer, it is seen that as soon as she touches the bracelets, the energy around her begins to change, and the lights flicker.
The bracelets could be Quantum Bands, which are unique energy-manipulating devices of incredible power which the cosmic being Eon awarded to the ones appointed to become the Protectors of the Universe.
The bands could also have an extraterrestrial origin. For instance, they could be ancient Kree technology left on Earth thousands of years ago. A Skrull, which is an extraterrestrial shapeshifter, may have hidden the bracelets in the attic because they could wreak havoc if they fall in the wrong hands.
Unaware of the bracelets' powers, Kamala decides to keep them, so that she could wear them with her Captain Marvel outfit during the Cosplay at the Avengers' Expo. It is during the expo that Kamala gains superpowers and becomes Ms. Marvel.
Kamala’s Powers Explained
The bracelets, which may draw energy from the Quantum Realm, or are powered by the Power Stone, giving Kamala cosmic powers.
When Kamala gains her superhuman abilities for the first time, she is likely to see flashes of the memories of the Kree warrior who last wore the bracelets. The vibrant colours and cosmic waves emanating from Ms. Marvel will be similar to the energy seen around Carol Danvers when she is powered by the Tesseract, and the radiation around Monica Rambeau, when she Rambeau, when she enters the Hex and becomes Photon.
Captain Marvel, Photon, and Ms. Marvel will be seen in the upcoming MCU film The Marvels, where the three superheroes will find themselves involved in a Kree-Skrull war.
Kamala has several posters of Captain Marvel in her room, including an artwork which is the same as the cover of Marvel Comics' Earth's Mightiest Hero Volume 5.
Kareem a.k.a Red Dagger
Another important character who will be seen in Ms. Marvel is Kareem. In the Marvel comics, he is a masked vigilante named Red Dagger who protects Pakistan. Kareem may be seen training Kamala in the series, and teaching her how to use her powers.
Skrulls And Krees To Be Seen In Ms. Marvel?
A group of strange people will be seen, and would probably be a part of an enforcement agency which searches for Inhumans or Skrulls. In the trailer, these people are seen getting off black SUVs.
Some more mysterious figures will be seen, who will probably be Kree Sleeper cell agents. Kamala will be seen protecting Kamran from the enforcement agency, who may have come to capture him because he is an Inhuman.
Ms. Marvel will probably be seen as a shapeshifter in the series, similar to her comic book origins. At some point in the series, she will visit her hometown Pakistan, probably to attend a relative's wedding.
Towards the end of the trailer, Ms. Marvel is seen sitting atop a street light, and is looking over Manhattan. This scene recreates the cover of the Ms. Marvel comic issue number five.
Pakistani actor Fawad Khan and Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar will also be making an appearance in the series.
Ms. Marvel will be aired on Disney+ Hotstar on June 8, at 12:30 pm IST.