Kamala Khan daydreams about superheroes. She moderates and writes fanfiction about them. She happens to live in the Marvel Universe, so it’s actually a pretty reasonable dream that she might get superpowers. On the day she does — let’s say it’s June 3 — everything will change.
Created by [amazon text=Sana Amanat, G. Willow Wilson, Stephen Wacker, and Adrian Alphona&asin=078519021X], the Muslim American teenager got exposed to the Terrigen Mists of the Inhumans. That exposure gave her a variety of size-changing and stretching powers, which she calls “embiggening.” There’s also clearly some Kree superpower in there, just like her idol Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel. Assuming the name Ms. Marvel (Carol’s first superhero identity), Kamala has been a Champion, an Avenger, and of course, a superhero.
In the trailer released by Marvel today, it looks like she’s going to be a hit with a whole new audience and her original readers. Show creator Bisha K. Ali captured the fanfic vibe. Kamala (Iman Vellani) cosplays in Captain Marvel’s uniform. It looks like she has “Negabands,” which were what Marvel’s first Captain Marvel wore in the comics. Most importantly, she has the powers.
Those probably won’t be triggered by Terrigen Mists, though… maybe. The Inhumans haven’t officially appeared in the MCU, despite a failed TV series. This comes out after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so maybe there’s a stray cloud of mist from an alternate universe where people watched the show. Maybe they’re setting the stage for a reintroduction of the Inhumans. They’re definitely setting up the theatrical The Marvels.
Ms. Marvel launches June 8, following Moon Knight on March 30.
