One of the big ways that the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, initially stood out from her comics counterpart is that in the finale of her Disney+ show, it was revealed that she’s a mutant, not an Inhuman. However, with Ms. Marvel’s recent death in the Marvel Comics pages, fans speculated this original version of her would somehow become a mutant too, and sure enough, that is indeed happening. Furthermore, Iman Vellani, the actress who plays Kamala in the MCU, is involved with this status quo change.
Just two months after it was announced that Ms. Marvel would die in Amazing Spider-Man #26, word’s come in that, as a lot of people understandable suspected, her demise is temporary, as is often the case in superhero comics. Fresh off the release of Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel, EW revealed that a four-issue limited series is on the way called Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant, which will depict both her resurrection and her official unveiling as a mutant in the Marvel universe. Vellani is co-writing this series with Ms. Marvel TV writer Sabir Pirzada, Carlos Gomez and Adam Gorham are illustrating the interior artwork, and Sara Pichelli is drawing the main covers. This limited series will also see Kamala getting a new costume that’s designed by artist Jamie McKelvie (who designer her original costume) and is covered with X-Men logos.
Although readers will need to follow along with Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant to learn the circumstances behind Kamala’s resurrection and shift from Inhuman to mutant, the groundwork will start to be laid for that later this month in the X-Men: Hellfire Gala # 1 one-shot. That said, one key aspect of this story has been confirmed: Kamala will be brought back to life through Krakoan technology that’s been a mainstay of X-Men comics in recent years, and that’s how Kamala learns she’s a mutant. However, before she can come to terms with this revelation, the events of Fall of X will, as Marvel itself put it, “throw her world into chaos…and a secret mission on behalf of the X-Men.”
It’s worth noting that rather than obtaining the ability to create hard light construct like the MCU’s Ms. Marvel can do, the one from Earth-616 will retain her “stretchy powers,” as Iman Vellani described them. And for those wondering if Ms. Marvel now being a mutant means that her time as an Inhuman is being retconned, Vellani shared that this isn’t the case, saying:
I want to make it very, very clear that we are not reconning her Inhuman origin. That's a part of Kamala's identity that Marvel editorial and myself would very much like to keep and protect. Our book will absolutely reflect all those core themes of identity that the Ms. Marvel comics have consistently explored — only now there's a whole new label that Kamala has to learn to accept. It's going to be pretty crazy. Hopefully those readers who are kind of getting into the comics after the Disney+ show are are going to have something fun to look forward to on shelves.
The actress also mentioned how co-writing this comic book was “way scarier than joining the MCU” for her, but considering how she was a comic book fan even before she was cast as Ms. Marvel, naturally the opportunity to work on such a project was appealing to her. While this marked Vellani’s first time writing something, the story she hashed out with Sabir Pirzada ultimately boiled down to something she “would want to read.” She also amusingly described Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant as a Very professional tool” to write what is “essentially” her “own fan fiction.”
Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #1 will be available to buy digitally and at your local comic book store on Wednesday, August 30. As for the MCU’s Ms. Marvel, while it remains to be seen if Disney+ subscribers can expect another season of her show. Iman Vellani will be seen reprising the role on November 10 in the upcoming Marvel movie The Marvels, which co-stars Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers and Teyonah Harris’ Monica Rambeau.
