The Disney+ series Ms. Marvel is being hotly debated about regarding the origins of her comic book self and the version adapted by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The character portrayed by Iman Vellani is that of a New Jersey teen coming into her powers via a mysterious family heirloom of which the origin and potential are yet to be revealed.
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Even though the comic tells a different story when it comes to the cosmic powers of the mini-Marvel entity, the powers that are on display on-screen are largely representative of DC’s Green Lantern. One factor, however, has been kept untarnished from the original comic storyline, and that is Ms. Marvel’s powers seem to vary according to her psychology and how she perceives herself and the world.
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Ms. Marvel’s Power Shift: From The Comic To The MCU
Kamala Khan is an intricately carved niche within the Marvel world. Her origin although relatively new (Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal, 2014) has been an important one for the conceivable future of the Marvel universe.
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The powers of the high-schooler started when she got enveloped in the Terrigen Mist which had swirled over Jersey City, and her along with it, while she was rebelling against her parents by attending a party at the Jersey Waterfront. While cocooned within the Mist, she has a vision of being reprimanded by her 3 favorite superheroes — Captain America, Iron Man, and Captain Marvel — who ask her what is it that she wanted. Bullied and harassed, she asks to be like her hero and wakes up to find that she now possesses abilities.
In the comics developed by G. Willow Wilson, Ms. Marvel can polymorph into any imaginable shape, after undergoing Terrigenesis. She also possesses the power to heal herself if critically injured simply by morphing back to her human self. She also has a latent Inhuman lineage due to being “activated” by the Terrigen Bomb.
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, transformed the comic’s polymorphic abilities into a sort of intra-dimensional that allows the powers to extend outside of her body without her actually changing shape.
The Ongoing Debate About Ms. Marvel’s Power Deviation
The series writer, Bisha K. Ali, has said that although the core material from the source has been kept the same, the intention in the writers’ room was not to throw all the originality out the window. After a long debate, the route chosen by the MCU creators was one that would reflect and be consequential to the larger cinematic universe.
“It was a big conversation between me and Kevin [Feige] and Sana [Amanat], right from the start, of how we translate this to the screen. The thing that was really vital to me was that in the comic books, her powers are inherently connected to her internal journey — how she feels about herself, how she’s navigating the world, how she perceives herself. Whatever we changed them to had to have that same connectivity with her psychology and the journey she’s going through and the way she sees herself. I think we really accomplished that. I think if fans can give it a chance, they might see our reasoning.”
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Even though fans of the original comics are outraged, some do understand that a simplistic adaptation will not stand in the long run and it is exactly that visionary stance of the Marvel Studios that has allowed it to become the largest and most successful franchise in the world.
“It’s a different story than what exists in the comics. What’s important for Kamala in this show and in the future is that it all links up and is connected.”
With that Bisha K. Ali really did confirm that once Ms. Marvel’s individual journey of self-discovery ends, her stepping into the broader Marvel Universe is inevitable and when she does, her role will be meant to surpass the boundaries set by the comics.
Ms. Marvel is now streaming on Disney+. Catch new episodes every Wednesday.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
