While many have pointed out that Ms. Marvel’s MCU powers are different from the comic books, the show’s star has shed some light on why.

When it comes to Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel series, there seems to be one thing that many people are talking about before a single episode has hit Disney+ and that is about the changes made to the title character’s superpowers from her comic book origin. Even with Kevin Feige stepping in to say that this version of Ms. Marvel is the MCU’s iteration of the young superhero, and that her powers have been altered to account for differences between the comic books and the cinematic worlds, some fans still aren’t happy at the changes. Now star Iman Vellani may have explained something about how her new powers and their origins fit with the wider MCU picture.

Ms. Marvel introduces the first Muslim superhero to the MCU in the form of Kamala Khan, a youngster who idolizes Captain Marvel and wants to be everything that the cosmic heroine is. Eventually, Kamala gets her wish when she comes into contact with a mysterious artifact that sees her develop her own fantastical abilities. However, as well as this origin being different to her comic book variant, it seems that some of her powers themselves, which include being able to stretch and grow parts of her body, have been altered for the show.

While there are obvious issues with stretching body parts and how they frequently look cheap and fake on screen, Kevin Feige also pointed out that in the comic books, Kamala’s powers are in part linked to her Inhuman DNA, and as the Inhumans are not part of the MCU at this point it would make no sense to have that little nugget of information in the show. While speaking to SFX Magazine (via MsMarvelUK), Iman Vellani explained another reason why the changes were needed. She said:

“It taps into the future of her story as it connects to her other friends that she will meet in the upcoming film The Marvels. She’s interested in knowing, “Great, does that mean I’m an Asgardian? Did I get hit with gamma rays?” No, it’s seemingly none of those things. It goes to her own past and her heritage and lineage.”

Related: Ms. Marvel’s Iman Vellani Compares Working on the Disney+ Show and The Marvels

Ms. Marvel will Have A Substantial Role In The Marvels

Currently, there is very little known about the plot of Ms. Marvel and there is even less known about The Marvels, the movie which arrives in July 2023 and will see the teaming up of Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau and Ms. Marvel. As we have seen in previous Disney+ shows, Marvel Studios has been using their television output to be able to tell additional stories to those of the main MCU’s cinematic output. These could be stories that work better in a TV format than a blockbuster movie, or simply stories that they just don’t have time to expand on in some of the movies.

While it was always known that Ms. Marvel would lead directly into The Marvels, we do not know yet how Kamala Khan’s path will take her there, but we can probably expect to see it as part of a post credit scene at the end of the season. Having already seen Monica Rambeau being approached by a Skrull at the end of WandaVision, it is likely that this scene, Ms. Marvel and the Secret Invasion series will all have some part to play in laying the groundwork for The Marvels’ arrival.

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