Kamala Khan

For the Marvel Cinematic Universe adaption, see Kamala Khan (Marvel Cinematic Universe).
Not to be confused with Kamal Khan.

Kamala Khan
Ms. Marvel
Textless variant cover of Ms. Marvel #2 (March 2014).
Art by Jorge Molina.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearance
  • Background cameo:
  • Captain Marvel #14 (August 2013)
  • Full appearance:
  • All-New Marvel Now! Point One #1 (January 2014)
Created by
In-story information
Full nameKamala Khan
SpeciesInhuman/Mutant hybrid[1]
Place of originJersey City, New Jersey
Team affiliations
Partnerships
Notable aliasesMs. Marvel
Mystic Marvel[4]
Abilities
  • Morphogenetics
  • Superhuman elasticity, plasticity and malleability
  • Appearance/size alteration
  • Regenerative healing factor
  • Bioluminescence
  • Shapeshifting
  • Hard-light generation

Kamala Khan is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by editors Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker, writer G. Willow Wilson, and artists Adrian Alphona and Jamie McKelvie, Kamala is Marvel's first major Muslim protagonist character and Pakistani-American personality with her own comic book. In the Marvel Universe, she is a teenage Pakistani-American from Jersey City, New Jersey with body-morphing abilities who discovers that she has Inhuman genes in the aftermath of the "Inhumanity" storyline. She assumes the mantle of Ms. Marvel from her idol, Carol Danvers, after Danvers becomes Captain Marvel.

Kamala made her first appearance in a background cameo in Captain Marvel #14 (August 2013), before appearing in the anthology All-New Marvel Now! Point One #1 (January 2014) and starring in the solo series Ms. Marvel from February 2014 to March 2019, in a second solo series, The Magnificent Ms. Marvel, from October 2019 to May 2021, and in three Ms. Marvel limited series from November 2019 to January 2023. From 2016 to 2021, the character played a supporting role in the team series Champions and Secret Warriors; Kamala was also the focus of the 2020 event series "Outlawed" after being rendered comatose and made the face of "Kamala's Law", a vigilante minimum age law. An alternate future widowed version of the character named Kamala Carrelli, known by the vigilante name Khan, appears as a main character in the team series Exiles, published from April 2018 to March 2019. Following her solo series' conclusion, Kamala became a reoccurring character in The Amazing Spider-Man (2022), culminating with her death in issue #26 of that series in May 2023. She was then resurrected in the July 2023 X-Men Hellfire Gala storyline where it was revealed that she was an Inhuman/mutant hybrid, synergetic with her MCU adaptation. From 2023 to 2024, Kamala's mutant status was explored in two limited series and the main ongoing X-Men series. Starting in July 2024, Kamala headlined in the second volume of NYX with other young mutants as they adapt to life in New York City in the post-Krakoan Age.

Marvel's announcement that a Muslim character would headline a comic book attracted widespread attention,[5][6][7] with The New York Times Best Seller[8] Ms. Marvel: No Normal winning the 2015 Hugo Award for best graphic story.[9] The character and her solo series have received an overwhelmingly positive critical reception,[10][11] with strong sales for her solo series.[12][13][14] However, her 2019 and 2023 deaths in Champions and The Amazing Spider-Man, respectively, have been criticized as fridging.[15][16][17]

Iman Vellani plays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) miniseries Ms. Marvel, the attraction Avengers: Quantum Encounter (both 2022), the film The Marvels (2023), and the upcoming animated series Marvel Zombies; unlike the comic books, Kamala is reimagined as a latent mutant who uses a magical bangle to create glowing constructs out of hard light. From 2016 to 2019, the character was voiced by Kathreen Khavari in animated series such as Avengers Assemble, Marvel Rising, and Spider-Man. She was voiced by Sandra Saad in the video game Marvel's Avengers (2020) and the animated series Spidey and His Amazing Friends (2021).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference io9 New Mutant announcement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Greg Pak (w), Mahmud Asrar (p), Mahmud Asrar (i), Nolan Woodard (col), VC's Cory Petit (let), Mark Paniccia (ed). "Big Apple Showdown: Part 2" The Totally Awesome Hulk, vol. 1, no. 16 (February 8, 2017). United States: Marvel Comics.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cyclops history was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Champions Vol 2 #25
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  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :26 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference :17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Williamson, Lia (June 1, 2023). "'Amazing Spider-Man' #26 proves comics haven't come very far since Alex DeWitt's fridging". AIPT. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.