We all look up to someone. For Kamala Khan, that someone is Carol Danvers, who was originally called Ms. Marvel and now is known as Captain Marvel. Kamala was just a fan who dreamed of working alongside her favorite heroes. Then one day Kamala changed, gaining powers, and now she’s living the dream. So, what happened to Kamala and what’s she doing? Let’s find out!
Kamala Khan was born in Jersey City, New Jersey to Muneeba and Yusef Khan, and is the younger sister of Aamir. As Kamala grew up, she fell in love with costumed heroes like the Avengers, and Ms. Marvel in particular. She became friends with Nakia in kindergarten and Bruno in second grade, staying close friends with them well into their teens. Her family found Kamala to be far less traditional in her ways than the rest of the family, but they still loved her.
By the time Kamala reached high school, she was picked on for being a nerd and Muslim, but Kamala did her best to not let that bother her. One night, she would sneak out of her home to attend a party, but left early because the constant teasing made her uncomfortable. As she wandered home, she was surrounded by a strange fog. This would turn out to be Terrigen Mist, a catalyst for Inhumans, an ancient race of people who would gain powers when exposed to this gas.
The Mists gave Kamala a degree of shapeshifting, her first action being to transform herself into Carol Danvers in her old Ms. Marvel costume. She rescued a classmate from drowning and eventually regained control of her form. She would use most of her powers to stretch, grow, and shrink herself. After saving Bruno’s life during a robbery, Kamala would fashion a costume for herself. Since Danvers was now going by Captain Marvel, she decided to take the old Ms. Marvel moniker.
Her first real foe was the Inventor, who had been responsible for several crimes throughout Jersey City. She would get to team up with Wolverine, which became the first of many interactions with other heroes. She would also be introduced to the Inhuman royal family, where the Lockjaw, the teleporting dog member of the family, would accompany Kamala for a time.
After having several adventures and a number of close calls which tested how much damage she could heal with her shapeshifting, Kamala’s brother Aamir would be kidnapped by Kamran. Kamran, an Inhuman who she had been working with and developing feelings for, wanted to see if Aamir was an Inhuman like Kamala. This led to Kamala getting to team up with none other than Carol Danvers herself. The two would save her brother and Kamala came to see Carol as a mentor.
All this time, Kamala had kept her identity a secret not just to the public, but to her parents as well. By the time she was able to work up the courage to tell her mother, her mom admitted she had known for quite a while, being sure to keep her daughter’s secret safe. Later, when the world was believed to be ending, Kamala was able to make friends with her bully. Then she and Bruno admitted their feelings for one another. Kamala explained that her hero career meant they couldn’t be together right now, and told Bruno not to wait for her.
The Avengers would come a calling for Kamala to join, and she was happy to be part of the team. This would eventually lead to the second hero Civil War, where an Inhuman who could see the most likely future was central to the conflict. Carol Danvers believed that heroes should take these predictions to heart and arrest suspects before the crime could even occur, while Tony Stark believed this was an infringement on human rights since these people technically hadn’t committed any crime yet. As heroes chose sides, Kamala initially stood with her mentor Carol. But when Bruno was greatly injured, leaving his left hand permanently damaged, she realized that she had to pull away from Carol and join Stark’s side. By the end of the war, Kamala felt she needed to reevaluate her work as a hero.
Though she learned a lot and made friends with fellow young heroes, she would realize that the adults had their own priorities and responsibilities to deal with, and that meant some people were overlooked. Kamala, Nova, and Spider-Man would leave the Avengers to join with other teen heroes to form a new version of the Champions to help those that might be missed by the bigger hero teams.
Taking the leadership role, Kamala found she was quite capable of leading not just her team, but several teams as the Champions would become a global endeavor. She and the rest of the team would aide in fighting Hydra and their false Captain America. During a battle that happened at her own school, Kamala and several students would get badly injured to the point where Kamala was put into a coma. While comatose, a senator got Kamala’s Law passed, making underage heroes illegal unless working with a designated hero. When Kamala finally awoke from her coma, she learned what her name was being used for and declared she would never stop being a hero, promising to fight against this new law even if being a hero meant being an outlaw.
There you have it! Kamala Khan as Ms. Marvel took the world by storm and she’s been a hit since her debut. She’s been animated on the small screen, is set to appear in live action in Ms. Marvel, and will eventually land on the big screen as well in The Marvels. What will Kamala end up doing next? Not even Kamala knows! See you next time!
Suggested Reading
Captain Marvel #14, Vol. 7
Ms. Marvel, Vol. 3&4
All-New, All-Different Avengers
Civil War II
The Champions, Vol. 2&3
The Magnificent Ms. Marvel
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
