Ms. Marvel Gets a Brand-New Costume

In less than a decade, Kamala Khan has grown from an entirely new character to a beloved part of the Marvel Comics canon. And as it turns out, she’s about to get a bit of a costume upgrade. Marvel.com recently debuted the first look at Ms. Marvel’s brand-new costume, which is expected to debut in the comics this July.

The new costume gives Kamala’s ensemble a much more armored feeling, while still including her iconic lightning bolt symbol. As fans can see on Marvel’s website, several different potential options were created for the new costume, before deciding on this finished product.

“Aliens are wreaking havoc in Kamala’s corner of the world, and they seem weirdly interested in her…and her family.” Marvel explains. “As this new tale spins Ms. Marvel into outer space and unprecedented adventures, she’s about to learn that sometimes even victory comes at a cost. And in issue #5, Kamala has no choice but to pay up… As the Jersey City hero heads toward the explosive finale of her adventure across space, she finds her life forever changed—and her costume too!”

This new costume is just the latest example of the new era that Ms. Marvel has entered as a title, with Saladin Ahmed and Jung coming onto the book earlier this year.

“I think she’s really the face of everything that’s new and fresh and exciting and ’21st century’ at Marvel, and with superheroes in general. To be given stewardship of that is a big deal to me,” Ahmed said. “It’s always thrilling being given responsibility over a beloved character. It’s particularly meaningful for me to be taking over from Willow. She’s an incredible writer, and she’s a friend. I’ve only been in comics for a couple years, I come from fiction and poetry and stuff like that, and Willow has been one of the folks who’s helped me figure out this whole craft and business. She’s my sister, and it’s very cool to be taking the baton from her. There’s something meaningful there.”

“Without giving too much away, there’s going to be big-canvas Marvel scope happening in this book, while still maintaining that intimate tone that people have loved about it,” Ahmed added. “I think that Kamala’s earned her superlative. She’s been around for a few years and she’s been magnificent. We kind of wanted to announce that this was her leveling up — as she would probably put it.”

“I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised by the change of tone in the art,” Ahmed said. All of the artists who have worked on Ms. Marvel have been stellar, so it’s not that anything needs changing, but there’s a different tone as we go into this new number one, and the art reflects that. It’s not ‘gritty Ms. Marvel,’ but it’s darker and more atmospheric.”

What do you think of Ms. Marvel’s new costume? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Magnificent Ms. Marvel #5 will debut in stores this July.