Ms. Marvel Producer Comments for First Time on Using That Word in Finale
[SPOILER WARNING: Spoilers for today's Ms. Marvel finale follow.] Today's Ms. Marvel finale brought some big surprises regarding Kamala Khan's origin story. In the Marvel Comics universe, Kamala Khan gets her powers from being an Inhuman. Most fans already knew that her powers would be changed in the television adaptation, which ties her abilities to her family bangles. But today's finale reveals that there's a very specific reason why Kamala gets powers from the bangles while no one else in her family does, and that reason is written into her genetic code. It can be summed up in one word: "mutation."
"Oh my god, best day of my life!" Ms. Marvel head writer Bisha K. Ali told Marvel.com in regards to being able to use that word in the episode. She also clarified that this wasn't always part of the plan for the show.
"It wasn't from the beginning [of the show]," she says. "With Marvel, something's always a moving piece, and we're trying to solve this question of, 'If any of [Kamala's family] put the bangle on, would they have powers?' The answer was always no, from a character perspective, no." She adds that giving Kamala a mutation "fit into the logic of the wider MCU."
The episode marks the first time that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has acknowledged the existence of mutations. Patrick Stewart did reprise his role as X-Men founder Charles Xavier in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but the film offered no explanation for the source of Professor X's telepathic abilities, instead relying on the audience's past familiarity with him through the X-Men movies, or perhaps recognizing that big yellow hover chair from X-Men: The Animated Series.
It's also interesting that the same movie brought back Anson Mount as Black Bolt, king of the Inhumans. Some fans thought this opened the path for the Inhumans to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, perhaps with Ms. Marvel leading the way, but that seems not to be the case. Either way, both Professor X and Black Bolt were from an alternate timeline and neither survived their encounter with the Scarlet Witch, so they're likely not terribly relevant to what comes next for mutants or Inhumans in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But could it be setting the stage for what Marvel has planned for Hall H at this year's San Diego Comic-Con? It seems likely the Marvel Studios panel will reveal a new slate of shows and perhaps the first mutant-focused series or film will be on the new slate. The convention will also bring new information about X-Men '97, Marvel Studios' revival of X-Men: The Animated Series.
Ms. Marvel is streaming now on Disney+.