Ms. Marvel Co-Creator Says Power Changes Were “The Right Move”

Ms. Marvel‘s co-creator says that her power changes were “the right move” in a new interview. Sana Amanat talked to Entertainment Weekly about the upcoming Disney+ show. Marvel Studios is finally giving fans Kamala Khan, but she’s going to be a bit different in the series. Ms. Marvel’s powerset in the comics is usually centered around her stretching and shrinking. (i.e. Embiggening!) Well, on Disney+, Iman Vellani’s character seems to get her powers from some family heirlooms. Once activated, she can create power constructs like platforms to run across and shields. Kamala can also make that trademark large fist, but it’s not all stretchy. Amanat wants to assure fans that they’re doing this for a good reason. It feels wild to think of Ms. Marvel without the Terrigen Mist or embiggening, but that’s what fans are going to learn about when things get rolling on the streaming service.

“Obviously, so much of the show is an adaptation, and we thought it was important to make sure that her powers are linking to larger stories in the Marvel universe. We wanted to make sure there is a little bit more story to tell after this series,” Amanat began. “Obviously, she goes into The Marvels. The powers do look different, which is very controversial. I know people are like, “How dare you change the powers!” I know people are upset about it, but as someone who’s probably one of the closest people to this character from the inception, and having spoken to Willow about this as well, I think Willow and I have always felt that this made sense. This was the right move because there are bigger stories to tell.”

“It’s really fun to give Kamala different kinds of powers that feel big in scope and cinematic in a different way. We can do a lot of fun things with her. I don’t want to spoil too much about how she uses her powers, but they’re fun and bouncy. At the same point, the essence of what the powers are in the comics is there, both from a metaphorical standpoint and from a visual standpoint,” she continued. “We’re doing the embiggened fist. We’re doing the elements that make her feel and look kind of crazy, but also really cool. I think it’s going to be familiar to people, but at the same time, different in a fresh and unique way.”

Here’s how Marvel Studios describes Ms. Marvel: “Introduces Kamala Khan—a 16-year-old Pakistani American from Jersey City. An aspiring artist, an avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, she is a huge fan of the Avengers—and one in particular, Captain Marvel. But Kamala has always struggled to find her place in the world—that is, until she gets super powers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Iman Vellani stars as Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel.”

What do you think of the power changes? Let us know down in the comments!