Ms. Marvel Directors Address Changing Powers, Fantastic Four Comparisons

Ms. Marvel is known by comic fans for her power of “embiggening.” She is able to grow and stretch parts of her body as a means to maneuver terrains and combat. However, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is introducing a version of Kamala Khan which will not have a power that is referred to as “embiggening,” at least not right away, and looks quite different by comparison. Rather than Kamala’s body parts enlarging, the power design sees a glowing, crystalized extension of Ms. Marvel come into play. Making this change was something a lot of consideration went into and something some fans think was made to avoid similarities to Mr. Fantastic’s stretching ability.

“Well, yeah, I mean when we came into the project it was written in the script that she had, ‘hard light,’ without really describing too much of it,” Ms. Marvel executive producer Adil El Arbi told ComicBook.com. “It was a challenge then trying to design it, to get it, obviously with the whole production team. What does that mean? How do you translate it or, in fact, adapt and put a kind of homage to the same powers she had in the comic book? It was different visually. It was also very cool, that lighting effect and all that. We still try to do that homage, like she still had a form of the embiggen hands. In episode 2, she has all of the sudden a break out of her nose with that powers and she doesn’t control and her body is changing and all of that. So, all things that were very important in the comic book but you see that there, too. It was challenging but it was also very exciting because this is what makes Marvel really Marvel, super powers and make it cool, and even if it’s different, you’re still going to see a lot of similarities.”

In comics, Kamala Khan has Inhuman powers which were activated by Terrigen Mist. Kamala’s powers being rooted in Inhuman stories in comics came at a time where the Inhumans were getting a massive push in publishing. The characters have, however, not been used by Marvel Studios with the exception being Anson Mount portraying Black Bolt from an alternate universe in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Now, it seems the MCU is changing Kamala’s origin story because she is arriving in the MCU’s continuity before any stories of Inhuman characters in the universe have been incorporated.

Since the promotional materials for Ms. Marvel began releasing, a portion of the fan base has been focused on the power set and its design being changed for Ms. Marvel in this adaptation from comics to live-action. Theories and speculation quickly began to circulate with a suspicion that Ms. Marvel’s powers were changed for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to make them look different from that of Mr. Fantastic. A Fantastic Four movie is on the way and Reed Richards recently appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The alternate universe version of the character was played by John Krasinski, bringing his stretching abilities to the big screen for the first time under the Marvel Studios umbrella.

Fans are not the only one wondering if Mr. Fantastic and the still-to-be-made Fantastic Four movie are the reason why Marvel Studios decided to alter Kamala Khan’s powers for Ms. Marvel. El Arbi and Fallah posed the same question. “We can say that we asked that question to Kevin [Feige], ‘Hey is this because of Mr. Fantastic?” El Arbi admitted. “Kevin said, ‘I don’t say anything.’”

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah previously directed Bad Boys For Life, the biggest film of 2020. The duo serve as executive producers on Ms. Marvel, as well as directors for the show’s first and last episodes. Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan will debut in Ms. Marvel before going on to appear in The Marvels in 2023, where her powers will be put to the test alongside Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau. 

Watch ComicBook.com’s full interview with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah on the Phase Zero YouTube channel. Are you excited for Ms. Marvel? Share your thoughts in the comment section! Ms. Marvel premieres on Disney+ on June 8.