Warning! Spoilers to Miles Morales: Spider-Man #24 below
Although they run in different social circles, Ms. Marvel and the Fantastic Four’s Mr. Fantastic have revealed to share a surprising yet disgusting superpower. Taking time to visit Miles Morales after the events of King in Black, Kamala and Miles’ hang out is interrupted. During that time, Kamala’s ability to shape-shift and extend her limbs and body parts, specifically those on her face, bring to mind Mr. Fantastic’s abilities, specifically his Ultimate Marvel counterpart.
Having acquired her abilities thanks to a Teregenesis cocoon in Ms. Marvel #1, the Pakistani-American young hero chose to follow in her hero Carol Danvers’ footsteps as the new Ms. Marvel. Whether yelling her trademark “Embiggen!” or doing it on instinct, Kamala has worked hard to master her ability to extend her limbs, increase her size, alter her appearance and other shape-shifting abilities as she protects her beloved New Jersey and the Marvel universe from threats alongside other heroes. In Ultimate Fantastic Four, Reed Richards’ origin is updated and reimagined in a parallel Marvel universe specifically created for modern-day readers outside of mainstream continuity. The young Reed, his best friend Ben Grimm, his girlfriend Susan Richards, and her brother Johnny are all involved in a teleportation experiment gone wrong which gives them their iconic abilities and appearance although their early existence is kept a secret from the public.
In Miles Morales: Spider-Man #24 by Saladin Ahmed and Carmen Carnero, Miles chooses to enjoy a moment of peace following the events of King in Black to hang out with his friend Kamala Khan. Their day includes a competitive game of basketball while in costume where either Kamala or Miles’ abilities give them a certain advantage over professional athletes. Their game is interrupted by a cry for help which neither of them can ignore as they come across the debris of a fallen building. When one of the residents tells them that a woman and her infant may have been crushed during the fall, Kamala embiggens her ear to enhance her hearing which confirms that they are alive, using her size and strength to help Spider-Man shift through the rubble and free the trapped survivors.
Kamala’s unsettling use of her powers brings to mind Ultimate Reed Richards doing the same during a mission in Ultimate Fantastic Four #11. On their way to confront their missing colleague Victor von Damme, the story by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen sees Reed Richards choosing to use his powers to cheer up Susan. Revealing that if he concentrates he’s able to stretch his eyes thus increasing his sight capabilities, he takes a small detour to see a flock of dolphins swimming in the ocean. The sight alone cheers Sue up enough to reward Reed with a passionate make-out session, much to the chagrin of Johnny and Ben. This version of Reed viewed his powers in a scientific light, constantly studying and testing the limits of his powers, especially when the Fantastic Four went public and became celebrity superheroes. One could make the argument that it was Reed’s desire to stretch his brain to make himself smarter which resulted in him becoming the villainous Maker, a threat to his world and later the mainstream Marvel universe as well.
In the end, this ability to enlarge one’s body parts may be helpful but comes off as oddly comical, bizarre, or at times unsettling to the non-superpowered public. Ms. Marvel and this version of Mr. Fantastic show different sides of the same coin, how one could use it in a heroic capacity and simply to have fun with, and the results speak for themselves. Although this Mr. Fantastic would eventually use his powers for evil, Ms. Marvel would certainly be overjoyed at her connection to another of Marvel’s elite superheroes whom she aspires to be like.
