Ms. Marvel Mutant Reveal Sets Up 7 MCU Hero Retcons

This article contains spoilers for Ms. Marvel episode 6.

Ms. Marvel episode 6 finally introduced mutants into the MCU – and set up seven major retcons. Disney acquired the bulk of Fox’s film and TV empire back in 2019, and ever since then it’s only been a matter of time until mutants became part of the mainstream Marvel Cinematic Universe. In an unexpected twist, Ms. Marvel episode 6 has made that a reality – revealing Ms. Marvel is the first official mutant in the MCU. Bruno checked Kamala’s DNA to see whether any of her family were likely to gain superpowers if they wore her bangle, and was surprised to identify a strange “mutation” in her genes. A riff on the classic X-Men: The Animated Series theme-tune played in the background, just in case viewers didn’t grasp the significance of Bruno’s words.

Ms. Marvel‘s mutant revelation seems to retcon mutants as present in the MCU all along – after a fashion. She appears to be what the comics call a “latent” mutant, someone whose DNA possesses a dormant X-gene that can be triggered by external energy to grant a person superhuman abilities. The most famous latent mutant in the comics is actually Polaris, Magneto’s daughter, whose powers were activated when she was exposed to a “mutant energy stimulator.” Kamala’s bangle has served that role in the MCU, granting her powers loosely inspired by the X-Men’s Armor (rather than the traditional Ms. Marvel powers from the comics).

Ms. Marvel may be the first official mutant in the MCU, but her debut means mutants have been part of this shared universe all along – they simply required external power sources to trigger their abilities. This sets up some major MCU retcons, even raising the possibility other characters have secretly been mutants all along. Here are the most significant mutant retcons flowing from Ms. Marvel episode 6.

The MCU’s X-Men Setup Can Begin In Captain America: The First Avenger

Ms. Marvel episode 6 likely implies mutants have been part of the MCU all along, and it’s interesting to note there was actually an X-Men Easter egg as far back as Captain America: The First Avenger that could now be quite significant. Colonel Phillips was initially unimpressed with Steve Rogers after the death of Abraham Erskine, the scientist who created the supersoldier program; Philips had hoped for an army of supersoldiers in the MCU, not just a single one of them. “You’re an experiment,” he snarled at Rogers. “You’re going straight to Alamogordo.” This is a deep cut into X-Men lore, because Alamogordo was the site of a black ops complex run by the U.S. government that came to specialize in mutants. It was run by Nathaniel Essex, the X-Men villain better known as Mr. Sinister, and scientists who worked at Alamogordo included Brian Xavier, the father of Professor X.

This was no doubt intended merely as a cool Easter egg. But Ms. Marvel‘s introduction of mutants means the lab could be true to the comics; a complex where scientists wound up studying individuals with a mysterious gene they believed could be activated to grant superhuman powers. The Russo brothers have recently admitted the MCU’s masterplan is a myth, and that often Easter eggs that take on deeper meaning are simply fortuitous. “Some of the best call forwards or callbacks were thought of after the fact,” Joe Russo confessed. This could easily be one of them.

Captain Marvel Could Be Retconned As A Mutant

Kamala Khan isn’t the only person in the history of the MCU to be granted mysterious powers after exposure to alien energies. In chronological order, the first known of date is Carol Danvers herself. The character has always been strongly associated with the X-Men in the comics, even essentially joining the team during a cosmic phase in Chris Claremont’s iconic run. Her origin story, told in Captain Marvel, is conceptually very close to that of Kamala Khan; she is a woman who was exposed to alien energies and gained superpowers as a result. It had generally been assumed the Tesseract granted Carol Danvers her powers – but it’s possible Captain Marvel is actually a mutant, and her powers of energy manipulation were triggered by the Infinity Stone, rather than bestowed by it.

This would be a smart retcon, because it would draw the stories and themes of Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel together, providing a thematic explanation for why the two will team up in The Marvels. Indeed, it’s even possible the title of the Captain Marvel sequel is a reference to mutants, with the next evolutionary step of humanity given a new name for the MCU – the name of “Marvels.​​​​​​​” Hopefully more will be revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.

Ant-Man & the Wasp’s Ghost Could Be A Mutant As Well

Ant-Man & the Wasp introduced viewers to Ghost, a woman who was exposed to a wave of Quantum Realm energy sometime around 1998. Ghost’s origin story is a troubled one, for her father died in the accident that granted (or, perhaps, triggered) her powers, and her abilities have proved dangerously unstable; her body is out of phase with this plane of reality, and she is wracked by constant pain. Marvel would be smart to retcon Ghost as a mutant (or a Marvel), because she’d add another element to the idea; the fact that, in the comics, not all mutations are benign. Some mutations are indeed painful, and some pose enormous risk to the mutants themselves; Strong Guy, for example, absorbs kinetic energy into his own body, but doing so places increasing strain on his heart. It’s certainly true that Ghost’s powers are still tied to the Quantum Realm – but Kamala’s are to the bangle and the Noor it wields, so it’s possible an activated mutant gene is somehow bound to the energy that triggered it.

Janet Van Dyne’s Wasp Could Be A Mutant

Janet Van Dyne gained new powers after exposure to the energy of the Quantum Realm as well. Trapped in the Quantum Realm for 30 years, she revealed she’d emerged with powers she’d never possessed before, including a mysterious healing touch. “This place, it changes you,” Janet told Hank Pym. “Adaptation is part of it, but some of it is… evolution.” She may well have been unknowingly referring to the activation of a latent mutant gene.

Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch Could Be Mutants All Along

MCU tie-ins have long hinted there could be something very unusual about Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, too. The Marvel Studios Visual Dictionary hinted the Mind Stone may not have been the source of their powers, but rather that it could have triggered something “latent” within Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver – a word-choice that immediately reminded readers of latent mutants whose X-genes were activated by an external force. The Wakanda Files, an in-universe collection of research notes ostensibly compiled by Shuri, further supported this; it revealed Hydra based themselves in Sokovia because they had observed a number of genetic anomalies among Sokovians, which they believed would make them perfect test-subjects for experiments with an Infinity Stone. In narrative terms, this would establish a throughline from Alamagordo in Captain America: The First Avenger all the way to Avengers: Age of Ultron – an ironic one, given Captain America paralleled his own story with that of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.

The idea Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are mutants would certainly explain why exposure to the Mind Stone would give someone super-speed – an idea that always seemed rather odd. It’s a little more problematic now after WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which presented Wanda Maximoff as a sorceress whose latent magic – magic that would have “died on the vine,” in the words of Agatha Harkness – was unlocked by the Mind Stone. But it’s worth noting mutants and magic have often been linked in the comics; the X-Men’s Colossus is a descendant of the sorcerer Rasputin, and his sister Magik is a literal mutant sorceress, the Sorcerer Supreme of an entire Hell Dimension. It’s not difficult to imagine a scenario Quicksilver was a mutant and his twin Scarlet Witch a sorceress, or even where Wanda Maximoff was both, explaining why she had such unique magical potential. Indeed, for years that was Scarlet Witch’s status quo in the comics. The categories of mutant and magician need not be mutually exclusive.

WandaVision’s Monica Rambeau Could Be A Mutant

Kamala Khan is confirmed as the MCU’s official first mutant, and Carol Danvers could easily be retconned as one as well. That raises the possibility the third major superhero of The Marvels, Monica Rambeau, is a mutant too. Introduced in WandaVision, Monica follows the same pattern – a human being who gained superhuman powers after she was exposed to exotic energy, in this case Scarlet Witch’s Hex. If Marvel do choose to (initially, at least) call mutants “Marvels” in the MCU, then it would make sense for Monica to be one as well.

Black Widow’s Ursa Major Could Be A Latent Mutant As Well

Finally, it’s worth noting Black Widow introduced Ursa Major, played by Olivier Richters – who insisted his character was a mutant. The comment has always seemed a strange one, and most assumed he was just referencing the comics, where Ursa Major has the power to transform into a bear. It’s possible he is actually a latent mutant in the MCU, whose powers will potentially be triggered at a later date. “I can only hope Marvel will bring back Ursa in full form,” Richters observed on social media. Ms. Marvel episode 6 made that a whole lot more likely in the MCU.