An old comment from Kamala Khan’s debut suggests that the creator of Ms. Marvel may not be the biggest fan of how the MCU portrays Kamala and her powers. For those who haven’t seen the fairly recent portrayal of her powers depicted on the Disney+ TV series, the title character’s powers manifest in the form of sparkling purple energy, which takes the place of her classic embiggened stretching from the comics.
A decade-old interview with Kamala Khan’s co-creator G. Willow Wilson from Wired reveals how the MCU’s onscreen depiction of Ms. Marvel’s powers completely contradicts Wilson’s original vision of the character. The interview took place in the lead-up to the now classic debut of Ms. Marvel #1 by Wilson, Adrian Alphona, Ian Herring, and Joe Caramagna, which was a month away from hitting shelves for the first time.
In the interview, Wilson says some words that don’t look great in relation to Ms. Marvel’s floating, sparkly powers that audiences are seeing today in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, suggesting that those powers betray the original intentions for the character.
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Ms. Marvel’s Creator’s Vision for the Character’s Powers
And How the MCU Ms. Marvel Show Contradicts It
When G. Willow Wilson is asked by Wired if there is any metaphor behind Ms. Marvel’s powers, as is usually the case with superheroes like the X-Men, she starts to explain what went into the planning process as far as conceptualizing Kamala Khan. While there was some back and forth within the creative team as far as what her powers should be, one thing that Wilson was adamant about was that Ms. Marvel should not have “stereotypical girl powers. Nothing’s going to sparkle; she’s not going to float.”
Instead, Wilson wanted Ms. Marvel to have more “kinetic” and “physical” powers. Ultimately, it was decided that Kamala being a polymorph was the way to go. Looking at the history of (mostly male) polymorphs, Wilson noticed that they had a connotation of being “sneaky.” Wilson felt like these powers would be a good way for her to be tempted to escape and hide from the pressures of being an American teen, especially with themes of faith and family. “In a way, you’re unpacking two stereotypes, one about Muslims and one about shapeshifters, which I thought meshed nicely with the storyline.”
Why Did the MCU Change Ms. Marvel’s Powers?
Was this Intentional from Marvel?
While it is unknown exactly what thought process went into the creative decision to alter Ms. Marvel’s powers so drastically for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s not likely that the “sparkling” was an intentional slight to G. Willow Wilson. Not only is it unlikely that a 10-year-old interview was on Marvel’s radar during the making of the show, but Wilson actually worked on the show as a consultant. One would assume that with Wilson onboard, the onscreen version of Ms. Marvel mostly aligns with her original vision for the character — seemingly confirmed by the fact she co-signed the first Ms. Marvel trailer drop.
The decision to make Ms. Marvel sparkle happening several years after these comments from her co-creator seems completely coincidental. If nothing else, it’s ironic and even awkward to see these comments and then know that the MCU’s take on Kamala reflects the complete opposite of Wilson’s vision for the character. On top of that, this perhaps may feel validating for any fans who have openly criticized the decision for not being comic accurate. Comic accuracy aside, the sparkling nature of the MCU’s version of Ms. Marvel has been a point of contention for audiences and with this quote resurfacing, the debate will likely rage on.
Ms. Marvel #1 — and other issues and collections starring Kamala Khan — is available now from Marvel Comics.
Source: Wired
