Who is Ms. Marvel? What are her powers? Your questions answered

Ahead of its release this summer, Marvel Studios has now unveiled the first trailer for its new show, Ms. Marvel. 

Ms Marvel will debut on Disney Plus on June 8 and is a key part of the Marvel Phase 4 project, which also includes Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and new TV franchises Moon Knight and Secret Invasion. 

You can read more details about the trailer here in our report. But, with the character making her debut in the show and already booked for a key role in the Captain Marvel sequel, aka The Marvels, we thought we'd address a few of the questions you might have ahead of the character's live action debut.

Who is Ms. Marvel? And who is playing her?

Ms. Marvel is Kamala Khan, a Pakistani American teenager from New Jersey. 

First introduced in 2013 by Marvel Comics, Khan is a 16-year-old girl who idolizes Carol Danvers, better known as Captain Marvel. The character was a hit, and, by 2014, Marvel had made the decision to grant Khan her own solo series and her own superhero moniker. It was a landmark decision as it made her the first Muslim superhero to headline a Marvel comic.

In the show, Iman Vellani, who was found by Marvel Studios after an extensive search, plays Khan. She is joined by Saagar Shaikh, Mohan Kapur, Zenobia Shroff, Matt Lintz and Aramis Knight in supporting parts, while Laith Nakli, Azhar Usman, Travina Springer, Nimra Bucha, Alyy Khan, Fawad Khan and Mehwish Hayat will appear in as yet undisclosed roles. 

What are Ms. Marvel's powers? And how did she get them?

In the comics, we see Khan subjected to a mutagenic substance known as Terrigen Mist. Released by one of the Inhumans, known as Black Bolt, Terrigen Mist alters the biological makeup of humans, mutating their DNA and granting them superpowers.

After Khan's exposure, she gains many new powers, including the ability to ‘embiggen’ – a shapeshifting power that allows her to alter her physical size and appearance. 

As well as this, she can grow taller or smaller, make her fists bigger to hit her enemies harder and stretch her body using its elastic properties. She is also gifted with accelerated healing, superhuman strength and durability.

How does Ms. Marvel tie into Captain Marvel 2? 

The sequel to Captain Marvel is titled The Marvels and Iman Vellani's Khan is set to play an absolutely key role. 

Brie Larson will reprise her role as Captain Marvel and will work alongside Khan and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau. We only saw Rambeau, who is the daughter of Lashana Lynch's Maria Rambeau, as a child in Captain Marvel before making a more substantial appearance as an adult in Disney Plus series: WandaVision.

Together the three of them will team up to take on a new villain, set to be played by Fresh Meat star Zawe Ashton, under the direction of Nia DaCosta, fresh from her successful reboot of Candyman. 

We'll have to wait until the start of 2023 to see that, with The Marvels due in theaters on February 17, next year. 

What are some favourite Ms Marvel storylines?

The comic series has run since 2014 so there are plenty, but a couple of favorites are  Generation Why and Super Famous. 

Generation Why was released in 2015 and saw Khan battle her first supervillian, a very unpleasant fellow, a human/bird hybrid known as the Inventor. 

The Inventor, it turns out, has been using teenagers as human batteries, forcing Khan to take drastic measures and team up with some new friends. 

2016's Super Famous finds Khan pulled in two directions, combining her duties to the planet as Ms Marvel and her love for New Jersey and its citizens as Kamala Khan. It's a profound and heartwarming storyline. 

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