Kamala Khan is a fictional character portrayed by Iman Vellani in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise—based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name—commonly known as Ms. Marvel. Kamala is a teenage Pakistani-American mutant from Jersey City, New Jersey who idolizes Carol Danvers and unlocks her dormant cosmic energy powers from the Noor dimension via a magical bangle. The MCU version of Kamala is reimagined as a latent mutant who can create glowing constructs, including stretching from her arms and legs, out of hard light.

Khan discovered her powers at AvengerCon, until she attracted the attention of the Department of Damage Control and the Clandestines, who were looking for a way to return to the Noor Dimension, although she managed to confront them with the help of her family and friends. However, Khan intertwined her powers with those of Danvers and Monica Rambeau, who swapped powers each time they used them, and together they formed The Marvels to confront the Kree Supreme Dar-Benn, who also possessed a quantum band like Khan's and was extracting resources from other planets to restore Hala. After Dar-Benn's defeat and Rambeau being stranded in another universe, Khan began using S.A.B.E.R.'s intelligence to assemble a team of young superheroes, starting with Kate Bishop.

Kamala first appeared in the Disney+ television miniseries Ms. Marvel (2022) as its main protagonist. She returned in the film The Marvels (2023) as a supporting character, while an alternate version of the character appears in the Disney+ animated television series Marvel Zombies (2025), as its main protagonist.

Concept and creation In November 2013, Marvel Comics announced that Kamala Khan, a teenage American Muslim from Jersey City, New Jersey, would take over the comic book series Ms. Marvel beginning in February 2014. The series, written by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Adrian Alphona, marked the first time a Muslim character headlined a book at Marvel Comics. The conception of Kamala Khan came about during a conversation between Marvel editors Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker. Amanat said, "I was telling him [Wacker] some crazy anecdote about my childhood, growing up as a Muslim American. He found it hilarious." The pair then told Wilson about the concept and Wilson became eager to jump aboard the project. Amanat said that the series came from a "desire to explore the Muslim-American diaspora from an authentic perspective." Artist Jamie McKelvie based Kamala's design on his redesign of Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel and on Dave Cockrum's design of the original Ms. Marvel. Amanat requested that the design "reflected the Captain Marvel legacy, and also her story and her background." Amanat stated that Kamala's costume was influenced by the shalwar kameez. They wanted the costume to represent her cultural identity, but did not want her to wear a hijab, because the majority of teenage Pakistani-American girls do not wear one. Amanat also stated that they wanted the character to look "less like a sex siren" to appeal to a more vocal female readership.

Marvel knew that they wanted a young Muslim girl, but stated that she could be from any place of origin and have any background. Wilson ultimately chose to create a Desi girl from Jersey City, which sits across the Hudson River from Manhattan and has been referred to as New York City's "Sixth borough".Holusha, John (October 11, 1998). "Commercial Property / The Jersey Riverfront; On the Hudson's West Bank, Optimistic Developers" . The New York Times It therefore forms an important part of Kamala's identity and the narrative journey of her character since most of Marvel Comics' stories are set in Manhattan. Wilson explains, "A huge aspect of Ms. Marvel is being a 'second string hero' in the 'second string city' and having to struggle out of the pathos and emotion that can give a person." The series not only explores Kamala's conflicts with supervillains but also explores conflicts with Kamala's home and religious duties. Amanat later revealed that when she and Wilson were creating Kamala, the character was originally going to be a mutant before they changed her to being an Inhuman, an origin recanonised in The Marvels (2023).

In September 2016, Marvel Entertainment's Creative Consultant Joe Quesada stated that Ms. Marvel would appear in "other media" as result of the character's quick success amongst readers, which he noted "doesn't happen a lot" and acknowledged that it probably would not have happened ten years ago. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said in May 2018 that a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) project based on Kamala Khan was "in the works", and would follow the release of the film Captain Marvel (2019) as Kamala is inspired by that film's title character Carol Danvers. The Ms. Marvel television series was officially announced at the 2019 D23 conference. In September 2020, newcomer Iman Vellani was cast in the lead role of Kamala. Kamala Khan co-creator Amanat, who is also serving as a co-executive producer on the television series, highlighted Vellani's Zoom audition which revealed that Vellani is an Avengers fangirl like Kamala. Amanat said, "She showed me every corner of her room, and it was covered with Avengers. Then she said, 'Oh wait, I'm not done', opened up her closet, and there was more Marvel everywhere".

Characterization Kamala is an aspiring artist, avid gamer, and writes superhero fan fiction about the heroes she admires. She struggles to fit in at her high school and at home. Amanat said that Kamala "isn't your traditional Avenger. She's not as slick and suave as some superheroes. It's not like when Captain America throws his shield and it comes back. She's all over the place".

Appearance and special effects

In the comics, Kamala is classified as a "polymorph" with moves that "are basically Ant-Man and Mister Fantastic's combined". When asked in August 2019 about the transition of Kamala from comic book to live-action, G. Willow Wilson stated, "I think there're some characters who are very much set up for the big screen; they're very naturally sort of cinematic. But with Ms. Marvel, we really weren't interested in creating something that had very obvious film potential. […] She's got very comic booky powers. God bless them trying to bring that to live action; I don't know how that's going to work out in a way that doesn't look really creepy". In the Ms. Marvel television miniseries, Kamala unlocks the ability to harness cosmic energy and create constructs from a magical bangle, which differs from the shapeshifting abilities that she has in the comics.

In May 2022, Feige explained that the Inhuman source of her abilities in the comics did not "match" with the timeline and events of the MCU, so her powers were adjusted to be related to her Pakistani heritage. They were also brought closer to the cosmic powers of the other heroes in the film The Marvels (2023), which Vellani co-stars in. Feige added that the character's "giant hands and arms" would still appear in the series "in spirit". Tyler Macready, writing for Collider, commented that "the decision to fundamentally reinterpret her powers is an interesting one" and that the bangle Kamala discovers unlocks her "ability to create and manipulate a kind of purple 'hard-light'"; Kamala pulls off moves similar to her comics' abilities "such as enlarging her fist to punch bad guys, or stretching limbs to make a far leap – albeit with a radically new visual aesthetic. […] The new powers allow Kamala to do new things, such as create shields and walk on air". Macready stated that this new power set grants Kamala cosmic abilities that are more similar to others in the "Marvels" family and set her apart from the abilities that other MCU heroes, such as Ant-Man, Wasp and Mister Fantastic, have. He also highlighted that this decision means that the show won't have to "render stretching, elongating limbs on a Disney+ budget".

Fictional character biography Early life Kamala Khan is a Muslim Pakistani American from Jersey City, New Jersey with immigrant parents of Muhajir origin, mother Muneeba and father Yusuf. She has an older brother, Aamir. Khan grew up venerating the Avengers, particularly Carol Danvers. She became friends with Bruno Carrelli at an early age and attends Coles Academic High School where she became best friends with Nakia Bahadir. In her free time, Kamala creates various Avengers fan content such as fan-fiction, art, and cosplay. She also listens to podcasts such as one hosted by Scott Lang and runs her own YouTube channel called Sloth Baby Productions, which focuses on the Avengers, with videos about Lang and Hope van Dyne's relationship, and Thor being a secret gamer.

The series describes Kamala's heritage as coming from pre-partition India; it details that when Kamala went to visit Karachi, her grandmother shared: "My passport is Pakistani and my roots are Indian. And in between is a border, built with blood and pain."

Becoming Ms. Marvel

Discovering cosmic powers

In 2025, Khan creates a Sloth Baby production on YouTube about the Battle of Earth, as well as a Captain Marvel outfit to compete in a cosplay contest at the upcoming Avengers fan convention. However, she struggles to receive permission from her parents to attend AvengerCon and instead develops a plan to sneak out with Carrelli in order to go. To finish her cosplay costume, she adds the bangle sent from her grandmother, Sana Ali, in the mail. She and Carrelli arrive at AvengerCon in Camp Lehigh and she puts her bangle on which causes her to project constructs of cosmic energy that inadvertently cause havoc. She saves her classmate, Zoe Zimmer, using an embiggened hand. After the incident, Khan is rushed out of Camp Lehigh by Carrelli and returns home, but is caught by her mother.

The next day, Carrelli deduces the bangle activated Khan's own latent superpowers. Later, Khan, Carrelli, and Bahadir are invited to attend Zimmer's party and there, Khan meets the new high school senior, Kamran. She becomes infatuated with Kamran and after he takes her on a driving lesson, they go on a date together. She also begins to question to her parents how her great-grandmother Aisha disappeared in the partition of India and, as such, asks at the annual Eid celebration. There, Khan saves a young boy from slipping off a balcony and is called "Night Light" by the community. Retreating to an alley, Khan is chased by Department of Damage Control drones and agents led by agent Sadie Deever; she is saved by Kamran, who introduces her to his mother, Najma, the person who she had been seeing in her visions.

Learning of the Clandestines

Khan is taken to Najma's friend's house where Najma explains that she and Kamran are part of a group of enhanced beings known as Clandestines who claim to be Djinn that were exiled from the Noor dimension, and that Aisha was one of them. She also reveals that the bangle might be able to help them return, and asks for her help. She agrees to help them, but Carrelli warns her that interdimensional travel could be dangerous, so she asks Kamran for more time to ensure that they can do it safely. Kamran assents, but Najma refuses to wait and decides to force Khan to help them. Aamir marries his fiancée Tyesha Hillman, but Kamran arrives at the wedding and warns Khan that the Clandestines are coming. Khan, Carrelli, and Kamran try and fend off the Clandestines, but Najma stabs the bangle, which triggers a vision of a train, and Damage Control agents arrive on the scene. Khan and an injured Carrelli escape through the back exit, but run into Bahadir who sees Khan using her powers and becomes upset that she was never told. Later that night, Khan receives a call from Sana revealing that she also saw the vision of the train and insists that she and Muneeba visit her in Karachi, Pakistan.

Traveling to Karachi