The sixth and final episode of Ms. Marvel landed on Disney Plus Wednesday, bringing Kamala Khan’s superhero origin story (and the seventh Marvel Cinematic Universe TV show) to a close. The finale catches up with Kamala (Iman Vellani) after last week’s emotional trip to the past and her mom (Zenobia Shroff) accepting that her daughter has superpowers.
Underused villain and Clandestine leader Najma (Nimra Bucha) sacrificed herself to close the Veil of Noor, cutting off the dangerous portal to her home dimension. She had abandoned and renounced her son Kamran (Rish Shah), but transferred her powers to him in her final moments.
Back home in Jersey City, Kamran seeks refuge with Kamala’s super smart best friend Bruno Carrelli (Matt Lintz). Their heart-to-heart is interrupted by a drone sent by the Department of Damage Control (DODC), which is hunting people with powers. Kamran destroys it using his powers, but the Circle Q convenience store is blown up in the process.
Let’s harness our cosmic SPOILER powers and dive into the finale. This show takes place in the period after Avengers: Endgame and part of Phase 4 of the MCU.
Mutant detected
With Tamran escaped to Karachi, Pakistan, and in the care of the Red Daggers, Bruno tells Kamala that he took another look at her genetic makeup. Turns out she’s not like the rest of her family.
“There’s something different in your genes,” he says. “Like a mutation.”
Kamala is more interested in taking a ride than thinking about labels.
Marvel StudiosWe get a tiny hint of the X-Men theme as Kamala processes this, but she dismisses it as “another label” even real-world fans’ heads explode. Marvel has been teasing the arrival of the mutant superteam for a while now, but Kamala seems to be the first confirmed mutant to appear in the mainline MCU.
This is a twist on her comic book origin, in which her abilities are a result of status as an Inhuman (a genetic offshoot of humanity that gains powers when exposed to Terrigen Mist). They’re pretty similar to Marvel’s mutants, which manifest powers when the X-Gene in their DNA activates.
Becoming her idol
Kamala’s Avengers fandom is a major element of her character, with a particular fondness for Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (Brie Larson). The character doesn’t show up to offer Kamala any guidance or words of wisdom, but the post-credit sequence nods to an early Ms. Marvel comics mishap.
Kamla flops onto her bed and her mom offers one of those firm mom reminders to do her science homework. Her bangle starts shining before she blasts into her closet door (which has a Captain Marvel poster on it).
Science homework might have to wait.
Marvel StudiosShe stands up to discover that she’s morphed into Carol, giving us a brief cameo from Larson, and looks around at the many, many pieces of Captain Marvel art on her walls. It’s also possible that Carol switched places with Kamala, but it’s more likely a reference to the early issues of the Ms. Marvel comic.
“Oooh, no no no no…” she says, before running out of the shot.
Then we get some text reminding us that Ms. Marvel’s next major appearance is due to come in The Marvels, which is due to hit theaters July 28, 2023.
The movie will see her team up with Carol and Monica Rambeau, a former government agent who gained energy absorption abilities in 2021 Disney Plus series WandaVision. We last saw her being recruited for a space adventure by a Skrull in the employ of superspy Nick Fury.
In the comics, Kamala subconsciously took on Carol’s appearance when her polymorph abilities first manifested because she idolized the iconic hero and perceived her as fitting the traditional superhero mold more than a Pakistani-American. As Kamala gained more control over her abilities, she realized that she should mirror Carol’s deeds rather than her appearance, and she stuck to her own look to craft her superhero identity.
The first Ms. Marvel-Captain Marvel team up came in Ms. Marvel #17. They worked together as Jersey City and New York City descended into chaos due to another universe colliding with their own — a situation that could be mirrored in the MCU.
This article will be updated shortly.
