Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel
"There is no normal. There's just us and what we do with what we've been given."
Known Aliases: "Night Light", "Sloth Baby"
Species: Human mutant-Clandestine hybrid
Citizenship: Pakistani, American
Affiliation(s): Coles Academic High School, Sloth Baby Productions, Red Daggers
Portrayed By: Iman Vellani
Appearances: Ms. Marvel | The Marvels
"Have you ever felt like you were up against the world? Like you wanted something so bad, and then it actually happened, but in reality, it's just not as great as you imagined it."
A teenage Muslim Pakistani-American superheroine from Jersey City. An avid fan of the Avengers, especially Captain Marvel, Kamala is granted powers of her own after wearing a mysterious bangle that belonged to her maternal great-grandmother. The bangle is actually one of two quantum bands that work in tandem to create jump points, which both the Clandestines and Kree accuser Dar-Benn did.
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- 11th-Hour Superpower: Kamala acquires the ability to embiggen in the climax of "No Normal". Downplayed as it's clearly greater control over her existing abilities.
- Accidental Athlete: Kamala does not do well in gym class, but even at the beginning of her superhero training she was showing her potential.
- Action Girl: Kamala starts to become this after she gains her powers and becomes the superhero Jersey City needs.
- Actor Allusion: During their fight at the train station, Kareem asks Kamala if every masked American has superpowers, to which she quips, "Well, how do you know I'm not Canadian?" Iman Vellani is Canadian in Real Life.
- Adaptation Origin Connection: Instead of being a latent Inhuman, Najma reveals in "Destined" that Kamala is a descendant of the Clandestines.
- Adaptation Species Change: In the comics, Kamala is an Inhuman. In the MCU, she is a Clandestine hybrid due to her maternal great-grandmother being a full Clandestine... though the final episode reveals she is possibly a mutant on top of that. Bruno implies her being a mutant is why she has powers, while her brother, mother, grandmother, and her other maternal relatives, who are also Clandestine descendants, don't.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: In the comics, Kamala gained her powers following her exposure to Terrigen Mists. "Generation Why" has her gain her powers after putting on a mysterious bangle sent to her by her grandmother. In "Crushed", Bruno runs tests and reveals that Kamala's powers are actually coming from within her and the bangle merely "tapped into the superhuman part of [Kamala]", implying It Runs in the Family. "Destined" reveals that it does run in the family, and that Kamala is part-Clandestine from her mother's side, and "No Normal" reveals that she also has a mutation.
- Adaptational Superpower Change: In the comics, Kamala's powers include elongation, size-shifting, and rarely-used Voluntary Shapeshifting. The series shows that her powers are more akin to creating crystalline energy constructs. That said, she is seen to somewhat replicate her stretching abilities from the comics by creating constructs that essentially achieve the same effect, like stretched-out limbs or being able to "embiggen" by creating a construct of an oversized fist.
- Affectionate Nickname: Nakia and Bruno call her KK. Likewise, Kamala calls Nakia Naks.
- Alliterative Name: Kamala Khan. Doubly alliterative: Her alias is Ms. Marvel.
- All-Loving Hero: She wants to save the world and everyone in it, even those who attack or bully her. She's also very aware of her heritage and is proud to be able to represent her community as a hero.
- Alternate Self: Kamala has one on Earth-89521.
- Ambiguously Bi: Kamala's attraction to boys like Kamran is evident in her debut series, but some of her gleeful fangirling over Captain Marvel can sound borderline infatuated. A deleted scene
from The Marvels makes this even more apparent, as Kamala's reaction to meeting Valkyrie (who is bisexual) is blurting out, “I'm single”, she flusters at the thought of being married to Carol, and echoes Val's pet name for Carol, “Oh Captain, My Captain”. - Apologetic Attacker:
- After Kamala uses her embiggened form to smash the vehicle carrying the sonic cannon, she makes a point of asking if the DODC agents in the vehicle are okay.
- Kamala apologizes to some SABER operators after she projects a Hard Light barrier to prevent them from escaping being swallowed by flerkens.
- Appearance Angst: Briefly displayed when Kamala models her cosplay in her room. Her mother had previously scoffed that Captain Marvel's Starforce uniform is too form-fitting for Kamala to even think of wearing and Kamala is clearly uncomfortable with the appearance of the tight leggings, grabbing a sash to wear around her waist before being interrupted by her parents. She eventually gets over this after viewing and accepting her true self in her official Ms. Marvel costume.
- Ascended Fangirl: Kamala is a huge fan of the Avengers, Carol Danvers in particular, before becoming a superhero herself. She spends much of The Marvels squeeing over the fact that she's meeting the likes of Nick Fury and her idol Carol Danvers. Neither of them exactly share the same sentiment or know how to deal with her.
- Asian and Nerdy: She's Pakistani-American and is a big fan of superheroes, with her idolizing Captain Marvel in particular.
- Aside Glance: Kamala does one after finding out the car she just hit belonged to her driving instructor.
- Attention Deficit... Oh, Shiny!: Kamala has the attention span of a ferret, and that's putting it mildly. She could literally be looking at someone, engaging in a conversation, and then just zone out on a flight of fancy on the spot, her head several kilometers up in the sky.
- Atrocious Alias: Kamala gets dubbed "Night Light" based on the glowing crest of her Captain Marvel cosplay outfit. This sets up a Brick Joke during the mosque rescue.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Kamala and her mother have a heart-to-heart in "Destined", where Muneeba opens up about the difficulties she went through after moving to America but that having her family helped her overcome her hardships, and Kamala hugs her.
- The Baby of the Bunch: Out of the three titular 'Marvels', teenage Kamala is the youngest of the group, compared to Monica (who's in her late thirties) and Carol (who's in her early sixties). Kamala's youth is emphasized a lot in the film, since she spends a good chunk of the movie either gushing about how cool it is to be meeting her heroes, or panicking about what she's just been thrust into. However, she's still shown to be a competent and adaptable fighter, like her teammates.
- Badass Adorable: She is a cheerful, compassionate, and snarky teenage Avengers fangirl who can also use her hard light powers to give her enemies a massive beatdown.
- Badass Pacifist: During the climax of "No Normal", Kamala resolves the whole situation without harming anyone, not even the Damage Control agents who are actively hunting her and Kamran.
- Barrier Warrior: Kamala can use the energy constructs that she conjures as shields, platforms, slides, and ramps.
- Bash Siblings:
- She becomes one with Kareem as they fight the Clandestines in the streets of Karachi together.
- She later becomes this with Carol and Monica after they work together and exploit their entangled powers to fight Dar-Benn.
- Been There, Shaped History: After being transported back into the era of the Partition in "Time and Again", Kamala learns that she was the one who created the trail of stars that guided her grandmother, Sana, back to her father, Hasan, after they got separated during the night when they took the train to leave India.
- Beta Outfit: Before Kamala dons her official comic-accurate Ms. Marvel costume in "No Normal", her first costume is just a Captain Marvel-themed jacket and helmet (basically her cosplay). Lampshaded by Bruno in one of the trailers when he remarks that the Captain Marvel cosplay is a lawsuit waiting to happen.Bruno: Are you sure that we can keep that on?
Kamala: It's an homage.
Bruno: That's a lawsuit.
Kamala: Great! Then I'll meet Captain Marvel in court, and we'll be the first case in the American Judiciary to hug it out. - Big "OMG!": Kamala screams this multiple times when she accidentally teleports into Monica's space suit in the first trailer. She later shrieks one of these again after watching Goose devour two mooks.
- Big Sister Instinct: After Kamala is sent back in time into the era of the Partition, she fulfills the wish of her dying great-grandmother Aisha by creating a trail of stars with her energy constructs to reunite her toddler grandmother Sana and her great-grandfather Hasan.
- Blatant Lies:
- In "Generation Why", Muneeba interrupts Kamala testing out her Captain Marvel cosplay, causing her to grab a robe and claim to have been stretching. Muneeba does not buy it.
- In "Crushed", Kamala and Kamran quickly spin a story about how they are cousins to avoid causing a scandal. Aamir is gullible enough to buy it but Tyesha gives Kamala a knowing grin before walking away.
- In "Seeing Red", Kamala repeatedly insists that her winged sloth plush is "a napping pillow".
- Blue Is Heroic: Just like Carol Danvers, Kamala's Ms. Marvel costume, particularly her mask that is a gift for her from Bruno, has blue in its color scheme.
- Bollywood Nerd: Just like her comics counterpart, she is a Pakistani-American with nerdy interests in superheroes, Bollywood, and is not so good at athletics. Though she is nowhere near as smart or nerdy as her friend Bruno, and doesn't seem to specialize in science, maths, or computers as expected of such an archetype. Rather, she is much more artistic and creative, as seen with her sketches and videos.
- Boring, but Practical: To save everyone at Aamir's wedding when the Clandestines come to kill her, Kamala simply pulls the fire alarm, which turns out to be a very effective way to distract everyone and get them out of the building without anyone getting hurt.
- Broken Pedestal: Kamala is deeply hurt when Carol stops her from trying to save more Skrulls on the dying planet, saying they have to save whom they can and leave the rest. It's heavily downplayed, though, because Carol apologizes for it soon after, and it becomes a Rebuilt Pedestal pretty quickly. While their adventure together allows Kamala to see her idol as a real, flawed person instead of a larger-than-life celebrity (which she herself acknowledges), by the end, she still admires and respects Captain Marvel as much as ever.
- Car Fu: In "Seeing Red", Kamala drops one of the Clandestines with a truck.
- Catch and Return: When Kareem throws one of his daggers at Kamala, she manages to catch it and decides to throw it back at him. And it ends up falling to the floor.
- Chest Insignia: Of course, the lightning bolt symbol in her torso.
- Child of Two Worlds: One of Kamala's main struggles is finding a balance between embracing both her American lifestyle and her Pakistani heritage. This starts to become even more complicated upon discovering that her maternal great-grandmother is an exiled Clandestine from another dimension.
- Civvie Spandex: Kamala's first costume is a Captain Marvel helmet and jacket that she and Bruno worked on for her AvengerCon cosplay. Her official costume includes regular sneakers.
- Cloth Fu: Kamala is given a scarf with her new costume on Aladna and is instructed to use it in battle. She does this to great effect, using it as a whip to fight off the Kree on Aladna to avoid using her powers and inadvertently swapping with Monica or Carol.
- Composite Character: Iman Vellani confirmed that Ms. Marvel's hard light powers in the MCU are inspired by that of Armor from the X-Men comics.
- Her bangle, which empowers her and was passed down from her grandmother, sounds extremely similar to her comic book ally Lebanese-American Muslim Fadi Fadlallah, aka Amulet, who has a Nazar amulet that grants him magic forcefield powers and was also passed down to him from his grandmother.
- The Marvels reveals that her bangle is one of the two Quantum Bands. Combined with her hard light powers, this makes her a Composite Character of Quasar as well.
- Crash-Into Hello: Kamala's first encounter with Kamran is colliding with him in the school hallway during the beginning of "Crushed". She instantly falls in love with him. The ending of the episode reveals that this might not have been coincidental, since Kamran's mother is coveting Kamala's bangle.
- Culture Clash: Kamala started her first whole day in Pakistan by getting herself and her cousins barred from entering a restaurant because she was wearing jeans.
- Curb Stomp Cushion: Despite being outnumbered by the Clandestines five to one and still lacking proficiency with her powers, Kamala either blocks or dodges every attack that comes her way and even manages to bat aside her attackers by creating giant limb constructs to smack them. Her resistance buys enough time for Damage Control to arrive and apprehend them.
- Cute Bruiser: A bubbly young girl who has Hard Light powers.
- Deadpan Snarker: Kamala can make some snarky quips and comebacks while conversing with others, but then again she wouldn't be an MCU hero if she wasn't this.
- Department of Redundancy Department: One of the items in Kamala's shrine to Carol Danvers is fan art of the two of them hugging each other, to which there's a sign that reads "BFF 4 EVA" which would read as "Best friends forever forever".
- Didn't Think This Through: In "Generation Why", Kamala failed to see the flaws in her plan to sneak out for AvengerCon, such as not realizing how difficult it is to be at an exact place and a certain period of time or that her parents might come to her room to check her. It doesn't help that she's out two hours longer than intended.
- Disaster Dominoes: In "Generation Why", Kamala's energy blasts hit a statue of Ant-Man. The head goes rolling, knocking stuff over and causing a cable to unwind, which releases a Mjölnir decoration hanging from the ceiling. That hits Zoe, causing her to be flung into a wall, which Kamala barely saves her from by conjuring an arm to catch her.
- Domino Mask: Her Ms. Marvel costume includes a blue domino mask that is gifted to her by Bruno.
- Does Not Like Spam: She can't eat spicy foods. ...Which really sucks for her because damn near everything in Pakistan is spicy; street vendor food in Karachi is particularly infamous for this, even when compared to Hyderabad in India. She appears downright miserable while eating panipuri, and as a result becomes paranoid of any food being offered to her.
- Drives Like Crazy: Apart from reversing into her driving instructor's car in "Generation Why", the episode "Crushed" shows her driving in Kamran's car and swerving wildly across the road.
- Dude Magnet: Bruno, Kamran and Kareem all seem to have a crush on her.
- Eating the Eye Candy: In "Crushed", Kamala and Nakia both eagerly stare at Kamran as he emerges from the pool.
- Elemental Baggage: The energy to form her constructs is generated internally, focused by her bangle like how Mjolnir does for Thor. Uncommonly for Hard Light, the fact that her constructs have mass is addressed, as Kamala has to factor in weight and balance when using her powers. When she makes a construct anchored to her body too big, it becomes too heavy for her to lift even if she can still make it move. Though she can make free-floating platforms, they act as if balanced on a single point and can be disrupted by their loads shifting.
- Epic Fail: Kamala has quite a few of them.
- Kamala's driving test starts and ends with her accidentally driving in reverse instead of forward. Straight into the instructor's car.
- Kamala's attempt to swing from a heavy branch outside her room brings the whole branch down on top of her instead.
- Kamala's attempt to throw Kareem's dagger back at him ends up with her throwing it to the floor.
- Extremely Protective Child: Kamala is willing to do anything to keep her family out of harm's way.
- Failed Attempt at Drama: Kamala attempts to recreate The Stinger from the original Iron Man when recruiting Kate Bishop for the "Young Avengers". Thanks to her youth and awkwardness, it fails miserably.
- Fanfic Fuel: In-Universe. Finding out Carol married the prince of a planet that communicates entirely in song gives Kamala a lot of ideas for her Captain Marvel fan fiction.
- Fire Alarm Distraction: In "Destined", Kamala pulls the fire alarm to get everyone out of the building so that they won't be killed by the Clandestines. It works, but she's spotted by others present and her family learns she was responsible, leaving her in a tough position as she can't explain why she had to do it.
- Fire-Forged Friends: With Monica Rambeau in The Marvels. Though they meet in very unusual and unideal circumstances, the two eventually hit it off pretty well due to their mutual close connection with Carol. When Monica ends up trapped in another dimension, Kamala is devastated to the point of tears, trying her hardest not to break down when debriefing the situation to Fury.
- Foil:
- To Kamran. Both of them are Clandestine hybrids who eventually learn about the death of their respective maternal relatives. While Kamala does not dwell on negative emotions, Kamran lashes his anger and grief out, inadvertently and temporarily using his powers to endanger everyone around him.
- The Marvels sets her up as one for Kate Bishop. Both of them are Ascended Fangirls of superheroes who were team players during the Infinity Saga, and are Plucky Girls who aspire to be good heroes like their idol. Kamala comes from a humble background in Jersey City, while Kate is a considerably wealthy girl from New York City. Kamala ended up creating her own alias that incorprates the "Marvel" alias to keep herself distinct from Captain Marvel, while Kate simply inherited the mantle of Hawkeye from Clint without any changes to the name.
- Foreign Queasine: Kamala has trouble eating authentically spicy Pakistani and Chinese food. She's surprised by how red the hot and sour soup is.
- Gamer Chick: She's apparently quite a bit better than her friends at Super Smash Bros..
- Generation Xerox: At least in terms of personality. Muneeba clearly has a strained relationship with her own mother, and Kamala indicates, after getting caught sneaking back into her room in "Generation Why", that Muneeba frequently lectures her about not being like her Nani.
- Girlish Pigtails: Throughout "Generation Why", she wears her hair in at least four different styles. However, for most of her character establishing scenes (her initial interactions with her family and friends, her Epic Fail of a driving test, her talk with the school counselor, her unwilling shopping trip with her mother, and her plea with her parents to go to AvengerCon), she wears girlish twin braids — probably to reinforce the idea of her as a young girl who despite lofty dreams is still unsure of herself and her place in the world.
- Grew a Spine: "Crushed" opens with Kamala going through her school routine with newfound confidence now that she has superpowers. She stops a kid from throwing a basketball at her, corrects the teacher that always calls her "Camelia", and pulls the two girls off her locker so she can finally get at her books.
- Grounded Forever: Kamala is grounded by her parents for ruining Aamir's wedding. Naturally, Kamala can't explain to them about being chased by the Clandestines. She is eventually free from being grounded after she reveals her secret to her family.
- Group Hug: After learning that Maria Rambeau died while Monica was Snapped, Kamala immediately gives Monica a hug and makes Carol join in.
- Had the Silly Thing in Reverse: Kamala fails her driving test because, in her imagination-fueled enthusiasm, she forgets to check the gear selector and floors it in reverse, crashing into the instructor's car.
- Hair Flip: "Crushed" shows Kamala flipping her hair as she enters her school with newfound confidence. She later does it again several times when her infatuation for Kamran grows.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Kamala is part-human from her father's side and part-Clandestine from her mother's side. And then Bruno states that there is some kind of a mutation in her genes.
- Hallucinations: In "Crushed", Kamala begins occasionally hallucinating a woman appearing and reaching for her thanks to her new powers, which causes her to freak out each time it happens. The woman is revealed to be Najma, Kamran's mother.
- Hard Light: Kamala has the power to conjure up glowing constructs that behave like solid matter. She even refers to her constructs as "hard light". Uncommonly, it is a plot point that these constructs have mass because Kamala has to consider related problems like weight, balance, and anchoring when making them.
- Hero-Worshipper: She's a huge superhero nerd, with her all-time favorite being Captain Marvel. She runs a YouTube series discussing The Avengers and spends the opening of "Generation Why" gushing about Captain Marvel's role in the final battle of Endgame, and going through a trunk in the attic, she finds an old Captain America comic book she had drawn up as a kid. She's nothing short of ecstatic when she gets to meet Carol herself in The Marvels, and though she's a little shocked by Kamala at first, Carol eventually comes to like her as well.
- Heroic Build: Averted. Unlike many of the other superheroes in the MCU, Kamala is not an outrageously fit person who'd be making magazine covers anytime soon. She's certainly aware of this, and even spends part of her Training Montage trying to do some basic exercises and push-ups to make herself more buff.
- Hero's First Rescue: In "Generation Why", Kamala saves Zoe's life when she gets caught up in the Disaster Dominoes that Kamala accidentally set in motion. This comes straight from the comics, where Kamala saves Zoe after she drunkenly falls into the Hudson River. She gets a more traditional first rescue in "Crushed" when she saves a kid who falls out of a window, being the first time she Jumped at the Call rather than fixing something she caused.
- How Do I Shot Web?: Though Kamala figures out how to make constructs after some practice, she initially has some troubles getting them to "anchor" correctly. Her platforms tip as if balanced on a single point, and a giant hand construct pulls her down because it's too heavy for her to lift. This also makes her rescue in the climax more difficult than it needs to be because her platforms keep tipping unintentionally. This is on top of her visions manifesting randomly, causing the platform the boy is standing on in the climax to disappear because it breaks her concentration.
- Human Ladder: With her intended re-entry method destroyed in "Generation Why", Kamala has to climb on Bruno's shoulders to get back to her bedroom window. Though even with his help, she isn't able to pull herself onto the roof. Thankfully, her powers kick in and generate a Hard Light step to help her up.
- Idea Bulb: In "Generation Why", Kamala gets this when she realizes that she can use Bruno to sneak out of the house without her parents' knowledge.
- Ignored Epiphany: In "No Normal", Kamala brushes off Bruno saying there's a mutation in her DNA, dismissing it as "just another label."
- Imagine Spot: Kamala has some of these from time to time.
- There is one where she is praised like an actual superhero in her Captain Marvel cosplay.
- One where she is crowned the winner of the cosplay competition.
- One where she is overjoyed after meeting her crush Kamran at Zoe's party, dancing around and air-singing to The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" when she gets home.
- One where Kamran is biting a large rose in a "seductive" manner.
- Immigrant Parents: Her parents (and older brother) hailed from Karachi, Pakistan and moved to New Jersey in America before she was born.
- Immune to Bullets: Kamala is basically this in her "embiggened" form.
- Innocently Insensitive: Kamala can on occasion be unkind and hurtful towards people, but it's never out of malice. Usually, she's just too wrapped up in herself and her own problems to realize how she comes across, or she's simply not thinking before she speaks.
- Instant Web Hit: Kamala's first outing as a superhero has made her a viral internet sensation. Unfortunately, it also puts her on Damage Control's radar.
- Insult Backfire: Parental admonishment backfire.Muneeba: Do you want to be good, like we raised you to be? Or do you want to be this cosmic head in the clouds person?
Kamala: (after Muneeba leaves and she looks at her glowing bracelet, smirking) ... Cosmic. - Intergenerational Friendship: She form a friendship with Carol, who is old enough to be her grandma. To a lesser extent, her friendship with Monica has this too.
- It Runs in the Family: The reason why Kamala has superpowers is because her maternal great-grandmother is a Clandestine from the Noor Dimension, which makes Kamala a Clandestine hybrid. Although, she's only able to tap into those powers thanks to a mutation.
- Joisey: As Kamala says, she's a "brown girl from Jersey City." The region's significant South Asian and Muslim populations are shown through Kamala, her family, and friends, including a scene in "Crushed" praying among a large group.
- Jumped at the Call: As a Hero-Worshipper who writes non-stop fan fiction about the Avengers, with a focus on Captain Marvel, she's dying to become a superhero, and is delighted by her newfound powers.
- Just a Kid: When Kamala starts to have doubts about her powers and her status as a superhero, Najma comforts her by saying that she has inherited greatness despite most people simply seeing her as a kid playing dress-up. In "No Normal", the people of Jersey City rally together against Damage Control since while most of them are oblivious to Ms. Marvel's true identity, they know that she is still too young to be treated like a menace.
- Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Kamala fights the Clandestines while putting on the dress she wears for Aamir's wedding.
- Kid Hero: Kamala is an Ordinary High-School Student in her mid-teens who eventually gains superpowers.
- The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Kamala truly adores Carol Danvers. Even the thought of being taken to court by her for ripping off her costume doesn't deter her.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
- In "Generation Why", Kamala reminds her viewers that she uploads videos that she calls "episodes" to her channel every Wednesday. Every Disney+ MCU show starting from Loki, including Ms. Marvel, has episodes released on Wednesdays.
- One of Kamala's witty remarks to Kareem in "Seeing Red" is to ask how he know[s] that she's not Canadian. Iman Vellani herself is Canadian. Hell, Kamala briefly glances at the camera as she says it!
- Legacy Character: Averted; since Carol Danvers is the first Captain Marvel in the MCU, Kamala's superhero name is merely inspired by hers instead of it being a hand-me-down alias. Kamala banters with Bruno about her paying homage to Carol Danvers by using her Captain Marvel cosplay as her first superhero suit, with Bruno retorting that it could result in a lawsuit. Kamala then snarkily responds that she will gladly meet Carol Danvers in court so that they will be the first case in the American Judiciary to hug it out.
- Le Parkour: She can use her hard light platforms to help her in performing acrobatic leaps, climbs, and swings.
- Light Is Good: Kamala's powers come with a bright purple glow, and she is using them to help other people.
- Lightning Bruiser: Kamala gets stronger, faster, and tougher when she uses her powers.
- Living Battery: As far as Bruno can tell, Kamala's powers are fueled by internal energy coming from her, not by the bangle she is wearing.
- Loony Fan:
- Downplayed. While Kamala is by no means creepy or unpleasant, she does have a very big obsession with Carol Danvers, to the point of drawing fanart, writing fanfiction and cosplaying as Captain Marvel constantly throughout her solo series. Fittingly, when Carol accidentally ends up in her room, she's somewhat freaked out by all the fanart.
- This even continues into The Marvels, where Kamala is constantly squeeing over being with her idol and asking lots of questions, all while Carol trying to assess the situation. After spending some time with her and calming down, Kamala lampshades and apologizes for her behavior, noting that she wasn't really treating Carol like a normal person at the time.
- Loved by All: Following her selfless actions against Damage Control as Ms. Marvel in "No Normal", Kamala starts to gain unanimous and raving approval from the citizens of Jersey City.
M-Z
- Made of Iron: Kamala does not suffer any injury after falling out of the window of her house and having a tree branch fall onto her, and this is before she puts on the bangle that activates her powers. Perhaps being part-Clandestine gives her durability stronger than that of an average human.
- Magical Accessory: Kamala gains her powers when she puts on a mysterious bangle gifted to the family by her grandmother. It is eventually revealed that the bangle allows Kamala to harness the energy of the Noor Dimension due to her being part-Clandestine.
- Meaningful Name: As Yusuf explains in "No Normal", Kamala in Arabic means "Perfect" but in Urdu it's "Marvel".
- Mind Screw: When Kamala first dons the bangle in "Generation Why", she takes a brief trip to Another Dimension (apparently only in her mind, as neither Bruno nor anyone else notices) full of glowing purple light and lots and lots of dark figures with glowing eyes. It's not mentioned again and no explanation has been offered, fueling tons of fan speculation.
- Ms. Imagination: She has a tendency to lapse into elaborate fantasy sequences and, at least early on, occasionally has problems with focusing on the here and now because her mind wanders into another fantasy.
- Mundane Made Awesome:
- As Bruno points out in "Generation Why", Kamala's grand, nay epic, plan to attend AvengerCon that she lays out in elaborate detail just amounts to sneaking out and taking the bus.
- After meeting her new crush Kamran in "Crushed", Kamala returning home and getting a drink out of her fridge is a song-and-dance number complete with mood lighting.
- Muscles Are Meaningless: Downplayed and justified. Unlike most heroes in the MCU, Kamala isn't exactly the most fit girl in the world, to the point where she is clearly straining to get into shape even with Bruno's help. That said, her powers basically ensure that she doesn't really need muscles to save the world.
- My God, What Have I Done?: In "Generation Why", Kamala is visibly distraught at herself after erupting at her parents for wanting to supervise her with matching costumes (of the Hulk, not Captain Marvel) at AvengerCon.Kamala: I think I made my dad cry.
- Nice Girl: Overall a caring, brave, family-oriented, forgiving, imaginative and sweet young woman.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Kamala may have saved everyone from the Clandestines, but due to everyone being unaware of them, she ends up being grounded for pulling the fire alarm and "ruining her brother's wedding". Subverted when she reveals her powers to her family.
- Noodle Incident: Apparently, Kamala once fell into the Hudson River, and she and Bruno now have a code, Black Sloth Down, to let each other know that it happened again. Bruno insists it happened twice before, but Kamala disagrees.
- Not Quite Flight: Kamala can create energy constructs as platforms that allow her to run across the sky. This shows up in "Generation Why" when she creates a platform to help boost her onto the roof to sneak back into her room.
- Oblivious to Love: Like in the comics, Kamala has no clue that Bruno is hard crushing on her.
- Off Bridge, onto Vehicle: In Kamala's imaginary ride out to AvengerCon, she and Bruno flip their bikes off a bridge on top of a passing bus.
- Oh, Crap!: Kamala's reaction when the bangle somehow sends her back in time to the Partition after it was struck by Najma.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: After defeating Dar-Benn and witnessing Monica vanish into another dimension, Kamala returns to Earth without the cheer and bravado she usually has, but instead is on the verge of tears as she solemnly recounts to Fury how they lost Monica and what Carol is doing to fix Hala. Her family even notices, asking Kamala why she is crying.
- Ordinary High-School Student: Kamala is a simple high school student who lives in Jersey City, that is until she gains her powers.
- Parental Sexuality Squick: In "Generation Why", Kamala is briefly grossed out by her parents getting frisky when they think no one's watching. On the plus side, at least they won't be checking up on her. In "Crushed", Kamala and Aamir react with disgust when their parents talk about how they never would have gotten together without Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet".Yusuf: Aamir is out... Kamala's in her room... [growl]
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Kamala's visibly on the short side compared to other characters and she has superpowers that allow her to generate energy constructs.
- Platonic Declaration of Love: Kamala and Nakia share one after their little heart-to-heart in "Crushed".
- Platonic Life-Partners: She and Bruno have the kind of lifelong friendship where he is basically adopted by Kamala's family in regard to who gets invited to weddings, funerals, and family gatherings.
- Poster-Gallery Bedroom: Her room is filled with posters and art regarding her nerdy interests, especially Captain Marvel.
- Power Crutch: As far as Bruno can tell based on thermal imagery, Kamala's powers are fueled by internal energy that originates from within her body, not the bangle, which is acting as a focusing medium. The bangle allows Kamala to harness the energy of the Noor Dimension, the homeworld of her maternal Clandestine ancestors.
- Power Incontinence: Kamala understandably doesn't quite realize how to control powers she had no idea she'd gain upon putting on the bangle, leading to her shooting colorful but mostly harmless energy blasts above the crowd when she gets stage fright. Though Kamala mostly gets the hang of her powers through training, she's plagued by visions and has a problem with her nose and hand suddenly glowing during school. She eventually gains full control of her powers as her series progress.
- Primary-Color Champion: The color scheme of Kamala's official Ms. Marvel costume is colored red, blue, and yellow/gold, and it is undoubtedly influenced by her favorite superhero Carol Danvers.
- Pronouncing My Name for You:
- "Generation Why" has Kamala explaining her name is pronounced "kuh-MAH-luh" rather than the more well-known "KAH-muh-luh".
- In "Crushed", as a sign of her newfound confidence after gaining superpowers, when a teacher greets her as "Camelia", she politely answers, "I've been meaning to tell you for a few years, it's pronounced Kuh-MAH-luh." The teacher seems to take it in stride.
- Purple Is Powerful: The crystalline energy constructs that Kamala creates are primarily purple in color, and her eyes also glow purple when she uses her powers.
- Red Is Heroic: The color of Kamala's official Ms. Marvel costume is mainly red, with her signature red scarf as an addition. It is clear that she has taken heavy inspiration from Carol Danvers, her favorite superhero.
- Religious Bruiser: Downplayed, but she's a practicing Muslim and becomes a pretty good fighter by the time the series ends.
- Roof Hopping: In "No Normal", Kamala sprints down the street in mid-air by perfecting creating hard light platforms as she goes, occasionally jumping from roofs or street lights.
- Rubber Man: Sort of. Kamala can use her powers to create energy constructs to make it look like she can elongate her limbs.
- Scarf of Asskicking: Her Ms. Marvel costume includes her signature red scarf that was given to her by Kareem. To battle the Kree, the Aladnans equip her with another red scarf that Prince Yan tells her is a weapon. She finds it makes an effective flail.
- Secret Identity: She's one of the few superheroes in the MCU to maintain one, with the only other heroes who do the same are Matt Murdock, Peter Parker, and Clint Barton (as Ronin).
- Ship Tease: She gets a few moments with Bruno and a bit with Kareem, but her crush on Kamran takes the center stage.
- Skewed Priorities: Kamala goes from freaking out over how she got into space to squeeing over seeing Nick Fury, briefly wondering if this is some kind of Avengers test.
- Sizeshifter: Played with. "Embiggening" was one of her powers in the comics, but Adaptational Superpower Change means that wouldn't make sense anymore. However, she does simulate becoming bigger by covering herself in a giant Hard Light suit in "No Normal".
- Star Power: The aesthetic variety. Kamala uses her energy constructs to create a trail of stars in order to reunite both her grandmother and her great-grandfather after they got separated.
- Stock Superhero Day Jobs: She's a high school student outside of being Ms. Marvel.
- Super-Strength: Played with. Her hard light constructs can lift and hold great weights. However, Kamala herself does not have super strength, which she discusses with Bruno when she tries to make a gigantic fist, only for it to be too heavy for her to hold up. She's later seen struggling to do pushups in a vain attempt to get stronger. She eventually masters her strength when she embiggens, giving her enough power to lift and wreck Damage Control vehicles.
- Tag Along Kid: Kamala in The Marvels, of course being the literal child of the group and the one most new to superheroics compared to Monica and Carol.
- Tell Me About My Father: As the bangle was inherited from her grandmother, whom her own mother is cagey about, Kamala seeks out anyone willing to tell her its history in her family to figure out how and why it gave her powers. She eventually gains all the answers she needs after being temporarily sent back in time in "Time and Again".
- Three-Point Landing:
- In "Generation Why", Kamala performs an impressive vault and superhero landing after jumping out of her bedroom window and swinging on a tree branch, but only in her Imagine Spot. When she attempts the move for real, it ends with the tree branch breaking and landing on her.
- She eventually performs the pose successfully in "Crushed" when she jumps off of her hard light platform and onto the mosque roof while rescuing Hameed. Unfortunately, she's not quite finished with the rescue, and her showboating almost causes her to fail.
- Took a Level in Badass: After gaining her powers, Kamala gains significantly more confidence when she walks into school in "Crushed", compared to how she did in "Generation Why". She has also grown more assertive while battling her enemies as the series progress.
- The Un Favourite: Kamala sees herself as this. She has to help in preparing the wedding of her unemployed brother Aamir (also, he never got his driver's license), and she thinks if he wanted to go to AvengerCon, her parents would bend over backward for him. She's not entirely wrong, as they reject her request, but agree when Aamir goes to bat for her. Subverted when it is revealed that her parents have always loved her since the day she was born.
- Unreliable Narrator: Kamala's retelling of the Battle of Earth from Avengers: Endgame is completely biased in Captain Marvel's favor.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Kamala lacks formal combat training, but she is smart enough to use her powers with versatile creativity that allows her to augment her strength and durability.
- V-Sign: Kamala flashes two of these in "No Normal" after she used her embiggened form to save the onlookers from a flying Damage Control vehicle.
- Year Inside, Hour Outside: In "Time and Again", Kamala spends about 4 minutes of runtime in the past - then gets returned to the same moment she left the present.
- You Are What You Hate: After an entire childhood of being scared by Djinn stories ("they are like ghost stories except they are so much worse since they are real!"), Kamala learns that her powers originate from the fact that she is the great-granddaughter of a Clandestine that inspired the Djinn myths. Subverted when Waleed reveals that the Clandestines do not resemble the Djinn of Islamic legends and religious texts.
- You Killed My Father: "Time and Again" has Kamala witnessing her great-grandmother Aisha being killed by Najma. Kamala then berates Najma for destroying Aisha's chance of living a happy life with her family. However, instead of desiring vengeance, Kamala decides to convince Najma to not repeat the same mistake with Kamran.
Variants
Zombie Apocalypse Kamala Khan
Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel
Species: Mutant-Clandestine hybrid
Citizenship: Pakistani, American
Voiced By: Iman Vellani
Appearances: Marvel Zombies
On Earth-89521, Kamala Khan is among those fighting to survive the Zombie Apocalypse.- Civvie Spandex: She wears a civilian outfit that looks similar to her superhero costume.
- Dynamic Akimbo: Poses like this for the first promotional images for the Marvel Zombies show.
- Fashionable Asymmetry: Has a kneepad only on one knee but not the other and like her mainstream counterpart, has a bangle on one arm.
- Zombie Apocalypse Hero: She's one of the few superheroes to initially survive the Zombie Apocalypse in this universe.
"You’ve just become part of a much larger universe. Which, at the moment, is just me, mostly."
