How Powerful Is Ms. Marvel? Powers & Abilities Explained
Debuting in 2013, Kamala Khan is a character that actually rose to prominence quite fast. Ms. Marvel, as she is known in the superhero community, attracted a wider audience because she was a teenage American Muslim superheroine that became the first such character to headline a solo series. Her connection to Captain Marvel helped her make a name for herself, and with Disney+’s Ms. Marvel show on the way, everyone is wondering how powerful Ms. Marvel really is.
Kamala Khan can, primarily, change the size and length of her body and limbs or only part according to her. She can also take on the appearance of someone else, although she uses this ability less frequently. She also possesses a self-healing power, though it is only usable if she is not using her shapeshifting abilities. Kamala is also very intelligent and knows how to deal with various problems in this way when the situation calls for her.
The rest of this article will focus solely on the powers and abilities that Ms. Marvel has. We are going to list each known powers she has and then explain it, before we ultimately compare her to some other characters from the same fictional universe by telling you just how powerful Ms. Marvel really is.
Ms. Marvel’s powers
Kamala is a human with latent Inhuman heritage whose powers were activated by the Terrigen Bomb (although the upcoming Disney+ series gives her a different origin story), which caused her to become a polymorph, thus granting her the following powers:
Morphogenetics
Kamala’s cells manifest mutable properties due to her being able to share her mass over time with different versions of herself. On a molecular level, Ms. Marvel travels back in time every time she uses her powers. Kamala can stretch, warp, expand, or compress her entire body or parts thereof into any contiguous shape she can imagine for a variety of uses.
Elongation
Kamala can extend her limbs, torso, or her neck for great distances.
Size Alteration
Kamala can adjust her height and stature by adding to her already impressive physical abilities, from shrinking to the size of an action figure, to growing as tall as the structure of a building. With this ability she has also made her body as thin as paper.
Accelerated Healing Factor
Kamala is able to quickly heal from injuries such as gunshot wounds; however, the use of her other powers disrupts the healing process, forcing Kamala to maintain her normal appearance while she recovers. Extensive healing also leaves Kamala very fatigued and hungry; although it seems, the more she uses her healing ability, the less malleable her cells become, preventing her from using the full range of her morphogenic abilities.
Appearance Alteration
Kamala possesses the power to alter her physical appearance, including her hair and her clothes, and she can even alter her appearance enough to mimic inanimate objects. Ms. Marvel feared that she had lost this ability due to her healing factor reducing the elasticity of her cells, but this power is still present and is used on rare occasions, such as when she posed as James Rhodes during a conversation. with Tony Stark.
Bioluminescence
Kamala’s body emits a bright yellow energy signature when she uses her morphogenic powers.
Cosmic Energy Manipulation
The trailer for Disney+’s upcoming Ms. Marvel has revealed that Kamala is going to have some additional powers in addition to these comic book powers we have already described. Namely, since the source of her powers seems to be a bracelet filled with cosmic energy, which gave her the ability to manipulate cosmic energy. We’ve seen her create a forcefield of cosmic energy, fire blasts of cosmic energy, and project energy into space so she can, for example, walk on it.
Weaknesses
As far as it is known, Kamala Khan has the following weaknesses as Ms. Marvel:
- Electromagnetic Pulses: Ms. Marvel’s body is vulnerable to EMPs, which can weaken her elasticity.
- Excessive Healing: Excessive use of her healing factor temporarily weakens her elastic powers.
Ms. Marvel’s abilities
As for her specific abilities, the comic book iteration of the character is able to lift 25 tons up to 75 tons when she embiggens. Since she doesn’t have any specific abilities, and we don’t know how the Disney+ version plans on elevating this, we’ll also talk a bit about her equipment from the comic books, both current and former. Here is what she usually uses as a superhero:
- Biokinetic Polymer Costume: Invented by Bruno as part of his Rutgers University scholarship application, when the polymer (or “super snot”) is applied to a flexible substance, it becomes extremely malleable. The increased elasticity allows Ms. Marvel to focus less on transforming her clothes during her metamorphosis. Unfortunately, the costume is highly susceptible to damage from exposure to water.
- Compartment Bracelet: A series of bracelets with empty compartments inside, modified by Bruno into a single bracelet worn on Kamala’s left arm to hold her cell phone and other small items. They were originally used by Kamala’s great-grandmother Aisha to smuggle money from Bombay during the Partition, and have since been passed down to her daughter and then her granddaughter, Muneeba.
- Locator Pendant: A gift from Captain Marvel during the raid, this necklace allowed Kamala to send an SOS to Carol in an emergency at the push of a button; however, it was abandoned outside Jersey City Medical Center following his fall during the Second Superhero Civil War. It was later rediscovered, but it is unknown if Kamala recovered it after repairing her friendship with Carol.
Formerly, she also wore a special Kree Nanosuit. This was a special suit worn by the Kree Stormranger 20-14, a member of the Kree whom the Saffans claimed as their “Destined”. The suit was left behind on a special space station used by the former masters of the Saffans with the intention that another Stormranger would retrieve it.
Although it was designed for those with Kree blood, it seems to extend to Inhumans as well. The full scope of the suit is still unknown. Kamala’s Stormranger suit took on a mind of its own and attempted to force Kamala to kill Discord and Mister Hyde. When Kamala refused to obey, the Stormranger suit separated from her and attempted to kill Hyde and Joshua on her behalf. Kamala fought her old suit, which apparently self-destructed after overloading.
How powerful is Ms. Marvel?
Khan’s most famous power is stretching, which allows her to extend her limbs, torso, or neck to great distances. Her other powers include the ability to change her size, allowing her to shrink and enlarge, much like Ant-Man. When she enlarges, she can lift up to 75 tons.
Khan has even used this ability to make her body as thin as paper. Khan has a healing factor that allows her to heal gunshot wounds. However, when Khan heals herself extensively, she becomes severely fatigued. She can transform into other people and even inanimate objects, although she rarely does so.
In comparison, Kamala Khan is definitely not in the upper echelon of Marvel’s heroes, but she is certainly both a useful ally and a character with a lot of potential. It remains to be seen how far Marvel intends to take her.