Marvel Comics Writer Claims Kevin Feige Put A Hit On Kamala Khan
Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel is a movie star. "The Marvels" has been cited as another sign of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's fall from dominance, but everyone loves young actor Iman Vellani as this spunky heroine. /Film even named Kamala the best movie hero of 2023 and proclaimed her the future of the MCU.
Of course, Kamala comes from Marvel Comics and was co-created by G. Willow Wilson, Sana Amanat, Stephen Wacker, Adrian Alphona, and Jamie McKelvie. The comics made a bizarre move of synergy in 2023; between Kamala's Disney+ show "Ms. Marvel" and the theatrical run of "The Marvels," she heroically dies in "Amazing Spider-Man" #26 (by Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr.), published in May 2023.
Wells' "Amazing Spider-Man" isn't exactly a fan-favorite (the stink of breaking up Peter and MJ has carried across his run) and this was a low point. It was the cheapest of cheap melodrama and Kamala perished while pulling guest star duty. Despite Romita's cover evoking "Amazing Spider-Man" #121, Kamala was nowhere near as important to Peter as Gwen Stacy was.
Now, if you're worried about Kamala — don't fret, she's fine! Despite Marvel going all out with a funeral one-shot ("Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel"), there was a quick death-resurrection turnaround even by superhero standards. Kamala awakens on the X-Men's island of Krakoa (in "X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023," published in July of that year). The X-Men have developed techniques to revive dead mutants, and it turns out Kamala's been a mutant this whole time. Psychic mutant Emma Frost even erases the world's memories of Ms. Marvel's death, so it's like the whole episode never happened — as fans would prefer it.
Since Kamala's death was first announced, it has been rumored Marvel Studios' hand was in play; recent reports add fuel to this fire.
The Death of Ms. Marvel
On an episode of the "Amazing Spider-Talk" podcast (and first reported by ComicsXF), comic writer Cody Ziglar shared a story he claimed came from Wells. In Ziglar's words:
"[Wells] had told me months before the plan, which was, [Marvel Studios president Kevin] Feige was like, 'Hey, I don't do this very often but, can you please do this to make things in line with Marvel because we have some stuff we want to do with Kamala,' so he (Wells) was like, 'F***, I'm the guy that drew the short straw? People are going to be very mad that I have to kill Ms. Marvel.'"
Marvel Studios has not released a comment yet, while Marvel Comics has denied Ziglar's story, saying Kamala joining the X-Men was an editorial decision (via Gizmodo). Marvel editor Nick Lowe had previously said in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #32 letters page that killing then reviving Kamala on Krakoa was an easy way to integrate her with the X-Men.
Even so, this integration feels like corporate synergy. Kamala was introduced in 2013 when Marvel didn't have the "X-Men" movie rights. So, former Marvel Chairman Ike Perlmutter made an edict for the comics to phase out the X-Men and supplant them with the more obscure team the Inhumans. It didn't work; it only pissed off the X-Men fans while winning no more fans for the Inhumans.
Once Marvel parent Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and picked up the X-Men rights in effect, the Inhumans were dropped like a bad habit. Kamala was introduced as an Inhuman, and she's the only Inhuman character created in the 2010s who became a fan-favorite. So while Marvel Comics isn't interested in marketing the Inhumans nor does Feige intend to make them MCU stars, there are big plans for Kamala.
Ms. Marvel and the X-Men
Since the X-Men are back in prominence now, Marvel wants to tie Ms. Marvel to that franchise instead. It's been indicated that her MCU counterpart is a mutant, just like Kamala is in the comics now.
"Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant" (co-written by Vellani herself with Sabir Pirzada) is about Kamala joining the X-Men. Variant covers of "The New Mutant" #1 insert Kamala into drawings of famous "X-Men" covers, like Jack Kirby's original "X-Men" #1 (the original team fighting Magneto) or Frank Quitely's "New X-Men" #114, the kick-off of Grant Morrison's seminal (and dark) run. I imagine that if/when the Marvel Studios "X-Men" movie finally releases, Kamala will appear in it (especially since it seems likely the "Captain Marvel" franchise won't get movie no. 3).
What makes this all a bit more organic is that "Ms. Marvel" is a title traditionally tied to the X-Men ("X-Men" writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum actually worked together on "Ms. Marvel" too). One of the first "X-Men" comics I read was the "Brood Saga," where the X-Men and Carol Danvers (the latter of whom develops a new superhero persona, Binary) fight Xenomorph-like aliens. Before she fought the X-Men, Mystique was originally a villain from Claremont's "Ms. Marvel" run. Claremont in turn introduced the new villain/soon-to-be X-Woman Rogue by having her steal Carol's powers.
Tying Kamala to the "X-Men" (and Beast's cameo in the "Marvels" post-credit scene) isn't out of the blue, but the decision-makers (whether it was Marvel editorial or Feige) had better ways to do so than killing her off.