By Alison Stateman
On June 8, the Disney+ limited series Ms. Marvel from Marvel Studios will introduce viewers to the first Muslim teen Super Hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—and we can hardly contain our excitement! Ms. Marvel, aka Kamala Khan, is a 16-year-old Muslim American growing up in Jersey City who idolizes Super Heroes like Captain Marvel. Being a teen is never easy, but for Kamala it’s particularly challenging as she grapples with fitting in at home and at school and coming to terms with some pretty awesome, but unwieldy superpowers.
Before the show launches, we’ve assembled a few seminal works featuring Ms. Marvel—from animated series and comics to video games—for you to enjoy before tuning into the live-action series:
Ms. Marvel (2014-2015)
Chief among the must-reads is the iteration of Ms. Marvel that inspired the new series. First introduced by Marvel Comics in 2014 with Ms. Marvel No.1, Kamala Khan came to life under the direction of Sana Amanat, now Executive of Production & Development for Marvel Studios; Stephen Wacker, a longtime Marvel editor; writer G. Willow Wilson; and artist Adrian Alphona. Ms. Marvel was the first Muslim Super Hero to headline her own comic series and was enthusiastically embraced by critics and fans alike. In fact, the first issue of the series reached a rare seventh printing! Amanat also serves as co-executive producer of Ms. Marvel on Disney+ and played a role in other foundational works in the evolution of Kamala Khan.
Ms. Marvel (2015-2019)
This comic series follows the internationally beloved, butt-kicking, smack-talking Kamala Khan who has officially become an Avenger! She serves alongside the best of the best—but is this wish fulfilled everything she hoped it would be? The series explores this question over the course of its 38 issues.
Avengers: Ms. Marvel’s Fists of Fury (2017)
Part of the A Mighty Marvel Chapter Book series, the 128-page tome gave readers aged 8 to 12 a crash course on the origins of Ms. Marvel as Thor, God of Thunder, helps her find the strength within herself to control her new powers and learn what it means to be a Super Hero.
Spider-Man (2017-2020)
Ms. Marvel, who, like Peter Parker, knows a thing or two about struggling with dual identities, makes an appearance in the second season of the animated Disney+ Marvel series Spider-Man.
We first meet her in the episode “School of Hard Knocks.” Though she and Spider-Man get off to a rough start—he intrudes on her first solo mission at the Bilderburg Academy—as they work together to free the captured Avengers, they become friends. In fact, Peter may even have a crush on her…
Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors (2018)
Marvel Animation’s long-awaited feature-length movie, which premiered on Disney XD in 2018, brought together Marvel’s new and beloved powered teens as an unlikely, but formidable crew of aspiring heroes. Ms. Marvel, Squirrel Girl, Quake, Patriot, America Chavez, and Inferno band together to fight an unexpected threat that bears down on the Marvel Universe. Amanat co-executive produced the feature, as well as the Marvel Rising animated shorts featuring Kamala and her dedicated crew of teenage Super Heroes—including Marvel Rising: Operation Shuri; Marvel Rising: Battle of the Bands; Marvel Rising: Heart of Iron; Marvel Rising: Chasing Ghosts; and Marvel Rising: Initiation.
Marvel’s Avengers (2020, 2021)
This video game, developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix, launched on September 4, 2020, on Xbox One, Google Stadia, PC, and PlayStation 4, with a next gen update in 2021—allowing fans to play their favorite Super Heroes in an original Avengers story that introduces several characters, including Kamala Khan in a very prominent role. After the A-Day disaster destroyed San Francisco and created a population of Inhumans, the Avengers disbanded. Players start in the role of Kamala Khan, who is on the run from Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM) after uncovering a damning secret on their servers.
Ms. Marvel: Stretched Thin (2021)
An original middle-grade graphic novel starring breakout character (and New Jersey’s own) Ms. Marvel! The greatest hero of the new generation returns in an all-new solo adventure! After an explosion of interdimensional proportions at her cousin’s lab, Kamala Khan suddenly has a doppelgänger to deal with. As Ms. Marvel, it’s her duty to help out the newcomer, but something doesn’t feel quite right. Kamala’s powers are on the fritz, and she suspects that this new hero-in-training isn’t trustworthy. And why has everything around her…turned into a Bollywood set?! Teaming-up with artist Andrés Genolet, New York Times best-selling author Samira Ahmed (Love, Hate, & Other Filters; Internment; Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know) brings all the flair of her young adult fiction to the always-surprising world of Ms. Marvel!
Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit (2021-2022)
The greatest hero of the new generation returns in an all-new solo adventure! After an explosion of interdimensional proportions at her cousin’s lab, Kamala Khan suddenly has a doppelgänger to deal with. As Ms. Marvel, it’s her duty to help out the newcomer, but something doesn’t feel quite right. Kamala’s powers are on the fritz, and she suspects that this new hero-in-training isn’t trustworthy. And why has everything around her…turned into a Bollywood set?! Teaming-up with artist Andrés Genolet, New York Times best-selling author Samira Ahmed (Love, Hate, & Other Filters; Internment; Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know) brings all the flair of her young adult fiction to the always-surprising world of Ms. Marvel!
