The following contains spoilers for Ms. Marvel Episode 6, "No Normal," streaming now on Disney+.
Not only did Captain Marvel show up for the Ms. Marvel Season 1 finale, but the episode confirmed Kamala Khan is the MCU's first mutant -- well, in the main universe anyway.
Star Iman Vellani took to Reddit for an AMA and was asked about the shocking reveal that Kamala isn't an Inhuman like in the comics but rather Earth-616's first-known mutant. And despite the potential controversy of the change, the actor couldn't be more thrilled.
"Don't get me wrong, I love the Inhumans. Black Bolt is my father. But I do think the MCU is in a very different place than the comics were," Vellani said. "And so we were actually able to go this way with Kamala, and to be fair, the original intent for the comic character WAS to make her a mutant, so I am over the moon that this is real and we could make it happen. [Executive producer and Ms. Marvel co-creator] Sana Amanat and I were freaking out, every single brain cell exploded when we found out we can do this. I was literally refreshing the ep 6 discussion thread on here until someone finallyyyy mentioned it."
Is Ms. Marvel A Mutant?
Not only were Kamala's powers changed for the show, but her origin was as well. All season hinted that she might be cosmically powered, a magical being, or simply have special abilities given her family's origin in another dimension. But the final episode of the season featured Bruno revealing that no other members of Kamala's family have the same anomalous DNA as her. Instead, the bangle she put out unlocked a "mutation" inside her. And with the word spoken aloud, the score incorporated a piece of the X-Men: The Animated Series theme song.
A similar move occurred when Professor X appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, making him technically the MCU's first mutant. But his existence in another universe -- and death -- means the true beginning of mutants in the MCU will come from Kamala. While the fate of Ms. Marvel is unknown, the hero will return in The Marvels next year. There, she's likely to learn more about her powers and DNA, and fans may finally be introduced to the X-Men.
Ms. Marvel Season 1 is streaming now on Disney+.
Source: Reddit