Ms. Marvel has mostly gone down extremely well with MCU diehards, but one common criticism leveled at the show is the reimagining of Kamala Khan’s powers. In contrast to her stretching and size-shifting abilities from the comics, TV’s Kamala produces “hardlight” energy constructs. By the end of the recent Disney Plus series, the heroine had come a little closer to her comics counterpart, even saying her catchphrase “embiggen”, but the depiction of her powers stayed the same.
While it seems the concept of keeping Kamala’s elasticated abilities from the page was vetoed very quickly, this newly unveiled piece of Ms. Marvel concept art reveals that the teen heroine’s energy constructs could’ve appeared very differently. As shared by Jackson Sze, Visual Development Supervisor at Marvel Studios, the artwork presents the energy as an orangey-yellow in color instead of a light purple. The piece imagines Kamala leaving a trail of energy pathways in her wake as she crosses the rooftops of Jersey City.
“An early keyframe done to explore [Ms. Marvel’s] light powers and how she uses them to traverse the city,” Sze explained. “Leaning into her as a gamer and how her powers manifest to reflect her youth and passion.”
The influence of video games on this design for Kamala’s powers is obvious, as the yellow rings dotted around the image are clearly inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog. It’s possible this is the reason the show went in another direction with the portrayal of her hardlight forms, to avoid comparisons with the Sonic movies. Likewise, the switch from yellow to purple was probably wise in order to differentiate the hardlight energy from Doctor Strange’s multiversal magic.
Still, this is a gorgeous piece, and it would’ve been great to see more of Kamala hopping across the city. Hopefully, her powers will continue to evolve when Iman Vellani returns opposite Brie Larson in The Marvels, hitting theaters next July 28.
Published: Jul 20, 2022 07:18 am