Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: marvel, ms marvel

The Shape-Shifting Powers Of Ms Marvel And Why She Stopped

In the Marvel comic books, as opposed to the television series, Ms Marvel is known for her power of embiggening, stretching her body and changing its size.

Published Mon, 29 May 2023 10:57:10 -0500

by Rich Johnston

Comments

In the Marvel comic books, as opposed to the television series, Ms Marvel is known for her power of embiggening, stretching her body and changing its size. But there was another ability, that of proper shape-shifting and it was the first power she exhibited after undergoing the Inhuman process of Terrigenesis, courtesy of her genetic bloodline. Emerging from the cocoon, Kamala Khan hallucinated a number of her favourite superheroes, and found that she had turned into one, Carol Danvers, the former Ms. Marvel, now known as Captain Marvel.

Adrian Alphona and Ian Herring there, such a fantastic artistic combination. Since then, Ms Marvel has turned into other objects such as a chair, or other people such as her mother, and a rather splendid facial disguise when she is without her costume.

But shape-shifting to look like Carol Danvers was a recurring go-to solution, whether practical or psychological. This came to an end after a falling out with Danvers, and Kamal Khan gaining confidence in herself as a superhero. Also there were other downsides.

She can't use her healing powers when she is shape-shifting. Consider this foreshadowing for many years ago. Because when, for whatever ritualistic reason, she is pretending to be someone else, turning herself into a target, it limited her ability to respond to such an attack. One of the reasons Ms Marvel stopped using this power, it made her more vulnerable. And she found other means of using her powers instead. Like this.

So she can be Mister Fantastic sometimes. Or like Ant-Man.

Or like Mister Fantastic and Ant-Man, simultaneously. That's Ms Marvel.

Still a young superhero, not au fait with every aspect of her powers, but learning in the job, being inventive and generating new abilities, even if she has to discard others. Of course, in Amazing Spider-Man #26, she may be exhibiting one of her early abilities with disastrous results… spoilers, of course.