What are Ms. Marvel’s powers, and how do they differ from Captain Marvel’s?

The newest MCU Disney+ show, Ms. Marvel, has introduced us to a new superhero, but what are her superpowers? WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD…

Ms. Marvel – one of the newest MCU shows – is about a high school girl from New Jersey who admires Captain Marvel and wants to follow in her footsteps, becoming a hero in her own right along the way.

The show began premiering on Disney+ last month, introducing the world to Kamala Khan, aka the titular Ms. Marvel.

Kamala has some pretty cool powers in the show, though fans of the comics will be aware that these powers have been changed for the series. Just keep in mind that for this article, we will be focusing on her powers in the MCU show.

What are Ms. Marvel’s powers in the show?

In the series, Kamala is able to produce and manipulate purple and blue hued light from her hands, which can form hardened crystal structures.

These powers are somewhat akin to Captain Marvel’s light blasting abilities, which makes sense as Kamala reveres Carol Danvers so much, which is probably why Kamala’s powers were changed for the show.

With these abilities, Kamala is able to create stepping stones in the air, strong shields to block bullets, and these light structures can also be fired as weapons at opponents. There is also a nod to her original comic powers – which were the ability to stretch and grow her body – as she uses these light powers to form giant fists and long arms to punch enemies and save civilians.

With these powers, she is able to stop popular girl at school – Zoe – from falling to her death at AvengerCon, do the same for a little boy who is about to fall out of a mosque, and she’s also able to fight off D.O.D.C. agents when they attempt to track her down.

These new powers are amazing to look at, or as Kamala herself says, they are “cosmic.” That being said, her powers aren’t without issues.

In the scene where she unlocks her powers while competing in a cosplay contest at AvengerCon, Kamala accidentally beheads an Ant-Man statue, which leads to subsequent chaos. Throughout the series, she also has yet to fully master her powers, often fumbling with her ability to create stepping stones, leading to a pretty surprising Black Widow death reference in Episode 2.

Thankfully, by the end of the series, Kamala seems to have a pretty good grip on her powers, being able to catch a flying truck and even closing a portal to the Noor Dimension.

Where does Ms. Marvel’s powers come from?

Kamala’s powers in the show are triggered by a mysterious bangle that had been passed down by her equally mysterious great grandmother, Aisha. It was then revealed that every woman on her mother’s side of the family was a Djinn; a supernatural being who once resided in the Noor Dimension, a dimension that is made up of the light that Kamala produces.

One of the main themes of the show is family heritages, and thus the origin of Ms. Marvel’s powers were adapted accordingly. As Ms. Marvel co-creator and series executive producer Sana Amanat stated in an interview with Decider: “Bisha, our head writer, and her wonderful team of writers, they pulled from the comic that idea of the bangle, which is also connected to her family and the fact that it was passed down and it meant something.

“To me that was so beautiful because ultimately this story is one about identity. And linking the bangle to her family and to the root of her power is a really powerful statement.”

But that’s not everything. There had always been an underlying question in the show: how come Kamala had powers that no other Djinn had? No one else seemed to be able to produce the same light or open a portal, so what made Kamala different?

Now, while there have been plenty of theories linking to other MCU properties, such as Shang-Chi and his 10 rings, the final episode of the show has hinted what makes Kamala different: she has mutant DNA. This could be a tie-in to future X-Men projects, but even if not, Kamala clearly has a lot more to learn about her own abilities.

How do Ms. Marvel’s abilities differ from Captain Marvel’s?

Ms. Marvel’s powers seem limited to just being able to produce crystal light. As shown in Episode 2, she does not posses any significant super strength or speed, though this may possibly change in the future.

While her light powers are similar to the ones that MCU Captain Marvel has, there are many ways where Captain Marvel differs.

Captain Marvel, aka Carol Danvers, has many more powers, including enhanced strength, stamina, agility, and durability. She is also able to fly, unlike Kamala, who simply uses stepping stones to get through the air. One could also argue that Danvers has a better grip on her powers, using them effortlessly, though that likely comes from Captain Marvel’s experience in battle.

Even their power origin is different. Danvers received her powers from energy exposure, after the explosion of a light-speed engine created by Mar-Vell. Though the energy actually comes from the Tesseract that housed one of the Infinity Stones, the Space Stone.

So even though Kamala wants to emulate Carol Danvers, they clearly aren’t on the same level, but maybe that will change when they meet in upcoming film The Marvels.

Will Kamala’s powers develop in The Marvels?

Now, with Kamala’s potential to be a mutant laid out, we can only expect to learn more about her powers as she continuously appears in the MCU. Which will definitely be happening, as a post-credits scene reveals in the final episode.

In this post-credits scene, Kamala is chilling in her room, until her bangle starts to glow, and she is suddenly transported to an unknown location. Not just transported though, she has switched places with Captain Marvel herself.

This not only means that Kamala now has the (unwilling) ability to transport places, it also means that she will likely meet Captain Marvel soon, who could very much be a mentor to Kamala as she develops her powers. And we definitely know now that, as the scene states, “Ms. Marvel will return in The Marvels.”

Ms. Marvel is available to stream in full on Disney+. Read our review of Episode 6 here.