Disney+ series 'Ms Marvel' must maintain character's fangirl status from comics as fans identify with it
At 2019's D23 annual convention, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced that three new live-action series -- 'She-Hulk', 'Moon Knight', and 'Ms. Marvel' -- are currently in development, and all of them are going to be derived from the comics. Feige added Ms. Marvel will also be making her way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies, which is something fans can definitely cheer.
Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan holds the special distinction of being the first Muslim character in Marveldom to headline her own comic book. While this is most certainly going to make it into the show, there are other aspects to the character that are equally important.
In the comics, Kamala is a huge fangirl who closely follows the adventures of all the heroes of her world, especially Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers. As a character, she represents Marvel's fanbase like few others.
Just like most of Marvel's hardcore fans, Kamala enjoys reading and writing fanfiction about her favorite heroes, pairing them up and imagining how they would act in various situations. She particularly enjoys shipping Spider-Man with Captain Marvel, though that particular idea may be a bit problematic if replicated in the MCU considering the age difference between Tom Holland's Peter Parker and Brie Larson's Carol Danvers.
Kamala's fangirl status isn't just a fun quirk, it's a personality trait quite central to the character. Even her decision to become a superhero came about precisely because she wanted to be like her idols.
Being part of the Marvel fandom is an aspect of Ms. Marvel that needs to be maintained if Marvel intends to keep fans of the character satisfied. In many ways, it is the main reason why she has become so popular among Marvel readers.
The last thing the MCU needs right now is to anger their fandom, especially considering how Spider-Man's exit has soured relations with so many fans. At a time when their most popular hero is no longer around, 'Ms. Marvel' could give the MCU a much-needed popularity boost and further integrate the fandom into the franchise.
'Ms. Marvel' doesn't have a release date yet but it will hopefully be available on Disney+ sometime in 2021.
