At New York Comiccon today, Square Enix, Crystal Dynamics, and Eidos Montreal confirmed that Kamala Khan will appear in Marvel’s Avengers as Ms. Marvel. The character was first created for the Ms. Marvel comic in 2013 by writer G. Willow Wilson, artist Adrian Alphona, and editors Sana Amanat, and Stephen Wacker. Kamala was Marvel’s Muslim hero to headline her own comic, and she quickly became a fan favourite.
Her origin is slightly altered for Crystal Dynamics and Edios Montreal’s Marvel’s Avengers, where she encounters the mutating Terrigen Mist during A-Day. Kamala develops her polymorphic powers due to Terrigen exposure, though she hides those powers for years after the A-Day disaster. This Kamala is an enthusiastic Avengers fan who, after the fall of her heroes, unravels a global conspiracy involving Advanced Idea Mechanics, who are also known as AIM.
Because Kamala is the one to find out about AIM’s true nefarious intentions, she’s also responsible for bringing the Avengers back together. So, essentially, not only is Kamala Khan the first character of colour to be added to the Marvel’s Avengers roster, she’s also secretly the game’s protagonist.
So far, the game’s roster includes Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, and now Ms. Marvel.
“An optimistic fan girl of the Avengers, Kamala Khan is the perfect character for the story we’re telling in Marvel’s Avengers,” said Shaun Escayg, Creative Director and Writer at Crystal Dynamics. “Telling our story of Kamala’s coming-of-age brings a fresh, hopeful perspective to the gameplay experience and her unique abilities as Ms. Marvel make her a character every person can relate to and will want to play. Kamala Khan is one of the unique characters that makes our game stand apart from any Avengers story experienced before.”
“Kamala is an inspired and perfectly fitting choice to join the ranks of, and reassemble, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,” said Bill Rosemann, VP of Creative at Marvel Games. “Perhaps more than any other character invented over the past decade, Ms. Marvel has not only charmed the hearts of longtime True Believers, but her unique mix of classic Marvel heroic elements and modern cultural relevancy has resulted in a headline-generating cultural icon.”
“It is a thrill to see Kamala in the Marvel’s Avengers game,” said Sana Amanat, VP of Content and Character Development at Marvel. “Crystal Dynamics has done a marvelous job of crafting a brand-new take on Kamala, while staying true to the spirit of her inspiring character, charismatic persona, and relatable purpose. Fans of the character are in for quite a ride, along with a few surprises, when Marvel’s Avengers makes its debut next year.”
“I think Kamala is a perfect fit for a game like this since she sees the Marvel world the same way we do as fans and players,” said G. Willow Wilson, co-creator of Ms. Marvel. “Kamala allows us to imagine what we ourselves would do if we suddenly discovered we had superpowers and got to stand alongside our heroes in their time of greatest need.”
Marvel’s Avengers will release for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia, and PC on May 15, 2020.