Now that Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness has released on the big screen, and Moon Knight has concluded its 6-episode run on Disney+, eyes have naturally pivoted to the next double entry in the MCU: Thor: Love & Thunder and the introduction of Kamala Khan in Ms. Marvel. Ms. Marvel is about three weeks away from dropping, and as we have seen, the Disney+ shows are FIRMLY connected to the wider MCU (even Moon Knight had a reference to the GRC that debuted in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier). Ms. Marvel will be no different, forging ties to the 2023 theatrical release, The Marvels.
The 1-2 punch of Ms. Marvel/The Marvels seems in line with WandaVision/Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. As such, the speculation train is rampant as to how this story about a young hero from New Jersey can connect to the sequel for one of Marvel’s highest grossing films ever. We can start to answer that by going back to the source: the comics.
Based on the trailer, Kamala Khan’s power source seems incredibly reminiscent of the Quantum Bands. The Quantum Bands, gifted in the comics to Mar-Vell as he became Protector of the Universe, may offer us our first connection to Carol Danvers.
In the MCU, the Bands are likely Kree tech with a connection to the Quantum Realm. The Kree came to Earth-616 to bring Carol Danvers back to Hala, and it is entirely possible that they left some tech that Kamala Khan stumbles upon. The last time we saw Carol, in the post-credit scene for Shang Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, where she was quickly distracted and had to run off. It’s incredibly likely that will coincide with the timeline of The Marvels.
The Disney Plus streaming series Hawkeye may also provide a template for a connection to form between Kamala and Carol. In that, we see a young Kate Bishop inspired by Hawkeye after watching him from her parents’ apartment as he fought off the Chitauri. In the comics, Kamala looks up to Carol in the same way, and you see hints of that transferring over from the page to the screen in the footage that Marvel has released. Kamala idolizes Carol, and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see a similar scene in Ms. Marvel that allows for Kamala to develop a deep respect for Carol. Keep in mind that, at this point in the MCU, Carol’s adventures have taken place off-world, so Marvel is going to have to show why Kamala feels this deep connection to Carol.
Lastly, we can’t talk about how Ms. Marvel will connect to The Marvels without discussing the third “Marvel”: Monica Rambeau. Imbued with powers from thrice crossing “The Hex”, it is possible that Monica Rambeau will be the one to remind Kamala that Carol is not the hero that she thinks she is. Monica blipped when her mother was alive, returning only to have her mother pass and Carol, her mother’s best friend, nowhere to be found. In Wandavision, we see a Monica that is very clearly not too fond of Carol, and now she’s going to be with a person in Kamala who adores the person she cannot stand.
Given that Carol didn’t Blip, and thus won’t understand why Monica is so pissed, it’s even likely that Kamala is who tells Carol that Monica has a reason to not be happy with her. Given Carol’s stubborn nature, this will most likely be needed. At the end of WandaVision, we also see that Monica is told by a friendly Skrull that someone wanted to see her, and that someone could be a Carol who has now recruited a kid into space (if Ms. Marvel ends with Kamala Khan being beamed up in order to be protected). Imagine her anger when seeing that Carol came to protect Kamala, but not her.
With her power source potentially being Kree tech, the idolization of one of the heroes, and potential role as an intermediary between Carol and Monica, Ms. Marvel will most definitely be required watching for anyone preparing to watch The Marvels.
