Part of what has made Ms. Marvel so enjoyable over the past four weeks is the genuine mystery that weaves throughout each episode and keeps viewers on their toes. It all stems from the fact that Kamala Khan does not appear to bring her Inhuman ties to the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, the source of her powers has left both casual viewers and comic book experts scratching their heads as to where the series is taking the beloved character. Even by the end of Episode 4, fans still aren’t entirely clear as to what’s happening. But we first looked at Kamala’s potential connection to the Quantum Realm and time travel after the series premiere, and more evidence of this theory just keeps rolling in.
Numerous aspects of Ms. Marvel could lean in this direction. A major theory suggests that the bangle that activated her powers is, in fact, a quantum band, which derives its powers from the Quantum Realm. There were hints of time travel via Kamala’s visions, and it could be important to remember that her comic powers operated based on constant time-traveling on a molecular level.
What we now know about Kamala’s origins and family history in Ms. Marvel is that her great-grandmother, Aisha, was a “Clandestine” or “Djinn.” While the “Djinn” designation turned out to be more of a red herring based on what we learned in Episode 4, we also know that the Clandestines come from the Noor Dimension, which is separated from the main reality by a veil of energy. Najma and her gang want Kamala to break through that veil, but it has been made clear that if she were to do so, the Noor Dimension would overtake and destroy Kamala’s reality.
We do not know much about the Noor Dimension other than that supernatural beings, identified in the past as “Djinn”, came from it and that Clandestines and the Red Daggers can sense the Noor energy that Kamala draws from the other dimension. In the MCU, we know about a few realms. Asgard is a great example, and it is even referenced in Episode 4 to help explain the Noor Dimension. Another “realm” we have heard of is the Quantum Realm, which is certainly creeping in as a major player in the future of the MCU.
As we know from Avengers: Endgame, the Quantum Realm, and quantum energy were the backbones of time travel. What Episode 4 possibly re-emphasizes is Kamala’s connection to time travel. By the end of Episode 4, Kamala seems very much in the 1940s in India after her bangle was attacked and went haywire. While it is not entirely clear yet whether she is actually, physically present there, the ending shots of the episode certainly made it easy to make that conclusion. Obviously, Episode 5 will keep her in that space for the purpose of explaining and resolving Aisha’s mysterious storyline, which is profoundly connected to the exact period Kamala is now in.
Still worth noting, Ms. Marvel has had quite the number of Ant-Man references. Obviously, Scott Lang and Hank Pym are the characters most associated with the Quantum Realm, and we next expect to see Ant-Man in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. “Quantumania” alone should set the expectations for how important the Quantum Realm will be, but that film will also star the time-travelling villain Kang the Conquerer. Following Loki, the Kang Easter egg in Moon Knight, and Phase 4’s focus on the multiverse, Kang is very much set up to potentially be the next MCU saga’s Big Bad.
Overall, there’s enough evidence to form the theory that Kamala is utilizing some of the same general concepts that we have already been introduced to in the MCU. If the Noor Dimension is actually the Quantum Realm, that major piece of the universe would be served by being better developed in Ms. Marvel. It also could make Kamala’s story more interesting than if the Noor Dimension was a completely original concept that gets limited to her origin story and not much else. Obviously, there is more nuance to why Kamala or Aisha can utilize the bangle while others, like the Clandestines, cannot. We will likely learn virtually all of this information in the next episode, as all MCU DIsney+ series love spending the majority of their penultimate episodes resolving every mystery or question, and ultimately setting the hero up for the final battle fully embracing their identity.
The first four episodes of Ms. Marvel are now streaming on Disney+.
