It's been clear for a while now that the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Kamala Khan won't be an Inhuman, and today's episode of Ms. Marvel went some way towards explaining the source of her newfound abilities. While the second instalment strongly hinted that her great grandmother Aisha's bangle simply allowed her to access dormant powers, there's a little more to the story.
After meeting Kamran's mother Najma, Kamala learns that, in the early 1940s, she and Aisha discovered the bangle on a blue arm in India (and yes, we also can't help but wonder if that might be Kree-related). They believed it would have the power to get them "home," though with British forces closing in, they're forced to flee and that's the last time the two women see each other.
As a result, Najma and her people have spent decades searching for the bangle in a quest to return to their reality, the Noor Dimension. They've been given many names over the years, but are essentially Djinn and part of a group of outcasts called the ClanDestines. The bangle can open a doorway home, but doing so could have disastrous, explosive consequences for Earth.
With that in mind, it's no great surprise that Kamala needs some time to think about what she's going to do. However, sensing her reluctance, Najma reveals her villainous nature and attacks the teenager at her brother's wedding. As luck would have it, Damage Control eventually shows up and apprehends them, leaving Kamala to flee home where she receives a call from her grandmother.
She had the same vision of a train that Kamala did when Najma touched her, and insists that her granddaughter (and her mom) visit her in Pakistan to get to the root of this.
For those of you wondering, The ClanDestine do exist in the comic books and were similarly a group of superpowered individuals who were the descendants of a powerful Djinn. This take on the group is a little different, as just like in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Marvel Studios is throwing alternate dimensions into the mix!
Regardless, we now know that Kamala is descended from a Djinn and that the bangle activates the "Noor" power that's inside of her. We've yet to discover how this ties into The Marvels, but it's a big departure from the comic books where Ms. Marvel is an Inhuman whose powers are activated by the Terrigen Mists (the principle is, however, the same in many ways).
What did you think about today's Ms. Marvel?