Many MCU Fans Are Up In Arms Over A Major Ms. Marvel Detail

Comic book fans can be somewhat testy about their favorite characters undergoing changes on their way to the big screen. Hugh Jackman was at one time considered too tall to play the canonically diminutive Wolverine, and some particularly strident fans can take issue with anything from an actor's hair color to their age when quibbling over the appropriateness of their casting. This is a trend that continues up to the present day, as evidenced by fan reactions to a recent casting decision. 

With the new "Ms. Marvel" series in Disney+, some fans of the original character are up in arms over something that has nothing to do with the casting of Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, and everything to do with a behind-the-scenes creative choice regarding the way the character is depicted. And if you're at all familiar with the comic book incarnation of Ms. Marvel, you're probably already aware that the version we see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is pretty different from the source material in at least one major way.

If you're familiar with the original comic book incarnation of Kamala Khan, she has the ability to transform the shape of her body, a la other stretchy superheroes like Plastic Man and Mr. Fantastic. But the live-action "Ms. Marvel" incarnation of the character has different, cosmic-originating powers from her comic book counterpart, and they don't come from The Inhumans' Terrigen mists. Instead, a magical bangle (a nod to the character's Pakistani heritage) gives her the ability to form energy constructs much like Green Lantern or the MCU's own Captain Marvel. And as you might expect, some fans are not happy about the change.

Redditor u/DaneLimmish wrote in response to a post about the change, "I actually don't like the powers, like half her fun is getting big and getting small or just turning into a balloon." Another fan, u/pancake_muncher, cited the character's ability to stretch and enlarge herself as a big part of what made her very enjoyable to follow on the pages of the comics. "It's cartoony and silly looking, but filled with so much personality," the user continued.

However, recent promotional materials for "Ms. Marvel" show the character using her new cosmic construct powers in a way that's similar, if not exactly the same, to her character's acts of stretchiness in the comic. So perhaps the show will be able to find a pleasing middle ground between staying true to the character's original powers and making the new ones work best on screen.