In the season finale of Ms. Marvel from Marvel Studios, there was a lot to take in. After six episodes, the DODC and a slightly out-of-control Kamran were the only ones left in the fight. Even better, Kamala Khan finally got her signature outfit, just in time for her last Disney+ entry, where she can try out some new moves.
People have talked about how Ms. Marvel’s powers have changed, and rightly so. Powers like hard light construct are very different from powers like stretchy skin. Even so, the show has gone out of its way to make sure that these new skills still look like her old ones.
Before this last episode, this was mostly done with big crystal hands. But in Kamala’s big showdown with the DODC, she finally used her signature move, Embiggen. She grew a few feet taller, her hard-light limbs got longer, and an exoskeleton covered her body to protect it.
Now, as exciting as it was to see Kamala Khan grow as she took on multiple agents at once, that particular use of her light construct powers reminded me of a certain X-Men character: Hisako Ichiki, also known as Armor.
Now, the main actor in the show has said that the X-Men character did have an effect on Kamala’s powers.
Iman Vellani Reveals Ms. Marvel’s X-Men Inspirations
During a recent Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit, Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani said that the new ability for Kamala was “definitely” inspired by Armor:
“We definitely got ideas from Armor from the X-Men, but I like to think of it as a surge of energy that surrounds her as a layer of protection. I don’t think she actually feels it like glass.”
Even though the actress points out some differences, most people will probably still think that the power sets are pretty much the same. But who exactly is this X-Men member who gave the Disney+ show its visual style?
Hisako Ichiki is a mutant from Tokyo, Japan. She first appeared in a comic book in Astonishing X-Men (Vol. 3) #4. Armor was her name, and her powers were Psionic Exoskeleton-Armor, which were basically just hard, light structures.
When Hisako joined the Xavier Institution, she was put in the Paladins Squad, a training program run by Kitty Pryde. One of her first big fights was with a supervillain named Ord from an alien world called Breakworld. He attacked their school. After her best friend died by suicide, it wasn’t long before she had to fight a dangerous room that could think for itself.
Armor became an official member of the X-Men while he and Wolverine were on a mission to Breakworld to destroy a weapon that could destroy Earth. From there, she kept getting involved in mutant stories, like House of M, Nathaniel Grey’s crazy delusions, the fight between Wolverine and Cyclops, and the creation of Krakoa as a safe haven for mutants.
When Armor uses her powers, she is basically put inside a big hard-light exoskeleton. From the inside, she moves her body while the armor around her listens. Another way to think of it is like Iron Man’s armor, which is see-through.
During the big final showdown with DODC, Kamala Khan uses her new powers in the same way. Ms. Marvel can’t stretch like her comic book counterpart, so when she uses her purple constructs as a big exoskeleton, it gives the impression that she is getting bigger and bigger.
Now, the effect wasn’t as big as Armor’s is in the comics, but it was still pretty much the same.
Has Kamala Khan Stolen Armor’s Thunder?
What will happen to Hisako Ichiki is now the biggest question. Will she ever get the chance to play a big part in the MCU, since her powers are almost exactly the same as Kamala’s? Armor’s powers might be the next ones to get a big change. She might even get Ms. Marvel’s old stretchy powers.
Still, there’s always room on the screen for more than one set of similar powers. Even so, there are already a lot of people who just punch hard. Though Marvel should still think about how to make Armor’s use of an exoskeleton more interesting.
For one thing, the ones she uses in the comics are usually much bigger than what Kamala has done so far. The color of the energy it uses would also be important to tell it apart from Noor energy, unless Noor energy ends up being used and talked about more often in the future.
Even more interesting is that the last few minutes of the episode proved that Kamala is the first mutant to be shown in the MCU. It’s possible that her genes are more complicated than that, but that just makes this link to Armor more interesting.
Since Iman Vellani’s hero could have the still-unnamed X-Gene in her DNA, her future Marvel Studios storyline could lead her right into the X-Men. Possibly into a spot on the team that Armor could have had?
Fans of Hisako will worry that the character might be replaced because of this, but there won’t be any answers on that front for a long time. People will just have to be patient and wait until July 28, 2023, when The Marvels comes out, to see where the MCU goes from here.
Ms. Marvel is now available on Disney+ everywhere in the world.
