Marvel Comics: Was Ms. Marvel’s death in Spider-Man worth it?

Marvel Comics killing Kamala Khan’s Ms. Marvel in The Amazing Spider-Man may not have been worth it. However, the visceral responses weren’t right. 

Back in May, there were leaks of The Amazing Spider-Man No. 26 by Zeb Wells. It showed images of the death of Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel.

Understandably, fans were furious. Not only is Kamala one of the most popular characters in Marvel Comics, but she’s also one of the most innocent. It also doesn’t help that some comic book readers haven’t liked this current run of Spider-Man.

This writer wasn’t happy with Ms. Marvel dying. Nevertheless, he didn’t rush to judge the issue. The smart thing to do was to wait and read The Amazing Spider-Man No. 26 before judging. After reading the issue, it wasn’t bad, it just may not have been a good decision.

What Ms. Marvel’s death means for Marvel Comics

A major character’s death will always leave fans emotional. Superman (Death of Superman), Wolverine (Death of Wolverine), and Batman (Final Crisis) are perfect examples of this. However, their deaths were different. All of them were around for decades before they were killed off. Ms. Marvel’s death was different for multiple reasons.

First, Kamala Khan is a young woman and has barely been around for a decade (her first appearance was in February 2013). Second, she’s one of the few Muslim characters in comics, so losing her is understandably a huge deal to any Muslim comic book fan. Third, Kamala epitomizes what it means to be a hero. Lastly, she didn’t die in her own title. All of this is why it’s understandable that people would be upset. Although, some of the responses to her death were absurd.

Zeb Wells received a plethora of obscene comments, insults, and threats throughout his run of The Amazing Spider-Man. The news of Kamala’s death made things worse. None of that justified that kind of response, however. This writer knows what it’s like when a character you love or relate to dies, but that’s not enough for him to be rude or negative to the creator. Plus, it’s not as if Marvel didn’t have to approve her death.

Writers can’t do whatever they want. Whenever a creative team puts a project together, Marvel Comics has to approve it. Everything that goes into a comic book affects the entire universe. Of course, there are exceptions where minor characters die or just fall into obscurity. However, Kamala Khan has never been a minor character. On top of that, her death had to be approved by more than just Marvel Comics. Marvel Studios and Disney probably had to sign off on this as well.

Since The Marvels will be released late this year, there is no way that Marvel Studios would let a rogue creative team do whatever they wanted. Especially with their movie debuting in less than a year. It should also be noted that while this article is being written, Zeb Wells’ The Amazing Spider-Man No. 27 and Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel (written by  G. Willow Wilson, Saladin Ahmed, and Mark Waid) haven’t been released. Either of those comics could show that Ms. Marvel isn’t dead. She could have been transported to another reality. It wouldn’t be the first time this happened.

Hopefully, fans who hated her death will receive an epic comeback from their favorite character. And, if we’re being honest, Kamala Khan will likely be back before The Marvels is released on Disney Plus.

Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow for more on Kamala Khan, Spider-Man, and Marvel Comics as the news comes out.