Kamala Khan’s Multiverse Has A Chance to Stand Apart From the Usual What If…?s

This year is shaping up to be a big year for Marvel multiverse stories. In the MCU, Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness traveled the Marvel multiverse in theaters for the first time, while What If...? season two will continue to showcase alternate timelines on Disney+ later this year.

Meanwhile, in the comics, two different modern Marvel superstars, Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy have gotten runs exploring their alternate universe variants: What If…? Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse. With the end of Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit also teasing a multiverse of Kamala Khan variants, there's been plenty of speculation about a future comic series exploring the 'Kamalaverse,' so to speak. Among all the multiverse events going on, Kamala's story has a chance to stand out by depicting Kamala taking on the mantles of newer heroes instead of the same legacy characters in the stories of Miles and Gwen.

Last year, Beyond the Limit #1 (by Samira Ahmed, Mashal Ahmed and Andres Genolet) gave readers its first tease of a Kamalaverse, showing Kamala reacting to a series of her variants. This tease also signaled the start of Kamala's fight with an inter-dimensional shapeshifter named Qarin, who blamed her for the death of the Kamala Khan in her home dimension. By the final issue of the mini-series, Qarin was left defeated with the help of Doctor Strange and Nadia van Dyne. However, a mysterious new foe has retained possession of the Polchinski Box, the technology that created the conflict and uses it to show off a new series of Kamala variants.

Meanwhile, in their respective stories, both Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales are also interacting with alternate reality versions of themselves. In their stories, both have met versions of themselves carrying the titles Captain America, Thor, and Wolverine. If a Kamalaverse event is happening later this year, Kamala's story has a chance to break away from the norm and go beyond the big-name Avengers who tend to be used for What If...? narratives. As Kamala was a teenage Captain Marvel fan prior to getting her powers, there's a lot of potential for Kamala stories where she takes on the mantles of her fellow champions, the teenage hero team full of modern Marvel heroes who grew up in a world where the Avengers already existed.

Imagine a world where Kamala was a fan of Janet Van Dyne instead of Carol Danvers, leading to Kamala becoming the Unstoppable Wasp. Alternatively, as with how important people in Miles' life got new roles to fit his new superhero identities, the Kamalaverse could also depict alternate versions of Carol Danvers that inspired their universe's Kamala in unique ways. For example, a variant of Carol who fights under the mantle of Iron Man could inspire its universe's Kamala to get into mechanical engineering and build her own suit, becoming that universe's version of Ironheart. Kamala's fan-girl nature could also lend herself well to taking on the role of Gwenpool, becoming a fan who is aware of the medium she is in. The possibilities are endless.

Regardless of what kinds of variants turn up, the storytelling potential of the Kamalaverse is very exciting. Whether it stands out from the Gwenverse or not, Kamala Khan is a beloved hero who deserves to have more unique stories being told about her. For now, though, readers will have to wait and see what challenges await Kamala as she continues to explore the infinite possibilities of the multiverse later this summer.