Summary

• Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige made the controversial decision to kill off Ms. Marvel, per Marvel writer Cody Ziglar.
• Feige allegedly asked writer Zeb Wells to make the sacrifice to align the comic storyline with MCU plans, but the story ended up being hugely controversial.
• Marvel has responded by refuting this description, stating that the "Death of Ms. Marvel" story was a collective decision by Marvel editorial.

A Marvel Comics writer has confirmed that the controversial decision to kill off Kamala Khan’s death caused outrage among fans, who were upset with the handling of it, as well as the decision to resurrect her as a mutant. Many saw this as a blatant attempt to align Ms. Marvel’s comic status with the fact that she is a mutant in the MCU.

In an interview with the Amazing Spider-Talk podcast, Marvel writer Cody Ziglar confirms that Feige was the one who made the call. He says that Zeb Wells, the writer of The Amazing Spider-Man #26 where Kamala dies, told him the plan months in advance. Wells told Ziglar that the decision was made by Feige, who serves as the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment. According to Ziglar, “Feige was like, ‘I don’t do this very often, but can you please just do this to make things in line with Marvel [Studios] because we have some stuff we want to do with Kamala.’”

Ziglar says that he felt bad for Wells, but also its that “it was funny watching him get savaged online knowing that he’s sort of the guy who had to answer the call of Daddy Feige to make this sacrifice.”

UPDATE: Marvel has responded by refuting this description, explaining that the "Death of Ms. Marvel" story was a collective decision by Marvel editorial, which had been planned and developed for some time.

Marvel Knew Kamala Khan's Death Would Anger Fans

Ziglar says that Wells knew what it would mean to have to be the one to kill off Ms. Marvel. "He's like, 'I’m the guy that drew the short straw. People are going to be very mad that I have to kill Ms. Marvel.'" As it turns out, Wells was right on the money. Fans were indeed upset that not only did Kamala die, but that her death was seemingly carried out in the interest of corporate synergy. As soon as news of Kamala's death broke, fans knew it was only a matter of time before she would be brought back as a mutant.

It's revealed in the last episode of the Ms. Marvel series on Disney+ that Kamala is a mutant, a departure from her original status as an Inhuman in the comics. This twist was seen as a way to establish the presence of mutants in the MCU, since Disney's acquisition of Fox meant that Marvel Studios could now use X-Men characters in its movies. When Ms. Marvel was first introduced in 2014, she was an Inhuman, not a mutant. Marvel briefly tried to position Inhumans to supplant mutants in the comics, but this proved unpopular with fans. After the negative reaction to the MCU's Inhumans miniseries in 2017, Feige and Marvel Studios wisely decided to minimize the presence of Inhumans going forward.

Kamala Khan's first comics appearance was technically as an unnamed cameo in 2013's Captain Marvel #14 by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Scott Hepburn and Gerardo Sandoval. Her first full appearance would come the following year in All-New Marvel Now! Point One #1, in a story by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona.

As Amazing Spider-Talk host Dan Gvozden points out in his interview with Ziglar, Marvel didn't do Zeb Wells any favors by having him be the one to kill off Kamala. "It definitely felt like he drew the short straw, and not that that was his intention," Gvozden says, adding that The Amazing Spider-Man fans knew that a major death was coming. "I mean, they teased it was going to be MJ for a long time. That was poking the bear of all bears."

Kamala Khan's Death Didn't Even Make Sense

There were other reasons why Kamala Khan's death was so controversial. Her death doesn't occur in her own series, but rather in The Amazing Spider-Man #26 by Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr., which was the culmination of a storyline about how Peter Parker and Mary Jane broke up. While Kamala had popped up a couple of times in The Amazing Spider-Man, she was not a major character in the series. Ms. Marvel's death was therefore seen as merely a means of providing shock value and making readers briefly think that Mary Jane would be the one to die.

Other fans saw her death in a Spider-Man series as an example of "fridging," where a female character is killed to advance the story and motivations of a male hero. Indeed, the cover of Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel featured Spider-Man front and center, emphasizing his grief over the sacrifice of Ms. Marvel. Additionally, because Kamala is one of the most prominent Muslim characters in comics, her death was seen as a serious blow to representation and diversity.

If Kamala Khan was going to die in a Spider-Man comic, it's odd that it would be in a story starring Peter Parker's Spider-Man. Ms. Marvel has been a close friend and teammate of Miles Morales' Spider-Man for years, and has had relatively few interactions with Peter.

Marvel Has A History Of Forcing Its Comics To Conform To The Movies

As the president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige is known to have a lot of control over what happens in the MCU. But as the chief creative officer for all of Marvel Entertainment, Feige has the ultimate say on what happens in the comics, video games, television series and more. Of course, Ms. Marvel's death is hardly the first time that Marvel Comics have been changed to more closely reflect what's going on in the MCU. This is particularly seen when a dead or de-powered character is resurrected right before their new movie premieres.

Kevin Feige made his first comic book appearance in 2021's X-Men #21 by Jonathan Hickman, Nick Dragotta, Russell Dauterman, Lucas Werneck and Sara Pichelli. Feige was one of the many celebrity guests at the X-Men's first annual Hellfire Gala.

When Peter Parker was killed and Doctor Octopus took over his body, the villain operated as the Superior Spider-Man in a popular story that ran for nearly two years. Peter Parker regained his body and resumed his duties as Spider-Man in 2014's The Superior Spider-Man #31, which just so happened to be released a month before the premiere of the film The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Similarly, Captain America lost his Super Soldier Serum and aged into an elderly man in 2014, only to be restored to his prime in 2016 just before Captain America: Civil War was released. Thor took back his position as the God of Thunder from Jane Foster just in time for Thor: Ragnarok's release in 2018.

There has been some speculation among fans that the success of the cartoon series X-Men '97, the comics' status quo is being shifted once again to more closely resemble something familiar to fans who have not been following the comics.

Ms. Marvel's Death & Resurrection Overshadowed The Character Herself

One thing that was a bit overlooked in the discussion about Ms. Marvel's death was what it actually meant for Kamala Khan herself. The issue where she was resurrected was also the issue that kicked off the massive Fall of X storyline, where the X-Men's island home is attacked and the world's mutants find themselves fighting for survival. This event also included the launch of the miniseries Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant, which was co-written by Iman Vellani, the actor who portrays Kamala in the MCU.

In his interview with Amazing Spider-Talk, Ziglar says that he was very much looking forward to that when he heard about the death and resurrection of Ms. Marvel. Ziglar recalls thinking that "people are going to be excited because, for the first time, an MCU actor is going to be actively participating in creating the lore of the character in the comic books proper. Sometimes they'll write short stories, but having them actually engaged in a run or a miniseries is a pretty big deal."

As Ziglar also points out, Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace, which further cements Kamala's place among the X-Men while staying true to her cultural and Inhuman heritage.

In their first miniseries, Kamala affirms that being a mutant doesn't change who she is as a person, as she will always remain committed to being a hero. Kevin Feige may be able to tell comic writers and artists to kill Kamala Khan or make her a mutant, but even he's not powerful enough to dampen the heroic spirit that has endeared Ms. Marvel to millions of fans around the world.

Source: Amazing Spider-Talk