Warning: SPOILERS for Dark Web: Ms. Marvel #2
Despite Kamala Khan is an incredibly popular superhero, obtaining a devoted fan following, a hit TV show on Disney+ and a starring role in 2023's The Marvels in the MCU. But Kamala is crippled with anxiety concerning her place in the world, and Dark Web: Ms. Marvel #2 confirms she would rather be someone else.
While Kamala Khan didn't have a particularly busy 2022 (the Champions series ended, and she was left without an ongoing solo book of her own the previous year), she did participate in numerous crossover events. She wasn't at the forefront of the narrative in Judgment Day, but she did manage to the Celestial's test when asked if she wanted to Captain Marvel to evacuate the planet. Seeing through the ruse immediately, Kamala attacked the fake Danvers, earning the Celestial's respect.
But the event has most likely stayed with her, and in Dark Web: Ms. Marvel #2, written by Sabir Pirzada with art by sco Mortarino, Kamala faces a new threat: the Inventors. A group of genius cyber-avians named after famous scientists, they attack Ms. Marvel in the midst of the Dark Web event, and use a strange device to partially transform Kamala into Captain Marvel. "You are comfortable in your own skin," observes one of the Inventors. "But you still wish you were Captain Marvel."
Ms. Marvel Still Wants To Be Captain Marvel
Kamala has struggled with her place in the Marvel Universe for years; as a devout fan of Carol Danvers, it is only natural that she would want to emulate her favorite superhero. But despite carving out her own place in the world, Kamala still wishes she could be somebody else. Kamala's first meeting with Carol notably did not go well, but even after that, Ms. Marvel is still named after somebody else. The end of the comic reveals her friendship with Spider-Man resulted in a peaceful solution to the problem; Captain Marvel would have simply punched her way out.
Kamala knows she idolizes Captain Marvel, but she also realizes she must be her own person as both an ordinary resident of New Jersey and a superhero. The Dark Web event has forced many to confront their fears of a world turning against them, but in Kamala's case, her own subconscious turns against her in this instance. Ms. Marvel has grown as a character, and knows she can never become Captain Marvel, and - at least consciously - she has made her peace with that.
