We’ve had our first proper look at the MCU’s Kamala Khan, courtesy of the Ms. Marvel trailer. Many fans took umbrage with the character’s powers being changed for the Disney Plus series – she’s usually a stretchy shapeshifter – but that’s not what caught our eye.
Her new energy powers seem to be drawn from a mysterious mystical bangle. Now previously leaked info suggested this was the case, and fan speculation was that Ms. Marvel’s origin had been changed to bring her powerset more in line with her heroic idol Captain Marvel. It was thought these bands might be the Nega-Bands, the Kree weapon used by the original comicbook version of the character Mar-Vell.
While that still might be the case, we had another idea when we watched the teaser the other day. What if Kamala’s bracelets are linked to another powerful set of Marvel jewellery? The magical Ten Rings the hero Shang-Chi inherited from his warlord dad Xu Wenwu.
We found out at the end of Shang-Chi’s solo action movie that the rings were a very strange artefact. According to the Avengers’s analysis at the end of Shang-Chi, they’re not made of vibranium, have no known extraterrestrial origin, and weren’t documented in Kamar-Taj’s library.
The bracelets that Kamala Khan puts on bear more than a passing resemblance to Shang-Chi’s rings. They both seem to glow with the same energy, and both have an intricate script on the outside of them. Kamala even describes the feeling of wearing the rings as “cosmic,” which may relate to the rings’ otherworldly origin.
We’re not the only people to link the two mystical objects; check out a few like-minded Marvel fans below:
#MsMarvel Anyone else felt that Khamala's bracelet looks slightly similar to Shang-Chi's mystical rings? Maybe something else entirely. It just felt oddly familiar 🤔 pic.twitter.com/0iOSSqjTzE
— Rodolfo (@PfeiferWolf99) March 15, 2022
so Ms. Marvel is basically adopting the Quasar storyline to some degree. i wonder if they are going to tie in Shang-Chi, Ant-Man, or Fantastic 4.
i say Shang-Chi because of the post credit scene of the bands and Captain Marvel. they might be from the same source? pic.twitter.com/IDANp3cCCq
— nico giamani. (@apeachofwerk) March 15, 2022
Anyone else curious if Kamala’s new magic bracelet and Shang-Chi’s ten bangles are somehow related? #MsMarvel #KamalaKhan #ShangChi #TenRings #Marvel @MarvelStudios pic.twitter.com/hGf9W1bJ4w
— GottaSaveBucky (@GSBCE1of4) March 15, 2022
I wonder if there’s a connection here between #MsMarvel & #ShangChi. Maybe there’s a shared origin or a unified mythos with these items? She says she feels “cosmic,” we know that the Ten Rings are cosmic in origin. A being out there forging these objects? Could be interesting! pic.twitter.com/aFXuzlPSJz
— Alden Diaz 🎙️ (@ThatAldenDiaz) March 15, 2022
Of course, the evidence linking the two items is very circumstantial. We’re basically arguing that two pieces of magical jewellery have to have the same origin when Kamala’s bracelet has just as much chance of being an Asgardian artefact or a lost Kree weapon.
If you love all things Marvel, check out our ranking of the MCU movies or look forward to the future with our Phase 4 guide.