After the revelation that Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel was a mutant in MCU, much has been said about whether that should be included in comic continuity. This coincides with another Marvel character who went through the same transformation: Gwen Poole / Gwenpool was made a mutant in her latest solo series Gwenpool Strikes back by Leah Williams and VC’s Joe Caramagna. Kamala wasn’t only there to see Gwen’s origin change, but she could be responsible.
Gwenpool’s origin story is complex according to Marvel character standards. Gwen Stacy was initially designed as a one-off combination of Gwen Stacy, Wade Wilson. However, this design quickly gained popularity and was reinterpreted by Marvel.
Gwen Poole was described as a comic-book fan and real person who somehow got transported to the Marvel Universe. She has all of the Marvel Comics knowledge and medium awareness that this would require. Her solo series The Unbelievable Gwenpool quickly made her a favorite character. Her signature power set hinges on the ability of her to utilize space between panels in order to perform impossible physical tasks.
Gwen was connected to Deadpool. This created a problem because writers often write Gwen in inconsistent ways. She behaves like Deadpool’s female counterpart in some stories. Other stories showed her as more down to earth than Wade. Narratives emphasize that she is trying hard, but not always succeeding, to be an honorable person. These inconsistencies were the goal of Gwenpool strikes Bac k, which depicted Gwen in fear of disappearing into comic bookobscurity.
Gwenpool Strikes back , Gwen hopes readers will remember her, and Marvel continues to approve stories about her. She does some stupid, risky, and pointless stunts to achieve this goal. In an attempt to attain spider power, she hires Deadpool as her partner and sets up a battle royale on the beach between some of Marvel’s most powerful heroes. She hopes to win and show her worthiness within Marvel.
The battle royale features a wide range of heroes. Gwen tricked them all into taking part – even Kamala. Gwen isolated her most important friends and allies from the viewing area to ensure that no one else would stop her plan, including her West Coast Avengers colleagues. Kamala, who is now the last of Gwen’s close friends on the battlefield, can talk directly to Kamala after Squirrel Girl has withdrawn herself from competition.
Kamala watches the action unfold and is mostly passive. Her only fight was a match of red hands against Miles Morales. As Gwen manipulates stories to create different versions of herself, Kamala watches. Gwen and Kamala are eventually the last two remaining in the contest. Kamala does not want to fight, but instead questions Gwen sincerely about what’s going on. Gwen has serious mental health issues, and Kamala acknowledges this to Gwen. Gwen reluctantly agrees. Kamala is not convinced by Gwen’s comic book story. Gwen tells Kamala she’s in it.
Kamala proposes an alternative explanation for Gwen’s existence: she isn’t a human from another dimension. Kamala believes that Kamala is a mutant and she thinks she’s from another planet because of her abilities. Gwen is unable to resist this suggestion and accepts Kamala as fact. A Krakoan portal opens for Gwen. This allows her to travel to Krakoa to live with the mutant nation Krakoa.
We are deliberately vague about the details. Gwen has the ability to cause flashbacks which retcon Marvel comics. It is possible that Kamala’s acceptance of Gwen saying she was mutant led her to retconning her origin story, making her a mutant as she believes she is. Kamala could have been right, but it is also possible. Gwen might have been an in-universe mutant and her meta-knowledge is a result.
Kamala’s friendship with Gwen is like many things about Gwen that have not been written in a consistent way. Gwen was only a Champion member for a short time, and Kamala and Gwen did not get along. The Gwenpool holiday specia l is written by Charles Soule and Langdon Foss. Gwen and Kamala form a close friendship at She-Hulk’s Christmas party. They end the night singing karaoke. Gwen often appears to be a fan Kamala in Marvel spinoff projects like Marvel Puzzle Quest where Gwen describes that Kamala touched her hair.
Kamala, Gwen, are an obvious pair. Ms. Marvel and Gwenpool are both superhero fans. They do many things together: they ship heroes, write fanfiction about them, and geek out on everyone and everything. If explored well, their natural relationship could make for an intriguing story. Kamala and Gwen can draw from Kamala’s grounded fangirlism of the universe while Gwen has a more meta appreciation.
It’s not clear what the future holds for Gwen or Kamala at this time. Gwenpool fans were not happy with Gwenpool’s transformation to a mutant. Many of these arguments are similar to those that have been happening about Kamala in the MCU. Gwen is sure to welcome Kamala if she ever experiences a Krakoan portal.
