People say never meet your heroes, but in Kamala Khan’s case, meeting her hero was simultaneously exactly what she needed in the moment and not at all how she wanted it to happen. It’s no secret that she was possibly the biggest fangirl of Captain Marvel when she started her career as Ms. Marvel, but the newly-powered Inhuman was at arguably her lowest emotional point since she began her job, and to top things off, the world was ending.
In Ms. Marvel #17, by G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona and VC’s Joe Caramagna, Kamala finally got the chance to team up with Carol Danvers. Unfortunately for her, this was during the onset of an “Incursion Zone,” another universe colliding with their own resulting in a cataclysmic loss of life. The real damage had yet to begin, but everyone was already panicking. People were looting, cities were being evacuated and 16-year-old Kamala was expected to lead the people of Jersey City and have all the answers to their worries. It was an understandably impossible amount of stress to deal with, so Kamala took a break on the roof when she was approached by Captain Marvel.
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It was somehow everything Kamala had dreamed since she was old enough to know what a superhero was, and yet in no way how she wanted it to happen. She tried to keep her cool, but this was still Kamala Khan meeting Captain Marvel for the first time. During the end of the world no less. So her composure only lasted for about a second before she hugged Carol and admitted that meeting her was the only good thing to happen to her today. Quite the first impression to make, but Carol took it in stride, understanding just how stressed and miserable Kamala must have been in that moment.
From there, the two took on the role of mentor and mentee. Carol agreed to help Kamala manage the various problems going on at the moment, including finding her brother, who had been kidnapped by one of Ms. Marvel’s enemies. And of course, during their journey across Jersey City Kamala decided that she deserved to find some enjoyment during the apocalypse. So her inner fangirl broke loose a little as she asked Carol about her fellow superheroes, posing some very awkward questions about Iron Man to the flustered heroine.
Carol in turn was incredibly supportive of Kamala, asking her about her emotional state at several points through their adventure. She asked how Kamala was feeling about the oncoming apocalypse of course, but she also gave her a pep talk when she clearly needed it. Carol even asked how Kamala was adapting to her new Inhuman physiology, taking note that the change was not something Kamala chose for herself.
All in all, the very first meeting between the two got off only to a slightly awkward start. This was nothing short of a miracle considering the situation, but Carol had already heard plenty of good things about Kamala beforehand, so it only stood to reason that Kamala would easily win her over when they first met.
Still, Kamala should have met Carol for the first time on a better day. You only get to meet your inspiration for the first time once, and that was hardly the ideal time. And yet, it was somehow perfect as well. Kamala not only got a chance to work alongside the woman who inspired her, but also to prove her stuff as a hero, making Carol proud that someone as kind and competent as Kamala was wearing the lightning bolt. And far more importantly, it would cement a friendship between the two for years to come.
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