Recently, Crystal Dynamics unveiled that Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, will be among the primary playable characters in their upcoming Marvel’s Avengers. Not only that, she’s supposedly the protagonist of the whole game. It’s a bold and interesting move, and one that spells exciting things for the story, but what exactly was it that prompted that decision?
Speaking to IGN, senior producer Rose Hunt explained that Crystal Dynamics went with Khan as the protagonist of the game because she is, much like them (and many of us) a huge fan of the Avengers, and her personality in general made her a perfect fit, on account of her being an extremely relatable character.
“When Marvel brought [Kamala Khan] up as a possibility for us, we were super excited about her,” said Hunt. “Because she’s a fan girl like us. She’s a fan of the Avengers like the whole world is, so we thought that she would be a super relatable character to be our protagonist.”
More importantly, owing to the fact that Khan is a pretty new addition to Marvel’s roster of characters and heroes in the comics, Crystal Dynamics felt they would have a lot more freedom to explore her in interesting ways. One of the ways they decided to do that was to essentially make the game an origin story for her as Ms. Marvel.
“And another advantage of her is that she doesn’t have 80 years of history, like Captain America or some of the other other Avengers,” Hunt added. “And that allows us to actually tell more of an original story with her, because her story has just begun, and we can build on that in very interesting ways.”
I’m inclined to agree with that, personally. Crystal Dynamics’ decision to include Khan in a leading role is an exciting one, and it helps them carve out a unique identity for the game in our currently Marvel-saturated pop culture society. She brings something new to the table, and I can’t wait to see how the game handles her.
You can get more info on how she functions during combat or how her costume looks through the links. Marvel’s Avengers is out on May 15, 2020 for the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia.