In the summer of 2023, Marvel Comics did the unthinkable: It killed off Kamala Khan (aka Ms. Marvel), only to bring her back a few months later… as a member of the X-Men. Granted, superheroes “die” all the time only to come back, and the revelation that Kamala was a Mutant had been telegraphed earlier that year in her live-action show. But still, this was a big deal. Behind the scenes, Marvel also pulled off one more twist: hiring Iman Vellani (best known for playing Kamala in the MCU) to co-write the story with comics and TV scribe Sabir Pirzada. For Inverse’s 2023 Superhero Issue, the dynamic duo reunited on Zoom to talk about why they love Ms. Marvel so much, the challenges (and thrills) of introducing her to the X-Men universe, and their own origin stories as comic book fans. — JAKE KLEINMAN
