How Exactly Do the Nega-Bands Work in ‘Ms. Marvel?’
As fashionable as they are powerful!
We’ve got less than two months until Ms. Marvel premieres on Disney Plus! Ms. Marvel will focus on MCU newcomer and Avengers superfan Kamala Khan as she juggles high school and her newfound cosmic superpowers. One interesting detail in the trailer is a mysterious pair of bracelets that seem to give Kamala her powers. Could these be the Nega-Bands from Marvel comics? Here’s everything we know!
The Nega-Bands in the Comics
The first thing to remember about the Nega-Bands is that there isn’t just one pair. These things are all over the place in the Marvel comics universe. At least six pairs have been discovered or made by Captain Marvel, Peter Quill, Hank Pym, and other heroes, although some of these might be the same pairs showing up multiple times.
Simply put, the Nega-Bands are Kree artifacts that grant their wearers a wide variety of cosmic powers. They made their first appearance in 1969’s Captain Marvel #16, in which they’re given to Captain Marvel (that’s Mar-Vell, not Carol Danvers). Their main powers are usually super strength, speed, agility, and resistance to injury, along with energy manipulation. They’ve also been known to allow their wearers to travel through space, translate all languages, teleport, and survive without food, water, or oxygen (including in the vacuum of space). One of the most interesting uses of the bands occurred way back when they were first introduced. Mar-Vell and Rick Jones use their respective bands to switch places by transferring negative and positive atoms. (If you’re a physicist and you’re thinking that that doesn’t make any sense, hey, I’m just passing on what I know.)
Along with all the sets of Nega-Bands floating around, there’s another set of bands called the Quantum Bands. These are similar to the Nega-Bands, but instead of a Kree invention, they’re created by Eon, who gives them to the Protectors of the Universe. They’re thought to be the prototypes that the Kree used to develop their Nega-Bands. The quantum bands draw energy from the Quantum Zone and store it, allowing their wearers to manipulate any kind of energy on the electromagnetic spectrum.
The Nega-Bands in Ms. Marvel
We don’t know much about the Nega-Bands’ powers in Ms. Marvel yet. Actually, we don’t even know if they’re in Ms. Marvel at all! Those bracelets could be the Quantum Bands, or some combination of the two, or something entirely different! But here’s what we’ve been able to piece together so far.
In the trailer, we see Kamala put on a metal wristband. Instantly, her eyes glow purple and she experiences some sort of vertigo, with the room tipping and righting itself. Then we see some shots of her using her newfound powers. She seems to be able to manipulate a bluish-purplish cosmic energy, using it to emit blasts and punches. She also uses it as stepping stones so that she can run through the air.
These powers are, of course, drastically different than her powers in the comics. The original Kamala is an Inhuman, and her innate powers are activated by the Terrigen Mist. In the comics, Kamala is a shapeshifter who can grow, stretch, shrink, and disguise herself as other people.
What’s clear is that in the Disney Plus series, Kamala’s powers will most likely come from the Nega-Bands (or Not-Currently-Disclosed Bands, if we’re all wrong and they’re something else completely). Not only do these new powers probably look a bit better on screen, but they also set up a potentially exciting connection to Captain Marvel herself.
A Possible Marvels Connection?
There’s a lot of speculation about why Marvel has decided to change Kamala’s powers so much, and introduce the Nega-Bands. Some fans think it’s just because embiggening would look pretty silly in live-action. But others have pointed out that the Nega-Bands set up a close connection to The Marvels, coming out next February.
First off, aligning Kamala’s powers more with Carol and Monica’s, who both manipulate energy, makes her a more natural fit for the team-up that we’ll see in The Marvels. Secondly, it’s possible that Kamala will somehow get the Nega-Bands from Carol herself, although we won’t know for sure until the series comes out in June. After all, Carol spent a few years living in the Kree Empire, and she lives in space.
Kamala and the Nega-Bands are blasting off on Disney Plus on June 8!
(featured image: Marvel)
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
