As comics readers have always known, and has been made clear in the marketing for her upcoming TV series, Kamala Khan’s whole schtick is that she is the world’s number one Captain Marvel fan — if you think you’re the biggest stan of Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers around, prepare to be proved wrong when Ms. Marvel hits Disney Plus next month. But, in a shocking twist, it turns out Kamala’s portrayer Iman Vellani has a different favorite Avenger. One many folks would probably agree with.
While speaking to SFX Magazine (via @MsMarvelUK), Vellani revealed that her personal top MCU hero is none other than Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. In fact, the actress’ own love for the Armored Avenger led to her campaigning to get more and more Tony Stark nods in the show. It sounds like it worked for a time, too, until Marvel chief Kevin Feige rumbled her scheme. As the Canadian star explained:
“I’m a huge Iron Man fan. I know Kamala is more Captain Marvel but I was asking for more Iron Man references. ‘I think she needs an Iron Man action figure’ There was a point where we got too much Iron Man that was the note from Kevin!”
As the tweet above reminds us, Kamala does have a fun dynamic with Tony in the comics, so there is some connection between the two for the D+ series to allude to. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that Vellani will get to share the screen with her idol, given that Iron Man’s journey came to a tragic conclusion back in Avengers: Endgame.
Still, for those fans desperate to see Kamala and Carol together, there’s good news. The wait for Ms. Marvel to encounter her role model won’t last long as it’ll happen in next year’s The Marvels, with Vellani set to reprise her role opposite Larson and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau. It’s been confirmed that her small-screen debut will even set up some things about Kamala that will be explored in Captain Marvel 2.
Don’t miss Ms. Marvel when it premieres Wednesday, June 8 on Disney Plus. And make sure to try and spot all those Iron Man easter eggs Vellani snuck in while you’re at it.