Marvel Comics has been promising that The Amazing Spider-Man #26 is "the most shocking issue of Amazing Spider-Man in 50 years." The shock value was somewhat diminished by the fact that Marvel opted to spoil the big death in issue #26 ahead of time. But as it turns out, there's more to this story than just the death itself.
Read on for a full breakdown of what happens in this issue and what it means for the future of the series, but beware of spoilers for The Amazing Spider-Man #26 ahead!
The Fate of Mary Jane's Children
Many ASM readers likely knew coming into this issue that Ms. Marvel is tragically killed. Thanks to images leaking online, Marvel hasn't bothered to keep that death a secret. But Kamala Khan isn't the only character who dies in this issue. Mary Jane and her new boyfriend Paul also lose their two children.
For those who haven't been following the current volume of ASM, the series has introduced a controversial status quo where Peter and Mary Jane are broken up and MJ is now a mother of two. Over time, it's been revealed that MJ was trapped in another dimension, where she fell in love with Paul and the two rescued and adopted two siblings named Romy and Owen. Though it only took Peter a matter of hours to rescue MJ, from her perspective, more than four years had passed. She's moved on, which is leaving some Spider-fans understandably upset.
This other dimension is home to a symbology obsessed villain known as The Emissary, who is trying to complete a ritual to summon his god. Issue #26 reveals that Paul is the son of the Emissary, which does little to help endear Peter to his romantic rival. The Emissary also reveals that Romy and Owen are his creations. And now that they've served their purpose, he wipes them out of existence and reabsorbs them into his body. MJ and Paul are left to mourn their two dead children.
This twist is all the more tragic considering that MJ has a bad history of losing children already. She became pregnant during the infamous Clone Saga crossover in the '90s, only for the baby to be stillborn after MJ was poisoned. Then, in 2007's One More Day, Mephisto appeared to Peter and MJ in the guise of a young girl. Only after sacrificing their marriage to save Aunt May's life did the two learn that this girl is the daughter they'll never have. It remains to be seen if either story will be referenced as the series explores MJ's grief surrounding the deaths of her children.
Why Ms. Marvel Dies
Once he reabsorbs Romy and Owen, the Emissary sets about finally completing the ritual to summon his god. He believes he needs to kill "the Scarlet Woman" and feed on her sacrifice. MJ uses her own symbology-based powers to fight back, at least until Ms. Marvel rushes her to safety.
The Emissary ulimately confronts Mary Jane alone and stabs her, finally achieving the goal he's spent years trying to accomplish. However, his sacrifice is immediately rejected. The Emissary killed the wrong person.
Peter rushes to comfort to the dying MJ, only to realize she isn't MJ at all. Ms. Marvel used her shape-shifting powers to impersonate MJ and throw off the Emissary's ritual. She sacrificed her life to save MJ.
Kamala dies in Peter's arms, with her final words being "Good is... is not a thing you are... it's a thing you... you..."
Issue #26 ends with Spidey, MJ and the Fantastic Four mourning a fallen hero. The immediate fallout of Kamala Khan's death will be explored in the epilogue special Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel, which will be released on July 12, 2023. And it's safe to assume her death will continue to weigh heavily on Peter as the series unfolds. Feeling the burden of a guilty consicence has always been his greatest superpower.
Will Ms. Marvel Return?
Marvel fans have already been speculating as to how long Ms. Marvel's death will last. After all, few characters in superhero comcis stay dead forever. And with Iman Vellani's Ms. Marvel about to make her big screen debut in The Marvels this November, one would think Marvel would want to put a major spotlight on the character in the comics again. Will she be resurrected as quickly as she was killed off?
It's a distinct possibility, and there's already a popular fan theory for how that resurrection might be achieved. The MCU version of Ms. Marvel is different from the source material in two key ways. In the comics, she's depicted as an Inhuman with "embiggening" powers that allow her to stretch and distort her body. In the MCU, she's a mutant (one of only a handful of mutants revealed so far) with energy-based powers. Killing Kamala could be Marvel's way of bringing her back in a more MCU-inspired form.
The fan theory suggests that Ms. Marvel could be revived on Krakoa using the X-Men's Resurrection Protocols. The X-Men have lately achieved mutant immortality by having Professor X create backups of every mutant's mind isnide Cerebro and relying on a group called The Five to generate new bodies in which to implant those backups. Will we learn that Cerebro secretly created a backup of Ms. Marvel's mind, sensing she's actually a mutant. Will she return with energy powers that bring her more in line with her MCU counterpart? That would be one way for Marvel to achieve greater synergy between the comics and movies. And it could pave the way for a brand new Ms. Marvel series ahead of the release of The Marvels.
Now that this issue is in stores, what do you think of Ms. Marvel's death? Did it live up to the hype? Will Kamala be back in time for The Marvels? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and be sure to cast your vote in our poll:
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
