Kamala was the daughter of Yusuf and Muneeba Khan and attended Coles Academic High School in Jersey City. She was an avid fan of the Avengers, specifically Captain Marvel.

Wishing to attend AvengerCon, her friend Bruno Carrelli convinced her to ask her parents to attend. And with some help from her brother, Kamala's parents allowed her to attend under the stipulation of her father going with her and the two cosplaying as Hulk instead of Kamala's plan to go as Captain Marvel. Kamala rejected her parents offer but decided to go sneak out anyways and attend the event.

Trying to find an unique aspect for her Captain Marvel cosplay, Kamala picked out a bangle newly delivered by her Naani. Once worn, the bangle unlocked her connection to the Noor through her hybrid genetic ancestry, giving her the ability to conjure hard light.^[2] Kamala awakening her powers attracted the attention of the Department of Damage Control and the Clandestines, a group of supposed Djinn from the Noor Dimension who had been stranded on Earth a long time ago and sought to use Kamala's bangle to return home.^[6] While training to hone her powers with Bruno's help, Kamala saved a boy from falling off the tower of her community's mosque. Attacked by Damage Control using EDITH's drones, Kamala was rescued by the Clandestines.^[5]

Najma, leader of the Clandestines, educated Kamala about her purported Djinn heritage and requested her help using the bangle to return to the Noor Dimension, but when Bruno revealed that ripping through the barrier between dimensions as Najma intended could have disastrous consequences Kamala hesitated. The Clandestines attacked Kamala at her brother Aamir's wedding, Najma's son Kamran - who Kamala had a crush on - warning her and helping her fend them off. Witnessing a vision of an old train, Kamala managed to escape with Bruno's help, leaving the Clandestines and Kamran to be captured by Damage Control. Grounded by her mother for refusing to say why she ruined her brother's wedding, Kamala was contacted by her grandmother, who had also seen the vision of the train and told Kamala to come to Karachi.^[6]

In Karachi, Kamala was attacked by Kareem, a young member of the Red Daggers who mistook her for a member of the Clandestines. Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, Kareem took Kamala to meet his mentor Waleed, who clarified to Kamala about the true nature of her heritage before warning her that if the veil between Earth and the Noor Dimension was pierced, then the former would be destroyed. The Clandestines, who had escaped from Damage Control, attacked and killed Waleed. When Najma attempted to stab her, Kamala was sent back in time to the Partition and met her dying great-grandmother Aisha, a member of the Clandestines who had been murdered by Najma for choosing her family over returning home. Helping her infant grandmother reunite with her great-grandfather, Kamala was returned to the present and saw a tear had opened in the veil; killing the Clandestine members when they tried to pass through it. Confronting Najma over murdering Aisha and abandoning Kamran, Kamala was unable to stop her from sacrificing herself to close the rip in the veil. Kamala's parents witnessed her using her powers, leading to her telling them everything - in the process repairing her relationship with her mother.^[4][3]

Returning to America, Kamala learned that Damage Control had attacked Bruno's apartment after Kamran - who had awakened powers similar to her own at the moment of his mother's death - had sought refuge there. With the help of her family and friends, Kamala arranged for Kamran to be sent to the Red Daggers for protection, though he lashed out when he learned of his mother's death. Kamala stopped Kamran and the Damage Control agents from killing each other and the civilians who'd rallied to protest the agency's overstepping of authority, consoling him over his mother's sacrifice and helping him escape. With the Damage Control agents recalled in the wake of public backlash over their racism and attacking teenagers with military ordinance, Kamala was given her parents' blessing to operate as a super hero, choosing the codename Ms. Marvel after a pep-talk with her father. Meeting with Bruno, Kamala learned that his initial assessment of her powers had been incomplete, and that an unknown genetic factor interfacing with her Djinn heritage was what gave her the ability to tap into the noor and create hard light constructs from it.

A week later, Kamala noticed her bangle glowing strangely only to abruptly swap places with Captain Marvel, who was horrified when she realized an innocent person who idolized her was now in danger.^[1]

Hard Light: Through her genetic heritage as a hybrid between a mutant and an interdimensional race from the Noor Dimension that resembles the mythological Djinn, as well as her Quantum Band, Kamala is able to conjure constructs of hard light. These constructs include elongated limbs, platforms, and shields.

• Quantum Band
• Ms. Marvel's Suit

• Iman Vellani portrays Kamala Khan in Ms. Marvel and The Marvels.