Well versed in the costs of death and grief, both as a physician and as a Supreme Wizard, Doctor Strange now warns that Ms. Marvel’s return will have dire consequences and a heavy price to pay, which may indicate the people closest to Kamala and the X-Men.
Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel #1 was an emotional tribute to Marvel’s Kamala Khan. As their loved ones gathered at Jersey City’s Islamic Mosque for a memorial recitation of the Koran, New York City’s heroes came together to honor them. In a private moment, Doctor Strange explained to Tony Stark why he hadn’t tried to bring Ms. Marvel back: “Life is suffering, Tony. The pain has to go somewhere. Strange likens the effect to that of a cartoon plumber: even if you fix a leak, water spurts out elsewhere at the same pressure. Now that Kamala is back, that warning is even more relevant.
Doctor Strange predicts dire consequences after Kamala’s return
Years ago, the X-Men mutant nation of Krakoa assembled the five mutants who were able to combine their powers to clone their fallen allies with all their past memories. There is a mystical component to this, which suggests that the soul is also moving. Aside from a brief return by the monstrous Onslaught, for the most part, the Resurrection Protocols have been extremely successful, with many great mutants returning from the dead, including Kamala herself. However, in the case of Ms. Marvel, no one knew that she would return until after her funeral, so her family and friends suffered the young heroine’s great loss. In X-Men #25 by Gerry Duggan and Stefano Caselli, Emma Frost erases all memory of the death of Ms. Marvel from the minds of her family. However, according to Doctor Strange, it’s not that simple.
Ms. Marvel’s resurrection leaves a cosmic debt
The Words of Doctor Strange in Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel warn that there is no way to simply erase the nature of Ms. Marvel’s heroic and disturbing death. Countless people were affected, but Mary Jane Watson survived thanks to her sacrifice. Kamala’s death and all the emotions it stirred were still happening, and yet the X-Men undid and repressed every element of that experience. According to Doctor Strange, the natural order simply will not tolerate this, and a similarly high price will have to be paid—maybe even another death. And now that the X-Men nation is destroyed, they’ve lost their resurrection protocols, which means they’re all vulnerable.
While Kamala hadn’t returned when Doctor Strange issued his warning, Marvel teased her resurrection on a special edition page, meaning the warning was written when Marvel was already planning her return. So, if Doctor Strange believes that Ms. Marvel has yet to pay the price for all the trauma her death has caused, what terrifying event is even on the horizon?
