Kamala does not become deformed when she uses her powers. And the idea that there isn't a demand for her is laughable given all the positive press she has been receiving especially in light of her upcoming show on Disney+.
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It could be Jessica Cruz, if she got the right push.
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
Perhaps Naomi, if DC invest more on her. So far, Bendis's pushing her just right, and she had the benefit (and drawback) of having been created by such an extremely talented artist that her solo series can't really continue without him. But since Bendis is here and can use her elsewhere to grant her more exposure, she's also spared limbo.
Still, Naomi 2 can't come soon enough !
As others have said, it’s definitely Jessica Cruz. I’m hoping it will also be Naomi but DC is gonna have to commit to putting her name out there like Marvel did with Kamala. And giving how DC fumbled the ball with other black characters (especially Cyborg) I don’t have much hope, but I’d love to be wrong.
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I agree that Jessica Cruz seems to be the closest DC has to a Ms. Marvel-breakout character in recent years; pretty popular (as far as I can tell), good origin story (IMHO), and having an impressive representation in non-comics media considering how new they are. Ms. Marvel may be more popular, but I do kinda think that those kind of comparisons are tricky to make.
Deadpool might disagree with you there.
As another poster noted, X-Men's X-23 would be it, and not just because she has a similar backstory to Cain (e.g. child raised to be an assassin overcoming their intended destiny to become a superhero). While she was created for a cartoon first (making more of a Harley Quinn-type in terms of franchise history, albeit not in the same popularity bracket),X-23 rose pretty quickly in terms of becoming a notable X-Men character despite being only a few years old and, I think, is arguably the last new X-Men character to have any level of staying power and isn't showing any signs of stopping. (I don't think X-23 is a A-list star yet and I have no idea if she's more or less popular then Cassandra Cain, but I think they both found their audiences.)
Doctor Strange: "You are the right person to replace Logan."
X-23: "I know there are people who disapprove... Guys on the Internet mainly."
(All-New Wolverine #4)
If she's that popular, why isn't she regularly appearing in the comics? In fact, DC had the chance to give her a solo book. They turned down the pitch, which became Marvel's Unstoppable Wasp.
Kate Bishop comes to mind. Like Kamala, she's about to get a show on Disney+.
She definitely wasn't made for DCSHG, she was around for a few years before she even joined that show.
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I think there's kind of a fundamental misunderstanding of Kamala Khan's popularity. Thing with her is she broke through and managed to achieve a lot of "non-traditional" comic book readers to actively pick up her book ad TPBs. There's been plenty of (relatively) popular teen legacy characters created at DC over the past 2 decades but one of the unfortunate trends is DC has had a nasty habit of walking back on them and pulling the rug from under them. Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Jaime Reyes, the Young Justice crew.
I'd say the closest equivalent is maybe Naomi but the jury is still kind of out how long her lasting appeal will be.
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