‘The Marvels’: What Is a Quantum Band? Ms. Marvel’s Bangles Explained

The mystery behind Ms. Marvel’s powers has always been quite intriguing due to the fact that her abilities in the MCU are so different from the ones that she has in the comics. We found out in ‘Ms. Marvel’ that she gained access to her Noor Dimension powers through the Bangle that her great-grandmother once owned. Then, in ‘The Marvels,’ new information was revealed regarding her Bangle, which was actually called a Quantum Band. So, what is a Quantum Band in the MCU?

The Quantum Bands have a long history in the comics

The world of Marvel Comics has always been full of some of the most interesting devices known to the comic book side of fiction. Of course, most of these devices are alien or even cosmic regarding their origins. Cosmic Bands are some of the devices with a long history in Marvel Comics.

While nothing was ever explained about the exact origins of the cosmic bands, these powerful devices could manipulate energy. It was the powerful cosmic being known as Eon, an entity who came from Eternity, who bestowed the Quantum Bands to those whom he deemed Protectors of the Universe. And these Quantum Bands became instruments of power and a symbol of a person’s status as a Protector.

The nature of the Quantum Bands allows them to draw power from the Quantum Zone, which is the realm where all actual energy comes from in the Marvel Universe. The Quantum Zone itself has infinite energy and allows the user of the Quantum Band to draw power from the infinite energy reserves of this realm. However, the Quantum Bands themselves are limited in terms of the energy that they can store. The good news, however, is that the Bands can use the stored energy if the Quantum Zone is ever blocked.

Quantum Bands allow the user to have control over the electromagnetic spectrum, thereby allowing them to drain most forms of energy within the vicinity. At the same time, the Bands also allow the user to project energy at any desired wavelength. In most cases, the user projects beams of concussive force. The problem is that Quantum Bands aren’t able to draw power from psionic and magical energy.

Several well-known Marvel Comics characters have wielded Cosmic Bands. Such names include Thelius, Maelstrom, Annihilus, Phyla-Vell, Nova, and even Wendell Vaughn. The original Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell, wielded Nega-Bands, which had abilities that were similar to Quantum Bands.

Kamala’s Bangles are Quantum Bands

Of course, the MCU actually has a different approach when compared to the comics. There are some aspects of the MCU that may draw inspiration from the comics but are entirely original. One such example is Kamala Khan, who isn’t an Inhuman in the MCU but is actually capable of accessing the power of the Noor Dimension after her abilities were awakened by the Bangles she inherited from her great-grandmother, who came from the Noor Dimension.

With her powers, Kamala Khan is able to manipulate light energy and form solid constructs made from light. Her powers came in handy a lot of times during the events of ‘The Marvels,’ where she served as one of the three main protagonists alongside Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau. It was explained in the movie that her powers were connected to Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau because all three of them had light-based abilities. In Kamala’s case, she could solidify light.

But one of the things that we also saw in the movie was the fact that the main antagonist, Dar-Benn, was able to acquire a Bangle that looked exactly like the one that Kamala wore. This Bangle allowed Dar-Benn to open jump points, thereby allowing her to basically to manipulate space to some extent.

Kamala eventually revealed to Carol and Monica that she had a Bangle that looked exactly like the one that Dar-Benn wore. Carol called this Bangle a Quantum Band, which is a device that has the ability to control time and space to some extent. And Kamala confirmed this when the Bangle basically carried her to the past during the events of ‘Ms. Marvel.’

This allows us to see that the Quantum Bands in the MCU are devices that have powers related to time and space. But because the Band was the reason why Kamala’s power to control light energy was awoken, there’s a good chance that these devices have abilities that are also related to the electromagnetic spectrum, just like the Quantum Bands in the comics.

Only Kamala can use the Quantum Bands

Back in the events of ‘Ms. Marvel,’ Bruno told Kamala that he analyzed the genes of the entire Khan family and found out that Kamala was the only one who could use the power of the Bangle because she had a mutation, thereby possibly hinting that Kamala is a Mutant. Of course, it is likely that her status as a Mutant came from the fact that her great-grandmother was not from this universe and was from a different dimension where Mutants possibly exist.

In ‘The Marvels,’ Dar-Benn was able to use the power of the Quantum Bands to some extent as she was able to absorb light energy coming from Captain Marvel and redirect said energy against her enemies. However, when she stole Kamala’s Bangle, her body was overloaded with power as she was destroyed from the inside due to the overwhelming energy coursing through her body.

On the other hand, Kamala was still able to access her ability to create light constructs. She was able to construct a large hand that she used to fish Carol, Monica, and the Quantum Bands from space and take them back to Dar-Benn’s ship. This means that the Quantum Band she owned was only an instrument that woke her powers up instead of actually allowing Kamala to use her powers.

After that, Kamala wore both of the Quantum Bands but didn’t experience the same kind of overload that Dar-Benn’s body experienced. She even said that she believed that the Bands were always meant to find her, thereby hinting that the Quantum Bands were only completely compatible with her as she was the only one who could use them without any negative effects.

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