Who is Red Dagger? Ms. Marvel character origin and powers explained

Red Dagger played by Aramis Knight will bring Ms. Marvel's love interest to the fans (Image via Marvel)
Red Dagger played by Aramis Knight will bring Ms. Marvel's love interest to the fans (Image via Marvel)

The latest trailer for Ms. Marvel dropped last evening, and fans are already hyped for the new teen hero to join the MCU. Kevin Feige and team have kept several things under wraps for the show, and there has been news around the new characters accompanying Imam's Kamala.

The trailer showed Kamala's life in high school and her relationship with her friends and parents. It also showed how she believes in a 'Fantasy World' and dreams of becoming a hero.

Apart from her stories, fans also got a look at Aramis Knight, who plays Kamala's love interest in the show. And comic book fans know that Ms. Marvel's love interest is the red masked vigilante Red Dagger.


Red Dagger origins in Ms. Marvel comics

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Red Dagger first appeared in Ms. Marvel (Vol. 4) #12 (October 2016) issue, created by writers G. Willow Wilson and Mirka Andolfo. He is of Pakistani origin and is also known as "Laal Khanjeer" in his homeland in Karachi (a town in Pakistan).

His real name is Kareem, and he originally belongs to Badin, Pakistan, where he lives with his family. Since school, Kareem's mother and Kamala Khan's maternal aunt have been friends.

He lived with Kamala's grandmother while studying for his university exams. At night, he puts half a red mask around his face and fights crime to protect the people of Pakistan.

Having no superpowers, Red Dagger's abilities show in his expert marksmanship and his impeccable skill of throwing knives. Keeping his secret identity just like New York's Webslinger, Kareem is highly motivated and has always been on the right side of justice.

Later on, he participated in a student exchange program that allowed him to travel to Jersey City in New Jersey and live with the Khan family through family friendships. To earn enough foreign credit, he takes Kamala's help from time to time to score well and be brighter at school.

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Although things take a strange turn, a subtle romance develops between Kamala and Kareem, where they are mutually attracted to one another. Revealing their secret identities to one another, Kamala and Kareem suited up as Ms. Marvel and Red Dagger to fight crime in Jersey City.

In the upcoming Disney+ show Marvel Studios. Ms. Marvel, actor Aramis Knight will play the role of Kareem and will hopefully be in his superhero alter ego, Red Dagger.

Fans of the comic book will be delighted to see the next teen romance in the MCU (after Peter Parker and MJ) develop on screen and witness them in action to save the world.


Fans react to the latest Ms. Marvel teaser

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Ms. Marvel might be the next entry in the MCU that will focus on a teenage superhero. Although the trailer hyped up MCU fans with The Weeknd's Blinding Lights playing in the background, the audience base is divided by their own opinions on the trailer and the altered origins of Kamala's powers.

The trailer showed Kamala wearing Quasar bracelets, giving her cosmic powers to shift matter around her and walk on cosmic energy in the air. The visuals were a stunning treat that fans could not complain about but still felt odd about her altered powers.

The other half of the fanbase thought that Ms. Marvel's powers looked like a "girly version" of Green Lantern's powers, even though the origin stories are entirely different.

This sparked a debate amongst the community about whether she should have given shapeshifting powers like in the comics, but that would then conflict with Reed Richards' Mr. Fantastic powers in the upcoming MCU films.

As much as the views about the trailer are divided, the community is still thankful to Marvel Studios for bringing in a South Asian character into the mix to represent the people from this part of the world.

This would, in turn, inspire several young girls and boys to have an identity of themselves as Superheros and will encourage them to be a hero.

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