Spider-man, Ironman, Captain America, are all super heroes that we have come to know and love whit, resolve and for their emphasis of the American way. But have you ever thought of a Marvel super hero wearing a hijab? Imagine a few years from know seeing kinds dressed up in costumes of great American superheroes, which have a totally different cultures and beliefs. Know doesn’t that sound like a real “melting pot” image the United States is supposed to represent. Marvel is taking leaps and bounds producing a brand new hero, a female Muslim, whose comic should debut in February 2014.
Marvel Comics a well-known comic book publishing company, has introduced a new super- hero: a young, female Muslim. The company established in 1939, has slowly made innovative changes, expanding from the blonde-haired, blue-eyed heroes of its origins toward a more multi-cultured universe that is relevant to the culture surrounding its headquarters in New York City.
Marvel Comics announced earlier this month a new superhero comic book series featuring Kamala Khan: a Muslim, Pakistani 16-year-old girl who lives in New Jersey City, New Jersey. She’ll be taking the name of Ms. Marvel, after the former Ms. Marvel who is now going by Captain Marvel. Sana Amanat is one of the editors who originated the idea for Kamala Khan. It was derived from a conversation she had with a senior editor, Stephen Wacker. Kamala Khan is based on Amanat’s life growing up as a Pakistani Muslim in New Jersey. “In the town that I grew up in, there weren’t many people who looked like me or who had my background,” Amanat said. Amanat further explains how she felt different by saying, “In different ways, not only in terms of me being Muslim or Pakistani, but just in terms of my personality and how my family was.” The writer for this comic will be G. Willow Wilson, a comic writer who converted to Islam 10 years ago. From these two women’s input this new Ms. Marvel is going to be written for young girls who are growing up in similar conditions or just people who feel different or possibly like outsiders.
Kamala Khan’s struggle involves her figuring out who she is, while dealing with the discovery of her superpowers. She’s a polymorph, which means she can shrink, grow, and shape shift. Her creators wanted to give her physical powers and avoid the mainstream girly powers. The fact that Kamala is Muslim is not meant to be a central point in her stories, just a facet of her identity. She is the daughter of two immigrants so she will struggle with being an American teen with conservative parents, this will make her strong and vulnerable. They wanted Kamala to live up to the Ms. Marvel mantle, a hero that Kamala admires greatly.
The comic character Carol Danvers was created by writer Roy Thomas in 1968. She was originally the damsel in distress for superhero Captain Marvel. Carol was such a strong female character she had the potential to one day play a starring role. In the 1970’s, Marvel decided that it wanted a powerful new female superhero that could represent the modern liberated woman. Roy Thomas and Archie Goodwin then began designing what eventually would become Ms. Marvel. In 1977 Carol Danvers, as Ms. Marvel, finally made her debut as an empowered heroine of her own comic; the first issue of Ms. Marvel was written by Gerry Conway and drawn by John Buscerna.
Carol Danvers receives her powers in a Captain Marvel story in which he must save her once again. Carol as a result of the rescue is accidentally exposed to alien radiation that transforms her into a superhuman warrior. Her powers include super strength, super speed, super agility, super stamina, flight, invulnerability, energy absorption, energy projection, regeneration, danger sense, and minor molecular control. These powers allow her to be one of the strongest women characters in the Marvel comic universe. Besides her physical prowess she has a strong personality and willpower, fit for an independent woman.
One of Marvel’s other projects in the realm of ethnic diversification is the new Ultimate Spider-man. Miles Morales after the death of Peter Parker takes on the role of Spider-man, he first appeared in Ultimate Fallout #4 in August 2011. Miles is a teenager of African American and Latino descent. He is also the second Spider-man in the Ultimate Marvel comic storyline. The character possesses powers similar to those of the original Spider-Man, which were derived from the bite of a spider genetically engineered by Spider-Man’s nemesis Norman Osborn in an attempt to duplicate those abilities. Reaction to the character varied, some, including Spider-Man’s creator, Stan Lee, approving the creation as a positive role model for non-white children. Others, especially Spider-man fans were displeased by the replacement of Peter Parker, with some criticizing it as a publicity stunt motivated by political correctness. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli. Bendis and Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso were inspired by numerous ideas, especially the election of U.S. President Barack Obama, but he denies it being a stunt political correctness.
At Chameleon Comics loyal customer Rick Alvarez was asked what he thought of Marvel creating a Muslim heroine. He said, “It’s a good thing that Marvel is creating ethnically diverse characters, although I find their characters tend to be very diverse already. It is fine as long as the new characters are true to what the old characters stood for. Did you know that Marvel actually had the first black super hero?” When asked how he believed readers would respond to this he responded, “In the long term, it would probably go over well it might be strange for some readers because they may have trouble relating, Muslim readers will probably embrace the idea and others may find it strange before they get to know the character. If they stay open-minded and the stories are interesting enough I don’t see it as much of a problem.” Alvarez responded to the question should marvel continue making heroes like this by saying, “Definitely, they should expand their universe and make their heroes as relatable as possible. In order to look up to heroes you have to believe they are going through the same thing you are going through too, otherwise they really seem like make believe.”
This is the first time a Muslim character has been showcased in Marvel comics, possibly this is a glimpse at the future of comics. Any person can be a superhero there are no longer boundaries or limitations in the super-universe. Now any person can pick up a comic and find a little bit of themselves in the heroes they read about.
Work Cited
“Axel Alonso: Reinventing Today’s Heroes.” August 17, 2011. Web. August 17, 2011.LatinRapper.com.
Files, Emily. “Meet the new Ms. Marvel.” November 11, 2013. Web. November 19, 2013.
http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-11-11/meet-new-ms-marvel-female-muslim-pakistani-superhero.
“Ms. Marvel.” November 6, 2013. Web. November 19, 2013. http://www.comicvine.com/ms- marvel/4005-21561/.
