Marvel’s is in the spotlight due to the release of “Thor: The Dark World” this past weekend. Among their other and ever-growing popular movies, what better time to introduce a revolutionary new character to the comic book world?
Allow me to introduce the newest teenage superheroine in the Marvel Universe – Kamala Khan. She’s a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl living in Jersey City who just so happens to be the newest “Ms. Marvel.” The series will follow Kamala as she deals with the expectations from her family, treatment from society, the general mess of what’s known as high school and the occasional bad guy stirring up some trouble.
Sana Amanat, Steve Wacker and G. Willow Wilson created Kamala Khan after hearing stories from Amanat about her life growing up a Muslim-American, the struggles she faced and the joys she experience. As someone who had similar experiences to the ones Kamala will be facing, Amanat and company will be sure to deliver a realistic portrayal of Kamala’s superhero and everyday life.
I personally think that this is a great idea that could not come at a better time. In a country with an ever-growing Muslim population and a need to rid people of the Muslim stereotype, the introduction of a Muslim hero could help people develop a new perspective and respect for what Muslim teens and their family have to cope with here in America. The series will not just focus on the fact that as Ms. Marvel, Kamala has to deal with villains and rogues, but it stresses the difficulties her alter ego must face daily — which can be as much as a struggle as taking down armed robbers could be. Marvel has been good about diversifying the superheroes in their universe. They first introduced a Muslim superhero named Dust as part of the X-Men world back in 2002, and last year featured the marriage of the X-Men’s Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier) and his partner, Kyle Jinadu. Marvel has tried to include heroes for all aspects of life, to show that anyone has to potential to be someone great.
Kamala can be a role model for young Muslim-Americans to look up to — a hero in her own right who saves her hometown, protects her family and community and cares for her friends and other people. I feel like it is extremely important for people to realize that heroes exist across all races, all genders, all religions, all sexual orientations and all ages. A hero is defined by their actions, not by what they believe in or the color of their skin. I see no reason why Kamala Khan’s introduction into the Marvel Universe should cause a problem — every world needs as many heroes as they can get. There is no set physical description of how a hero looks, but rather we call people heroes based on the values they practice.
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