By: Grace D. Gipson
In 2013, race remains a hot-topic in comics (and definitely graphic novels). Although lack of diversity has been acknowledged, many of the efforts have been somewhat bleak. But maybe things are changing. Marvel Comics has announced it will re-imagine one of its most well-known female characters from the Silver Age comics era, Ms. Marvel. Now, the fact they have recreated a new character is quite common however, in the case of this new “face,” race plays even more of a factor. She is now a Muslim American teenager named Kamala Khan.
Just in case you are not too familiar with the Ms. Marvel character, here is a little background to paint the picture for you: The original Ms. Marvel (aka Carol Susan, Jane Danvers) was portrayed as a blonde military pilot who had the ability to fly, shrug off bullets, and shoot energy blasts from her hands due to being this human-alien hybrid. But, in this new iteration, Khan is a New Jersey teenager who has the ability to grow and shrink different parts of her body, and ultimately be able to shape-shift. Might this change of a blonde military alien to a Muslim teenager be the trigger for this re-imagined character; considering that we are in this “war on terror” era…Despite that possibility, it is refreshing to see a re-imagined character like Kamala come to the forefront as there have been only a few others who have broken through, like her, and made it to the comic book pages (i.e. Marvel Comics: Dust, a young Afghan woman whose mutant ability to manipulate sand and dust has been part of the popular X-Men books; DC Comics in late 2010 introduced Nightrunner, a young Muslim hero of Algerian descent reared in Paris; and last fall DC Comics re-launched its “Green Lantern” series with Simon Baz, an Arab American and Muslim.)
In addition to this new face, the character editing team will also be noteworthy in that it will be led by a Muslim woman, Sana Amanat. Working alongside Amanat are writer G. Willow Wilson (who has converted to Islam and known for her work on DC Comics ‘Vixen’) and artist Adrian Alphona (known for his work on Marvel Comics ‘Runaways’). According to Amanat, the series is a “desire to explore the Muslim-American diaspora from an authentic perspective” and what it means to be young and lost amid expectations by others while also telling the story of a teenager coming to grips with having amazing powers.” Wilson goes on further to say, “I wanted Ms. Marvel to be true-to-life, something real people could relate to, particularly young women. High school was a very vivid time in my life, so I drew heavily on those experiences — impending adulthood, dealing with school, emotionally charged friendships that are such a huge part of being a teenager.” The creative team notes that although growing up Muslim is an element to Khan’s back story it is not a critical foundation; the comic invites a discussion that will surely connect with the coming of age young girl and potentially women in general.
So with this re-imagining of the Ms. Marvel character, 16-year-old “Kamala has all of her opportunities in front of her, and she is loaded with potential, but her parents’ high expectations come with tons of pressure,” said by a representative of Marvel in a press release. “When Kamala suddenly gets powers that give her the opportunity to be just like her idol, Captain Marvel, it challenges the very core of her conservative values.” One might say that her story is “not unlike” Peter Parker (Spiderman), Marvel Editor-In-Chief Axel Alonso would even go as far as to say Kamala is “a 16-year-old girl from the suburbs who is trying to figure out who she is and trying to forge an identity when she suddenly bestows great power and learns the great responsibility that comes with it” with a nod to Uncle Ben’s iconic advice. Also with this Carol to Kamala transformation, it begs many racial, cultural, and or political questions regarding turning a military figure into a Muslim (in an age of ‘terror’), thus this transformation seems very bold.
Kamala Khan, the new Ms. Marvel will first be featured in a special issue in January 2014, before her series begins in February. While comics entertain us they also offer an open door that allows us to peer through, to think. So, with a couple months still to go, will America be ready for this young Muslim teenager from New Jersey to make her debut in the Marvel universe?
Thoughts?
*You can catch Grace on Twitter @GBreezy20 and on her film blog Black Savant Cinema
