Looking back on my childhood with my younger sister, I realize now that it wasn't always fair for her. I was a big comic book fan, finding entertainment and escape in the adventures of Batman, Spider-Man, the Avengers, Daredevil and dozens of other superheroes. My sister had her own amusements and diversions. She played with Barbie dolls and had a vast wardrobe for them. She weaved bracelets and made jewelry.
But to bond with her big brother, my sister tried to show an interest in comic books. Unfortunately, there weren't many characters or stories that spoke to her and captured her imagination. For her, it was Wonder Woman. That's about it. Maybe some Supergirl. While she did like the idea that Wonder Woman was strong and powerful — basically a female counterpart to Superman — an Amazon princess wasn't exactly a character she could relate to.
Peter Parker, for example, had homework, was bullied at school, had unrequited crushes on girls and needed to get home from fighting supervillains before Aunt May scolded him for being out too late. Yet there was no character whose experiences may have felt somewhat real to my sister. If only she'd had a comic book like Marvel Comics' new Ms. Marvel when she was a kid. I think my sister would've liked 16-year-old Kamala Khan.
Ms. Marvel has mostly received attention — especially in mainstream media like the New York Times — because its lead character is a Muslim teenager. Considering most of the major comic book superheroes are white males, having a Pakistani protagonist was notable. It almost overshadowed the fact that this hero was female. And as we've already established, there aren't many female superheroes featured in their own title.
Was this an attempt by Marvel to cater to diversity? Similar concerns were voiced when the company created a new Spider-Man, featuring a black Hispanic teenager, Miles Morales, under the mask. But Morales wasn't replacing Peter Parker's Spider-Man, so much as providing an alternate version of the character. The idea was to give the audience a character who reflected our modern culture, who could reach out to a wider audience. Why couldn't Spider-Man be black or Hispanic (or both)? Did he have to be white, just because that's the way he's always been in the comic books?
Kamala Khan's religion and ethnicity is an important part of her character, especially because it affects how her friends and schoolmates interact with her. Writer G. Willow Wilson — a Muslim-American herself — doesn't stop the story to provide paragraphs of exposition explaining Islamic faith to readers.
The first time we see Kamala in the story, she's sniffing bacon that she knows she's not allowed to have. While this is a funny moment, notably because she jokingly refers to the bacon as "infidel meat," the scene also provides a glimpse at Kamala's rebellious nature. It's an example of her curiosity about what else the world offers, She feels as if she's being held back from a greater range of experiences.
Kamala loves The Avengers and writes fan fiction about her heroes that's developed an online following. But she particularly idolizes the former Ms. Marvel — now Captain Marvel, in a culmination of comic book storylines that's too convoluted to explain in one sentence or paragraph — who embodies her supposed ideal. Captain Marvel is tall, strong, blonde and beautiful, with superhuman strength and the ability to fly. She's a peer to Captain America, Iron Man and the other Avengers. (Incidentally, the character is rumored to be in the next Avengers movie.)
In that regard, Kamala isn't much different from many other superheroes or characters in other young adult fiction. She's made to feel different and is something of a social outcast because of it. By trying to protect her, her parents and friends may actually be holding her back from fulfilling her potential. She knows she's meant for something more, perhaps aspiring to a seemingly unattainable ideal, and extraordinary circumstances present her with the opportunity to break free and become her own person.
Issue No. 1 is just the very beginning of Kamala's origin story, part one of a five-episode tale. Readers of the comic book don't yet know what the new Ms. Marvel's superpowers will be, but Wilson has explained that she will be a shape-shifter — or a polymorph. She can change the size of various body parts and alter her appearance. That makes her different from most superheroes who have some variation of increased strength and agility. She doesn't have the brainpower or vast fortune to create a weaponized suit of armor or cave full of accessories and contraptions.
Presumably, the ability to change shape provides some strong storytelling opportunities for Wilson. How many teenagers have wanted to be someone else at some point? If Kamala is self-conscious about the way she looks, especially in comparison to her friends and classmates, her new powers give her the ability look like someone else — perhaps the statuesque blonde that she idolizes.
If she feels that she doesn't fit in, she could make sure she does. Kamala could blend in or stand out, depending on the situation. Or maybe she could hide from the family, friends and acquaintances who have pigeonholed her, based on her age, ethnicity and religion. Ultimately, Kamala could portray herself as the superhero she imagines herself being. Or perhaps she'll learn that who she is and what she can do is more than enough.
The potential this character presents is what makes Ms. Marvel so exciting and intriguing, such a refreshing change from what we've seen so much of before. Comic book shelves and multiplex screens are already full of stories with overmuscled heroes trading punches and wits with their arch-enemies. How will they save the world against the grand schemes designed to take it over? Maybe Ms. Marvel will have some of that, but thus far, it appears that her story might be a bit different than the typical superhero fable.
Of course, it's too early to know if Ms. Marvel will be a success, if young Kamala Khan — not only a female superhero, but one that doesn't necessarily look like the typical icon — has found an audience willing to follow her as her story develops.
However, the early signs are encouraging. The first issue is No. 1 on Marvel's most recent sales chart for digital comics (via the Marvel Comics app), outselling established characters like the Avengers, X-Men and Wolverine. And the paper comic book is going back for a second printing, so you'll be able to snag a copy at your local comic book shop. First issues do tend to sell better, viewed as collectors items, so it will probably take a few months and more issues to know if audiences really are responding.
I'd like to think my sister would've been a fan of Ms. Marvel, had such a comic book come out when she was a kid. Kamala Khan is a far more relatable character than Wonder Woman or Black Widow. Her older brother certainly enjoyed a well-written, beautifully drawn comic book. Maybe this is the one we would've enjoyed together. Other kids will get that opportunity now. I kind of envy them.
