While the articles are short on specifics so far, we do have these details:
With most superheroes, when you take away the colorful costume, mask and cape, what you find underneath is a white man. But not always. In February, as part of a continuing effort to diversify its offerings, Marvel Comics will begin a series whose lead character, Kamala Khan, is a teenage Muslim girl living in Jersey City.The Beat goes on to explain Kamala's boxing glove hands and background:
No exploding planet, death of a relative or irradiated spider led to Kamala’s creation. Her genesis began more mundanely, in a conversation between Sana Amanat and Steve Wacker, two editors at Marvel. “I was telling him some crazy anecdote about my childhood, growing up as a Muslim-American,” Ms. Amanat said. “He found it hilarious.” Ms. Amanat and Mr. Wacker noted the dearth of female superhero series and, even more so, of comics with cultural specificity.
Kamala has body-morphing powers, a power-set which sets her up for heroism – but also for problems at home, with her conservative family and social life. After she gains her powers, she’ll be taking on the Ms Marvel mantle in tribute to her hero, Carol Danvers, whom she will be attempting to follow in the steps of. In perhaps a telling quote from the announcement interview with George Gene Gustines, Wilson states:Jeepers, with hands like that, hopefully she (and Carol Danvers) will make an appearance in the next Marvel vs. Capcom game.
Captain Marvel represents an ideal that Kamala pines for. She’s strong, beautiful and doesn’t have any of the baggage of being Pakistani and ‘different’.Which speaks volumes about the personality of the character already.
I'm looking forward to seeing how this pans out. It looks pretty exciting!
