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4/14/2019 Why America needs Marvel superhero Kamala Khan now more than ever

https://theconversation.com/why-america-needs-marvel-superhero-kamala-khan-now-more-than-ever-72401 1/3

Autor

Katie M. Logan Assistant Professor of Focused Inquiry, Virginia Commonwealth University

Rigor académico, oficio periodístico

Why America needs Marvel superhero Kamala Khan now more than ever 15 febrero 2017 03:01 CET

During the first few weeks of the Trump administration, we’ve seen increased

pressure on Muslim and immigrant communities in the United States.

In the face of these threats, which Marvel superhero might be best equipped to

defend the people, ideals and institutions under attack? Some comic fans and critics

are pointing to Kamala Khan, the new Ms. Marvel.

Khan, the brainchild of comic writer G. Willow Wilson and editor Sana Amanat, is a

revamp of the classic Ms. Marvel character (originally named Carol Danvers and

created in 1968). First introduced in early 2014, Khan is a Muslim, Pakistani-

American teenager who fights crime in Jersey City and occasionally teams up with the Avengers.

Since Donald Trump’s inauguration, fans have created images of Khan tearing up a photo of the

president, punching him (evoking a famous 1941 cover of Captain America punching Hitler) and

grieving in her room. But the new Ms. Marvel’s significance extends beyond symbolism.

In Kamala Khan, Wilson and Amanat have created a superhero whose patriotism and contributions to

Jersey City emerge because of her Muslim heritage, not despite it. She challenges the assumptions

many Americans have about Muslims and is a radical departure from how the media tend to depict

Muslim-Americans. She shows how Muslim-Americans and immigrants are not forces that threaten

communities – as some would argue – but are people who can strengthen and preserve them.

Superhero-in-training

After inhaling a mysterious gas, Kamala Khan discovers she can stretch, enlarge, shrink and otherwise

manipulate her body. Like many superheroes, she chooses to keep her identity a secret. She selects the

Kamala Khan is a Muslim, Pakistani-American teenager who fights crime in Jersey City. Jamie McKelvie/Marvel Comics

15 febrero 2017 03:01 CET

Why America needs Marvel superhero Kamala Khan now more than ever

4/14/2019 Why America needs Marvel superhero Kamala Khan now more than ever

https://theconversation.com/why-america-needs-marvel-superhero-kamala-khan-now-more-than-ever-72401 2/3

Ms. Marvel moniker in homage to the first Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers, who has since given up the

name in favor of becoming Captain Marvel. Khan cites her family’s safety and her desire to lead a

normal life, while also fearing that “the NSA will wiretap our mosque or something.”

As she wrestles with her newfound powers, her parents grow concerned about broken curfews and

send her to the local imam for counseling. Rather than reinforcing her parents’ curfew or prying the

truth from Khan, though, Sheikh Abdullah says, “I am asking you for something more difficult. If you

insist on pursuing this thing you will not tell me about, do it with the qualities benefiting an upright

young woman: courage, strength, honesty, compassion and self-respect.”

Her experience at the mosque becomes an important step on her journey to superheroism. Sheikh

Abdullah contributes to her education, as does Wolverine. Islam is not a restrictive force in her story.

Instead, the religion models for Khan many of the traits she needs in order to become an effective

superhero. When her mother learns the truth about why her daughter is sneaking out, she “thank[s]

God for having raised a righteous child.”

The comics paint an accurate portrait of Jersey City. Her brother Aamir is a committed Salafi (a

conservative and sometimes controversial branch of Sunni Islam) and member of his university’s

Muslim Student Association. Her best friend and occasional love interest, Bruno, works at a corner

store and comes from Italian roots. The city’s diversity helps Kamala as she learns to be a more

effective superhero. But it also rescues her from being a stand-in for all Muslim-American or Jersey

City experiences.

Fighting a ‘war on terror culture’

Kamala’s brown skin and costume – self-fashioned from an old burkini – point to Marvel Comics’

desire to diversify its roster of superheroes (as well as writers and artists). As creator Sana Amanat

explained on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” last month, representation is a powerful thing, especially

in comics. It matters when readers who feel marginalized can see people like themselves performing

heroic acts.

As one of 3.3 million Muslim-Americans, Khan flips the script on what Moustafa Bayoumi, author of

“This Muslim American Life,” calls a “war on terror culture” that sees Muslim-Americans “not as

complex human being[s] but only as purveyor[s] of possible future violence.”

Bayoumi’s book echoes other studies that detail the heightened suspicion and racial profiling Muslim-

Americans have faced since 9/11, whether it’s in the workplace or interactions with the police. Each

time there’s been a high-profile terrorist attack, these experiences, coupled with hate crimes and

speech, intensify. Political rhetoric – like Donald Trump’s proposal to have a Muslim registry or his lie

that thousands of Muslims cheered from Jersey City rooftops after the Twin Towers fell – only fans

the flames.

Scholars of media psychology see this suspicion fostered, in part, by negative representations of

Muslims in both news media outlets and popular culture, where they are depicted as bloodthirsty

terrorists or slavish informants to a non-Muslim hero.

4/14/2019 Why America needs Marvel superhero Kamala Khan now more than ever

https://theconversation.com/why-america-needs-marvel-superhero-kamala-khan-now-more-than-ever-72401 3/3

Activism Comics Muslim women media studies Marvel Superheroes Muslim Americans Marvel superheroes

These stereotypes are so entrenched that a single positive Muslim character cannot counteract their

effects. In fact, some point to the dangers of “balanced” representations, arguing that confronting

stereotypes with wholly positive images only enforces a simplistic division between “good” and “bad”

Muslims.

Unbreakable

Kamala Khan, however, signals an important development in cultural representations of Muslim-

Americans. It’s not just because she is a powerful superhero instead of a terrorist. It’s because she is,

at the same time, a clumsy teenager who makes a mountain of mistakes while trying to balance her

abilities, school, friends and family. And it’s because Wilson surrounds Kamala with a diverse

assortment of characters who demonstrate the array of heroic (and not-so-heroic) actions people can

take.

For example, in one of Ms. Marvel’s most powerful narrative arcs, a planet attacks New York, leading

to destruction eerily reminiscent of 9/11. Kamala works to protect Jersey City while realizing that her

world has changed – and will change – irrevocably.

Carol Danvers appears to fill Kamala in on the gravity of the situation, telling her, “The fate of the

world is out of your hands. It always was. But your fate – what you decide to do right now – is still up

to you … Today is the day you stand up.” Kamala connects the talk with Sheikh Abdullah’s lectures

about the value of one’s deeds, once again linking her superhero and religious training to rise to the

occasion. In both cases, the lectures teach Kamala to take a stand to protect her community.

Arriving at the high school gym now serving as a safe haven for Jersey City residents, Kamala realizes

her friends and classmates have been inspired by her heroism. They safely transport their neighbors

to the gym while outfitting the space with water, food, dance parties and even a “non-denominational,

non-judgmental prayer area.” The community response prompts Kamala to realize that “even if things

are profoundly not okay, at least we’re not okay together. And even if we don’t always get along, we’re

still connected by something you can’t break. Something there isn’t even a word for. Something …

beautiful.”

Kamala Khan is precisely the hero America needs today, but not because of a bat sign in the sky or any

single definitive image. She is, above all, committed to the idea that every member of her faith, her

generation, and her city has value and that their lives should be respected and protected. She

demonstrates that the most heroic action is to face even the most despair-inducing challenges of the

world head on while standing up for – and empowering – every vulnerable neighbor, classmate or

stranger. She shows us how diverse representation can transform into action and organization that

connect whole communities “by something you can’t break.”