Comics play an important role in building perceptions, especially when they fall under brand names like “Marvel” or “DC”. When Marvel announced plans to bring Miss Marvel, aka Kamala Khan, into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with her own upcoming Disney+ series, it meant a step in a direction different than how Islamic characters have been showcased in the American entertainment industry so far.

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Kamala Khan, who is the alter-ego of Miss Marvel, is the first-ever on-screen Muslim superhero. She was first introduced in 2014 in a separate Marvel comic book. 

Kamala Khan is a teenage Pakistani American from Jersey City, New Jersey who discovers that she has inhuman genes in the
aftermath of the “Inhumanity” storyline and assumes the mantle of Miss Marvel from her idol Carol Danvers after Danvers becomes Captain Marvel. 

How Kamala Khan’s character offers a fresh representation to Muslim character in Hollywood?

Unlike the typical portrayal of Islamic characters on screen over the years, Khan has the ability to break the existing stereotypes around Muslims while reinforcing ideas about American exceptionalism.

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Miss Marvel has appeared as multi-dimensional and stereotype-breaking, but also as a one-dimensional figure that advances Islamophobic themes but at the same time remains intact to the culture. Unlike the other American superheroes, she is often seen in a hijab, salwar kameez and gold earrings.

Kamla Khan after 9/11- A huge step

Muslim superheroes were not an alienated idea before 9/11, in fact, Islamic superheroes were quite popular. Even the ones introduced before after 9/11 had a rather stereotypical representation but Kamala Khan is a new wave.

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Kamala Khan was introduced as a female face of superheroes by Marvel around a time of rising anti-Muslim hatred in the West.

Kamala Khan’s character becomes more intriguing in that she is a Muslim female superhero in a world where Muslims are generally regarded as the quintessential ‘other’ and tackles issues around Islamophobia.