Muslim-Pakistan superhero Kamala Khan is all set to join the blockbuster Avenger’s game as Ms. Marvel. She will be joining the superhero league including Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and Black Widow. A Muslim-American teen from New Jersey, Kamala is originally belongs to Pakistan and possesses shape-shifting powers.
Marvel is getting back together but not for a movie, rather a super-hit game this time. Square Enix, the publisher of the game, who was widely praised for including a South Asian character representing Muslims to the Marvel world, announced that Kamala Khan will be one of the focal playable characters in the game, BBC reports.
Source: BBC Asian Network
Sana Amanat, director and Marvel editor is one of the creators of Kamala Khan. She co-created this character back in 2014 and received massive praise from all over. Sana, who is a Muslim American herself, wanted to curate a character that every young girl possessing a similar background to relate to and feel included. Talking about diversity and inclusiveness! Way to go, Marvel.
A lot of girls who are Avengers’ fans never imagined someone from a Pakistani heritage would be included in the Marvel world, but now they just feel delighted, more confident, included and really look up to the character.
As BBC report cited, Maria Asfar, a 25-year-old South Asian Muslim gaming enthusiast expressed glee over this historic move:
“When I saw the announcement, she is going to be in the game and of the main characters, I just thought I’ve literally been waiting for something like this for my whole life. I saw nothing like this when I was young.”
Kamal Khan was introduced to the readers in 2014 as a 16-year-old Muslim American from Pakistan, who herself is a huge fan of the Avengers. She has grown up in New Jersey and has the power to shape shift i.e make different parts of her body big and small.
Source: BBC Asian Network
She was introduced as Ms. Marvel Moniker, who has been used in the Marvel comic books by various white characters since 1976. Leading her own comic book series, Kamala made history by being the first ever Muslim Marvel character to do so.
It’s incredible to see that the gaming world of Marvel Cinematic Universe is finally taking the historic leap and welcoming Pakistani and Muslim representation.
Amanat further went on to say:
“I think it’s absolutely insane that Kamala is in one of the biggest Marvel games that we’ve done,”
“The fact that she’s the entry point character in this game makes so much sense. People from all backgrounds can relate to her,” she said.
The video game will have an original storyline that is inspired by the comics, but it doesn’t entirely align with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Studio head at the game’s developer Crystal Dynamics, Scott Amos revealed how overwhelmed the fans were with Kamala Khan’s inclusion.
“One post that really caught us was about how this current, long-time gamer said how emotional this made him – and how important it is to have a leading hero in this game now, so that generations of new gamers can see and play as someone like them in a game that is filled with these iconic giants like Thor and Iron Man and Black Widow,” he said while speaking to BBC Asian Network.
Ms Marvel has not been portrayed in on the silver screen in live-action movies yet but Marvel Studios is planning to launch a Disney+ TV series centered around Ms. Marvel character, likely to be broadcast in 2022.
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