Kamala Khan: The Rundown

Alright, so I'm getting into the original Ms. Marvel run by G. Willow Wilson. And what I am going to be talking about with respect to the character is her origin, her importance in the main Marvel Universe, and her importance in the comic book industry.

In her debut comic, Kamala Khan is a 16-year-old Pakistani-American who lives with her typical Muslim-Pakistani family. Her parents are fairly religious, but not as much as her brother. I feel that Kamala's parents are a representation of the typical Muslim parents, in my opinion. The two parents seem to understand certain religious principles, but seem to mistake cultural practices with Islamic Theology. Her brother, on the other hand, is very religious and follows Islamic Rules and Principles very closely. In fact, he quits his job at the bank for his religion, because Islam prohibits interest (like compounding interest for money you owe to the bank). I actually will be going into the importance of these characters and what they represent in another post sometime in the future.

Anyways, back to Kamala. Before she gets her powers she is just a Muslim girl in high school that loves the Avengers and even writes fan-fiction about them which I think is hilarious and awesome. Every day she finds herself tempted by the activities that high school kids do in Western Countries, that may seem small to some people, like eating pork (she likes to smell pork but she doesn't eat it), or drinking alcohol. Those are everyday things that people in Western Societies do (not just Western Societies, but I'm just saying this because she lives in a Western Country). Some things that she wants to do would be totally unacceptable in a Muslim household, such as going to parties where there will be alcohol and boys. She feels conflicted on the inside because she was raised with certain values but many of the people around her do not respect her beliefs, and when Kamala tries to fit in people make fun of her. It's a really great read for comic fans, and a must for people that find it is hard to assimilate into another society while being raised with differing cultural beliefs. Through her experiences, before she gets her powers, she realizes that people can be assholes, but when she gets superpowers, she realizes that reality itself and the world around her are pretty damn scary. She also realizes that being a superhero isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

Now for how she got her powers. Kamala Khan is an inhuman. For simplicity's sake, I'm going to tell you what mutants are. Mutants are people that have the X-Gene, and what the X-Gene does is it contains the DNA coding that gives a person superpowers. These superpowers are activated when the X-Gene is activated, and they activate naturally and emerge in mutants during puberty usually. Inhumans do not have the X-Gene, but do have genes in their DNA that code for the superpowers that inhumans get. In order for the genes to be activated, an inhuman with the inhuman genes must come in contact with a substance called Terrigen either through inhalation in gas form or through exposure in other forms. What happened to Kamala was that she was exposed to Terrigen Mist after she left a party she snuck out to. The mist knocks her out and she gets the power to shapeshift and the abilities of a polymorph (so she can stretch parts of her body, and change parts of her body into different shapes (really any shape she wants)).

Alright, now let's talk about Kamala's importance in the Marvel Universe. First off, she was an Avenger so she would actively participate in facing extinction level threats with Thor (Jane Foster) and Captain America (Sam Wilson). After that, she left the Avengers and she created The Champions. The Champions consist of Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Hulk (Amadeus Cho), Viv (Vision's daughter), Nova (Sam Alexander), and Cyclops (Scott Summers). She also participated in the Inhumans vs. X-Men event, fighting for the inhumans, but also helping find a way to create peace between mutants and inhumans, preventing the extinction of both groups. Lastly, (I don't like talking about Civil War II because I thought it was stupid) Kamala took place in Civil War II, and literally watched the original Hulk, Bruce Banner, get murdered by Hawkeye. This impacts her character going forward, but also helps in her decision to leave the Avengers and start up the Champions.

Kamala also holds the title as the first Muslim Character to have her own solo title in Marvel comics. Her first title sold really well when it first debuted, and since then Marvel has had her show up in more comics than just her own solo series. Again she's an Inhuman, was an Avenger, and is a Champion. Except some writers, unfortunately, do not know how to write the character well, but most of her stories are exceptionally good. A reason I enjoy her stories so much is because of how grounded they are in the real world (at least in her solo title). Her comics talk about why being a superhero is awesome, why it sucks, but also comments on Islamic Theology and difficulties that people find with family.

I suggest you guys go and check this title out. You may not understand everything that goes on with respect to religion in the story, but you will enjoy it nonetheless.

Please feel free to read some of my other posts. I try to post regularly. Vocal should really create a way to put certain posts together (sorta like YouTube with playlists). See you in my next post!