Marvel Comics' new hero is a teenage Muslim girl named 'Kamala Khan'

Kamala's character will portray a 16-year old Muslim-American who discovers she possesses shape-shifting abilities.

As a part of their upcoming All-New Marvel NOW! initiative, Marvel Comics is relaunching the Ms. Marvel comic with a whole new character, a teenage Muslim girl of Pakistani descent named 'Kamala Khan', according to IGN.

Previously, the iconic Ms. Marvel comic belonged to the immensely popular character 'Carol Danvers'. But Marvel announced a relaunch of Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel, leaving vacant Ms. Marvel.

The boots will now be filled by the all-new character of Kamala Khan, a 16-year old Muslim girl who takes on the title after discovering that she possesses shape-shifting abilities.

IGN described the expected new series, "In true teen hero tradition, Kamala struggles with her parents' high expectations and her desire to carve out her own identity even as her new found powers open up a completely different world."

The new series will be written by G. Willow Wilson, a writer who has channeled her own experiences as a Muslim woman into comics like Cairo and Air. Joining her is artist Adrian Alphona, who co-created the Runaways with Brian K. Vaughan and has most recently been seen on Uncanny X-Force.

Series editor Sana Amanat talked about the inspiration behind Kamala. "The inspiration for the new Ms. Marvel series stemmed out of a desire to explore the Muslim-American diaspora from an authentic perspective and yet, this story isn’t about what it means to be a Muslim, Pakistani or American...This is ultimately a tale about what it means to be young, lost amidst the expectations bestowed upon you, and what happens when you get to choose."

But according to Superherohype, Wilson says “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.’”

However, Sana Amanat describes Kamala's family as conservative. “Her brother is extremely conservative. Her mom is paranoid that she’s going to touch a boy and get pregnant. Her father wants her to concentrate on her studies and become a doctor.”

The new Ms. Marvel series will debut in February of 2014 but she will first appear in the upcoming "All-New Marvel NOW! Point One Special."

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