Ms. Marvel written by G. Willow Wilson is a Marvel comic that stars Kamala Khan. A 16 year old child of Pakistani immigrants that live in Jersey City. Like any other teen obeys her parents one night that changed her life forever. Leaving her with these amazing powers that she has to learn to control. In this interview will be hearing from the author herself and some of the main characters within the comic.
Najah Inabinett: What made you want to write a comic on a Pakistani teenager?
G. Willow Wilson: “Actually none of it was set in stone. I wanted to create a teenager American Muslim superhero for a while. I thought about making her a Somali-American and setting it in Seattle”.
N.I- What changed your mind?
GWW- “It was kind of local to me and it took a while to land on Jersey City and that particular community and to make her background Pakistani. At the end of it all it was just an abstract idea, it was really about creating a character from scratch”.
N.I- Where did you get your inspiration from?
GWW- Well I was originally born in Jersey City, just a middle class white girl tat converted to Islam when I was twenty. I was always into the old comic and marvel movies. X-men and the avengers, justice league, however there was some women super heroes. They were all that typical women super hero. That had no religious background no meaning to them personally. So I came up with different ideas different characters that will grab anyone’s attention even those who said Marvel and Comics can’t be diverse.
N.I- How do you keep Kamala’s faith from being a distracting part of a superhero story?
GWW- I liked to focus on real life as it is lived by a young American Muslim women. It teaches you how to balance a everyday life to a whole different life and maintaining it.
N.I- When did you start to notice that women and minorities were underrepresented in the superhero comics you loved so much?
GWW– It never crossed my mine, you know as a kid you accept whatever is given, and it’s tough to know what you don’t know. ” I remember in college reading an article on women being taken seriously they will expose themselves”. That was a way of getting attention. Only a couple years later that was something everyone was doing and talking about like it was a trend. When you go to comic conventions there’s like this split down the middle of men and women. The men look at us women as if we don’t belong or where’s our short skirt and tube tops. As if any women of any color can’t do the whole life saving fully clothed and still be taken seriously.
N.I- The night you snuck out and went to that party, the night your life changed. How did it feel meeting some of Marvel popular superheroes?
Kamala Khan- It felt like a dream, at some point it was almost unreal. To look up and see Captain America, Iron Man and Captain Marvel you would think they’ll look different in person. They look exactly how they do in movies and comics, perfect, strong and brave.
N.I- What was the transformation like from a regular teenage girl to Ms.Marvel?
K.K- Crazy part about it is I didn’t feel anything. I was just trapped in like a dark bubble and broke out a whole new person. I even thought I just had passed out and all the emotions you can think of was hitting me all at once.
N.I- Do you regret that night? or leaving the house?
K.K- Honestly I don’t, it was not only life changing but it was something I needed. I learned so much moving forward from that night. Even though it upset my parents I gained a new duty to the world. Who wouldn’t want to wake up every morning knowing they can save someone’s life. That they can change into a whole new person with powers. I would do all over again.
N.I– Did you ever think how this will impact your family and friends?
K.K- Of course I knew that this change will not only be hard for me but the people I love. My family is very religious and I was scared that they wouldn’t except my change or even look at me the same girl they raised. As far as my friends I feel they would be excited for me having a friend with powers and all but also as worried as my family would be that I will be in serious danger.
Peer Review Questions
- What questions should I add for the parents?
- Do I need more for Kamala?
- Should I add or subtract from the beginning?
- Should I add her friends as well?
- What other topics should I add?
Najah,
I was pretty sure I commented on this before, but I can’t find it! Oh no! My bad!!
Like I said in class, your interview idea is amaaazing! Since we have interviews in real life from G. Willow Wilson that you’re quoting, I would veer away from those so this project is more driven by your own ideas and thoughts and imaginings into the lives of her characters. You leave us on a big cliffhanger with Kamala — worried that her parents won’t accept her — and as an interviewer, I’d definitely want to know more about what happened when she told them/how she told them/if they found out by accident, etc.
And, since you asked about other friends, I think that would be a great idea! It would be awesome to interview other characters — even and perhaps especially minor ones — that caught your attention. I’d also really love to see you build out your own personality as an interviewer — throw yourself into the world. Interviewers have off-camera, off-script interactions with their interview subjects — what do you imagine yours would be like with these characters? I’d love to see you explore that in your next draft!!! Stoked to see what you come up with!!