Kamala Khan: Stretching Into Mainstream News For the Good of Mankind
First up, we have some of the best news I’ve seen in a long time: phenomenal people in San Francisco are covering up Islamaphobic bus ads with photos of Ms. Marvel’s Kamala Khan. (I don’t like using “defaced” in this context like other articles because it makes it sound like the Kamala Khan fans are the hateful ones, ruining some work of art. Obviously, the opposite is the case.)
I’ve said before that Kamala Khan’s Ms. Marvel is a superhero comic we should all be reading. Not only is Kamala a strong role model, but more importantly, she’s a Muslim. In the states, there is an unacceptable amount of bigotry and vitriol thrown at Muslims, with people even stupidly claiming that all Muslims should publicly denounce terrorism. As if that wasn’t already a given for pretty much everyone, no matter their race, religion, or Hogwarts house.
But here comes Kamala Khan, this teenage girl, a fan of comic books and food, a girl struggling with her identity and all the labels placed on her without permission. And holy shit, she’s just like every other teenage girl, because of course she is. Being Muslim doesn’t make her different, it only adds another layer to who she is as a person. (The ability to embiggen does, however, make her different.) It’s so refreshing to see Kamala and her family because how often do we see Islamic families portrayed in a good light in mainstream media?
Does Marvel Have a Girl Problem?
Speaking of female heroes in the Marvel Universe, io9 has a solid article discussing Marvel’s merchandising problem when it comes to women.
These women are in the movies and the TV shows seen by millions of people the world over, that’s the bit that matters, right? Well, yes, but it’s only part of it. By largely keeping these female characters away from the bulk of the merchandise, these companies are essentially advocating that sure, there’s cool female characters in these things, but they’re really for boy,- and boys don’t want girl figures or t-shirts with them on.
Agent Carter Reunites with some dapper friends
Agent Carter’s fifth episode, “The Iron Ceiling” will star the Howling Commandos, accompanied by Agent Thompson to make things even more difficult for Peggy. Comicbook.com has a slew of promotional stills on its site, but I’ll add a few because I like pictures and Agent Carter.
Oh, and hey! Andrea Towers has her review of “Blitzkrieg” already posted. You know, in case you need somewhere to fan it up.
Avengers: Age of Ultron Possibly Adding…???
Finally, the rumor mill is buzzing with more news surrounding Avengers: Age of Ultron and the possible addition of yet another prominent character in the MCU. It could be considered a bit of a spoiler, so if you are averse to such things I suggest you skip immediately to the comic section to post a high-five for Kamala Khan.
Are we good?
There’s a source over at SchmoesKnow.com who claims that AoU will also include Mantis. It doesn’t seem a shocking leap since Mantis has been part of both the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, but her addition does make me wonder how many leading roles there will be in this film and WHY, JOSS WHY has there been no mention of Captain Marvel appearing in this movie yet?
Oh, and in case you need more, Comicbookmovie.com has uploaded a few scanned stills from the set of Avengers: Age of Ultron.
