Marvel Comics Writer Thought Muslim American Superhero 'Ms. Marvel' Project Was Only A Joke

Marvel comic writer G. Willow Wilson shared her initial reaction when she was tasked to create Ms. Marvel's character.

According to Wilson, she thought Marvel was joking when she was told to create the Muslim American superhero named Kamala Khan a.k.a. Ms. Marvel. Initially, the scribe thought they were only kidding her because there was no Muslim character in Marvel, but it turned out that they were serious. Ms. Marvel made history in the comics by being the first Muslim Marvel character to headline her own title.

"She [Sana Amanat] called me out of the blue, and she said to me, 'Hey, we want to create a new, young American Muslim superheroine and put her on her own ongoing series. Do you want to write this book and help develop this character?" Wilson recalled as quoted by Screen Rant.

"And I was pretty convinced that they were joking. Because I said there's no way that you ran that past Marvel Comics and they said yes. How often does that happen? I didn't say yes right away. To be called up by two editors at Marvel and told, 'Yes, we want to put a Muslim editor and a Muslim writer on a book about a Muslim character,' I was like, 'You're going to have to hire an intern just to open all of this hate mail.'"

Ms. Marvel made her debut in the 2013 comics "Captain Marvel." Marvel and Disney+ are also working on a new series about the female superhero but there is no casting announcement yet. The "Ms. Marvel" series is set for a 2021 release and is among the most exciting upcoming shows taking place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe because Kamala will play an important role in MCU moving forward.

The move was among Marvel Entertainment's effort to give its audience the diversity and inclusion that many claim is lacking in the industry. Marvel made its first big move towards diversity when it produced "Black Panther.”

It can be noted that "Avengers: Infinity War" star Anthony Mackie criticized Marvel in June for its lack of diversity. He appeared in several Marvel movies but noticed that all the staff were white, and it bothered him.

“When ‘Snowpiercer’ came out, you’re the lead. We have the power and the ability to ask those questions. It really bothered me that I’ve done seven Marvel movies where every producer, every director, every stunt person, every costume designer, every PA, every single person has been white,” Mackie shared.

“But then when you do ‘Black Panther,’ you have a Black director, Black producer, a Black costume designer, a Black stunt choreographer. And I’m like, that’s more racist than anything else,” he continued.

For Mackie, the team didn't need to be all-white or all-Black. According to him, Marvel should “hire the best person for the job” regardless of their color and gender.