Comic book movies haven’t been shy when it comes to breaking boundaries in recent years. Marvel has already given us the big screen’s first black superhero in a lead role, whether you date that achievement to 2018’s Black Panther or even earlier to the pre-MCU exploits of 1998’s Blade (though there’s room for debate about whether Wesley Snipes’s brethren-slaying vampire technically qualifies as either super or hero).
DC pipped its rivals to the title of first leading female superhero with Wonder Woman (2017), with Captain Marvel following hot on her heels in 2019.
On Wednesday, however, simultaneous with the long-awaited launch of Disney+ in the Middle East, Marvel will be chalking up another first, and one that will have particular resonance across the region, when Iman Vellani pulls on the spandex to take on the role of Ms Marvel, aka New Jersey teenager Kamala Khan, the world’s first Muslim superhero.
Kamala Khan, who is 16, first appeared in an August 2013 edition of Captain Marvel, and landed her own comic book series in February 2014. She was in part created by comic book artist Sana Amanat, who previously told The National that the character was sparked by a conversation she had with her senior editor, Stephen Wacker, about her own experiences growing up in New Jersey as a Pakistani-American Muslim.
In the comic book, Khan develops polymorphous powers owing to "inhuman" genes and takes over the former identity of her hero Carol Danvers (Danvers drops the Ms Marvel moniker in the Marvel comics after taking on the mantle of Captain Marvel in 2012). She has the ability to shape shift and has powers of elasticity.
It’s a watershed moment, particularly given that, despite some notable recent trend-buckers such as Ramy and The Lovebirds, the representation of Muslims we’ve typically seen from Hollywood, whether on the big screen or the small, have tended to be liberally sprinkled with oppressed women, ruthless leaders and terrorists.
It’s a big responsibility for the Pakistani-Canadian actress, 19, and one that will be eagerly anticipated, and equally closely analysed, by millions of young, comic book-loving Muslims around the globe.
Scroll through the gallery below to see Iman Vellani in scenes from 'Ms. Marvel':
Vellani isn’t oblivious to the significance of her new role. “I just hope it opens minds a little bit, because so often it's the cis men who are portrayed as real individuals on screen, and everyone else is just a representation of their culture or their religion or their sexuality. It's like, ‘Oh, it's not Ms. Marvel, it’s The Muslim Show,’” she tells The National.
Vellani says Ms. Marvel will do things a little differently. “I think that the whole point of our show is subverting labels and expectations that are thrown at you and doing your own thing, because no one can ever be just one label and one thing, and Kamala’s whole arc is marrying the 50 million things that, when combined, make her who she is. I hope people relate to that arc, and seeing that Muslims can be people and brown people are shown having fun on screen — how cool is that?”
The actress makes a valid point. There’s no doubt that her character’s religion will be, and already has been, highlighted, including by Muslims who are thrilled to finally see a superhero of the same faith. Watching the show, however, we quickly see that Kamala Khan is much more than her religion. She’s also a student, a sister, a confused teenage girl and a huge Marvel fan who spends an inordinate amount of her spare time making cut-out animations for her delightfully postmodern Marvel fan channel on YouTube.
While Khan’s religion is, of course, an important part of her character, it doesn’t define her, and Vellani is confident she’ll appeal to an audience far beyond young Muslims looking for representation on screen — in particular the not-inconsiderable Marvel fan demographic.
I think, apart from the Muslim representation, people will find some part of themselves that they relate to through the characters and the fan culture in our show
Iman Vellani,
actress
“Kamala is a character who just represents so much about fan culture and just what it is being a Marvel fan, and I think that's going to be super-meta for a lot of the nerds out there,” she says, with a laugh. “I think we've also really hit the mark with the coming-of-age arc. That hit home for me as a kid who just came into the business, and we've included so many real parts of my life to make her as real a character as possible.
“I think, apart from the Muslim representation, people will find some part of themselves that they relate to through the characters and the fan culture in our show. We wanted it to be very much about a fan fiction-writing nerd who happens to be Pakistani and Muslim. It's not about the ‘Muslimness’ or the ‘Pakistaniness’."
Scroll through the gallery below to see the official posters for all 'Ms. Marvel' characters:
Vellani clearly feels as much responsibility to the Marvel fan community as she does to religious or national culture, and it’s a community she feels very much a part of. As with Khan, the actress loves the Marvel comics, has published numerous works of home-made Marvel fan animation online and even dressed as Ms Marvel last Halloween.
She says there was so much of her own character in Khan, and vice versa, that it barely felt like an acting job at all, although, she says some of the physical aspects of the role were new to her (“I had never been into a gym before. I still hate it”).
Vellani will doubtless have to struggle through a few more gym sessions for the cause, as Marvel has already confirmed that her character will be joining its main Cinematic Universe following her introduction in the Disney+ series.
While she's prohibited by Marvel’s usual strict secrecy rules that mean she can't reveal anything about where we might expect her character to go in the wider universe, that doesn’t prevent us from asking where she’d like to see the character’s story head, purely as a fan.
“I really want to see some cool team-ups,” Vellani fires back without even stopping to think. “Ironheart is coming, and I really like her as a character. I’d love to work with [Ironheart alias] Riri Williams or even [Hawkeye’s Young Avengers incarnation] Kate Bishop. They really have to start this Young Avengers thing, you know?
"I’d just love to see her interact with a bunch of other people in the MCU, even the Guardians [of the Galaxy], like, how would she interact with Groot? That'd be really funny. She just brings so much love and joy out of other characters that she's on screen with, so get her on screen with more.”
Over to you, Marvel – the superfan has spoken.
Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
Blonde
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The chef's advice
Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.
“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”
Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.
The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Five%20calorie-packed%20Ramadan%20drinks
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SPECS
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Naga
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Rating:*****
MATCH RESULT
Al Jazira 3 Persepolis 2
Jazira: Mabkhout (52'), Romarinho (77'), Al Hammadi (90' 6)
Persepolis: Alipour (42'), Mensha (84')
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Men’s singles
Group A: Son Wan-ho (Kor), Lee Chong Wei (Mas), Ng Long Angus (HK), Chen Long (Chn)
Group B: Kidambi Srikanth (Ind), Shi Yugi (Chn), Chou Tien Chen (Tpe), Viktor Axelsen (Den)
Women’s Singles
Group A: Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn), Pusarla Sindhu (Ind), Sayaka Sato (Jpn), He Bingjiao (Chn)
Group B: Tai Tzu Ying (Tpe), Sung Hi-hyun (Kor), Ratchanok Intanon (Tha), Chen Yufei (Chn)
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
RESULT
Wolves 1 (Traore 67')
Tottenham 2 (Moura 8', Vertonghen 90 1')
Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)
