The Change is Here, and the Change is Her: Pakistani American Representation in the Disney+ Series Ms. Marvel

Ms. Marvel (2022) from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), adapted from the Marvel Comics series of the same name, follows a Muslim Pakistani American teenager from Jersey City who adores her hero, Captain Marvel. This paper engages with intersectionality of Kamala Khan’s representation in Ms. Marvel through the lens of her multiple intersecting identities: as a Pakistani American, a Muslim, a teenage girl, and a superhero. We utilized José Esteban Muñoz’s theory of disidentification (1999) and bell hooks’ critical feminist lens (i.e., her ideas of the dysmorphic body and the deconstruction of women as parts) to do a critical analysis of the six episodes, We found three changes from her comic book origins to the new superhero found in the Disney+ series: Kamala’s powers, her character growth, and her identity as a Pakistani American teenager. The study discusses the intersectionality of Kamala’s unique relationships on screen with her family, subverting typical cultural cues and gender roles, and her conformity and subversion of identity as a Muslim Pakistani American. while creating her new identity as a superheroine, all of which highlight the lived experiences of marginalized communities.