Discover the origin story of Marvel's first Muslim American superhero in the first clip from the Disney+ docuseries 'Marvel's 616'
The Marvel Cinematic Universe may be on pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, but there are still lots of stories to tell within the House of Ideas that the dearly departed Stan Lee built. In fact, that’s the inspiration for the new Disney+ docuseries, Marvel’s 616, which will take a deep dive into Marvel’s extensive back catalogue and spotlight groundbreaking heroes and stories from the company’s 80-year-and-counting history. The streaming service just premiered a sneak peek at the show, which is set to premiere this fall and will be featured as part of a Comic Con@Home panel this weekend. The first clip covers the origins of Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel — who made history as the first Muslim American superhero to headline her own Marvel comic book.
Khan is one of the hard-hitting heroes chronicled in “Higher, Further, Faster,” the second installment of Marvel’s 616. Directed by former Community star, Gillian Jacobs, the episode zeroes in on Marvel’s trailblazing female characters like Captain Marvel, whose signature slogan — popularized in the hit 2019 movie starring Brie Larson — also serves as the title. It’s worth noting that Ms. Marvel herself is based, in part, on a trailblazing Marvel employee, Sana Amanat: a Pakistani-American editor who swiftly rose through the company’s ranks to become Marvel Entertainment’s Vice President of Content and Character Development.
In her interview with Jacobs, Amanat describes her experiences growing up as a Muslim American and how that impacted routine teenage activities like going to prom or running track. “I lived such a distinct experience that not many people really talked about,” she says in the clip. “[My editor said], ‘It would be great if we had a character that was based on you, based on the young Sanas of the world.’ I was like, ‘Are we allowed to do this?’”
Amanat’s eventual collaborator, Muslim American author G. Willow Wilson, was equally incredulous when Marvel reached out asking her to write Ms. Marvel. “I was pretty convinced they were joking,” Willow says in the clip. “I was like, you’re going to have to hire an intern to open all this hate mail. It just seemed like waving a red flag in front of all the people who felt that people like me and Sana shouldn’t be in comics at all.”
Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of readers embraced Kamala Khan the moment Ms. Marvel hit comic bookshelves, with the series eventually selling half a million trade paperbacks. The character has gone on to appear in audiobooks and animated films and TV shows, and at last year’s D23 Expo, Marvel rocked the world by unveiling plans for a live-action Ms. Marvel series on Disney+ that could start filming this fall. Clearly, the popularity of Ms. Marvel is no joke.
Listening to Sana Amanat & G. Willow Wilson talk about Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel). Can't wait to watch this episode. @RedrawingNYC https://t.co/xAZLtOIMxl
— Matthew Teutsch (@SilasLapham) July 22, 2020
The second clip from Marvel’s 616 comes from the fourth episode, “Lost and Found,” directed by actor, podcast host and general Marvel enthusiast Paul Scheer who peeks into the company’s nooks and crannies for its forgotten heroes. Of course, one of those characters isn’t so “forgotten” anymore: the king of Wakanda — and the reigning king of all superhero movies — Black Panther.
In the clip, Scheer sits down with Reginald Hudlin, who was a key part of the great Black Panther renaissance that culminated in Ryan Coogler’s 2018 blockbuster, which shattered box office records and became the first comic book movie nominated for Best Picture. “I knew what the opportunity was with Black Panther if I did it right,” Hudlin says. “I said, ‘I’m going to write the comic book equivalent of a Public Enemy record.... and that was the key to success.” You might say that Hudlin fought the powers that be — and won.
Marvel’s 616 premieres this fall on Disney+
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