The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been striving towards more inclusivity in the characters they have been choosing to take over for the old guard, as they steadily head into Phase 4. From Hawkeye, which gave us a female heroine in Kate Bishop, to Echo, who is both Native American and deaf; Heck, even Jane Foster has been found worthy of wielding the hammer as The Mighty Thor. 

But one of the most powerful moves in terms of giving everyone their much deserved seat to the table is the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, which not only deals with a young girl's journey into finding herself, but also with the societal askepcts of being Pakastaini and Muslim in America, where their heritage has been misunderstood and often times feared because of political reasons. The show has looked to set the record straight, deep diving a culture that needs to be represented for all the beauty it has to offer.

In a recent interview with NME, Iman Vellani, the 19-year old actress playing the role of Ms. Marvel, discussed how the show is a great set forward in terms of getting over our cultural bias, as well as how she deals with the haters who troll the internet to spread needless vitriol. 

When asked about her own heritage in terms of playing Kamala Khan, 

"For some reason, every time we see Muslims and South Asians [on screen], especially teenagers, they're never proud of their culture. It's always something that's dragging them down. That's so not true. Kamala's story has always been about using her cultural identity as something that motivates her and guides her. That was really important to us [when making Ms. Marvel]."

When it comes to those who dislike the series, Vellani seems to take the good with the bad.

"I know they're there. It's something we knew was going to happen going into this. It happened when the comic books came out in 2014. I'm all for constructive criticism as long as people have a legitimate concern or suggestion or something real. Then I care.

"But all the hatred I've seen has no basis, no merit, it's just purely for the sake of hating - and that's fine. You're not gonna impress everyone. We hit our target audience and we hit an entirely new audience that didn't know they were gonna fall in love with this character - people who have never seen themselves represented in a positive light before."

She also discussed the toxic realm of social media and how keeping off of it seems to be the best defense,

"I'm not on social media. I hear things that my mother tells me though. It's honestly quite laughable and I think change is scary for a lot of people. And having a show that surrounds a 16-year-old girl who's Pakistani and Muslim and a superhero is scary for a lot of people. I think this is just gonna rip the Band Aid off and hopefully people will fall in love with her."

Taking it all in stride, Vellani seems to know who the show is for, 

"This show is for Marvel fans. If you're a real Marvel fan, if any of those review bombers consider themselves a Marvel fan, then this show's for them too. We wanted Ms. Marvel to be a love letter to Marvel fans. So yeah, I don't care about them!"

Ms. Marvel, having been reviewing it week to week, is a powerful, heartfelt, and educational journey which tackles both familiar and uncharted territory, taking great care to showcase being a young female minority against the backdrop of a superhero story. The show is definitely a must-watch, especially in today's chaotic environment of misinformation and bias. Hopefully, Ms. Marvel will help diminish such wrongheadedness for those who are willing to step out of their comfort zone.

Tags: Iman Vellani Ms. Marvel MCU Hawkeye Echo thor