Marvel has shaped the comic book and movie industry for over six decades, bringing you childhood favourites like Iron Man, Spider-Man and The Hulk.
Who knew the face behind the superhero magic is Marvel's very own "secret weapon," Sana Amanat?
The Pakistani-American is the director of content and character development at Marvel Comics, or, in other words, the real-life Ms. Marvel.
During the finale of this year's New York Comic Con, Amanat launched her Women of Marvel podcast, which has become an annual Comic Con tradition and headlines all the woman superheroes of the comic book world.
As a woman, and especially as a woman of Pakistani descent, Amanat has made it her mission to redefine the possibilities of women and culture in a predominately white-masculine industry.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Amanat said, "Our female characters themselves haven't changed, but the popularity and the way that we craft the stories around these female characters has changed quite a bit, in some senses. We're very conscious of the fact that our audience is changing."
Amanat has become one of the most powerful people in the comic book industry over the last few years. Her fancy job title is one that comic book fans would die for!
Her most notable work is Ms. Marvel. Also known as Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel is one of Amanat's most remarkable co-creations. The Marvel character is the first-ever Muslim superheroine to headline her own comic book. The fictional persona is a teenage Pakistani-American from New Jersey who has shapeshifting abilities and discovers that she has inhuman genes in the aftermath of the "inhumanity" storyline. She assumes the secret identity of Ms. Marvel.
Amanat is known as the Shonda Rhimes of Marvel, and ironically, she's a huge fan of Scandal's powerful television show runner.
In an interview with Vox, Amanat commented on her inspiration from the TV producer, "You need the 'oh nos.' That's the beauty of serialized storytelling. That's what Shonda does so well."
Before joining Marvel in 2009, Amanat had a moment of doubt in her career and even considered quitting the comic book industry altogether. She told Vox, "The industry was different back then, a lot less welcoming than now, there were no discussions of representation or diversity."
Amanat grew up reading comics that she found unrelatable. Jack Kirby and X-Men were the only comic books that she could somewhat relate to.
"Everywhere I looked, particularly in the media and pop culture, were versions of people that looked nothing like me. When you see that, you think that you're not worthy enough, you're not good enough, or you're not normal," she said in an interview with Vox.
Even if you're not a fan of comic books, you can see that the entire pop culture behind them has completely reinvented itself, featuring reimagined characters and content and constantly adapting itself as society changes, appealing to an even wider audience. With visionary people such as Amanat, "the sky is the limit" when it comes to the future of Marvel's creative content.
Jessica Jones is Marvel's latest fictional superherione. She's featured in Netflix's newly released original television series.
Main Image Photo Credit: Wired
Nicole Singh
Author
Nicole is a bilingual professional with a journalism background who adores everything to do with fashion, culture, and Bollywood. She always had a passion for writing since a young age and decided to follow that dream. She has a sense of working in the field through news publications writt...
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