Why Is Being an “Avengers Clone” So Exhausting? | Realizing Being “Authentic” Through the Down-to-Earth Culture in Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 No. Normal (Ms. Marvel Series) (G. Willow Wilson)

In this story, the main character is Kamala Khan, a young immigrant from Pakistan who has a deep obsession with the world of American superheroes, namely the Avengers. Kamala deeply yearns for what she sees as a “perfect” life: to be white, blonde, popular, and free from the complexities of her family’s traditional and religious rules. For her, the universal standard of coolness is anything Western.

Based on what I have read and which forms the basis of my presentation, I will examine recurring patterns through the lens of Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth and summarize them from that perspective. The Pitfalls of National Consciousness, this is a condition where the oppressed are actually obsessed with imitating the exact lifestyle, standards, and way of thinking of the “colonizer” or dominant community because these are considered the absolute standard of progress. As the story progresess, Kamala realizes that to truly embody the “superhero” principle, she must stop following those Western notions of “cool.” This is as quoted in this comic

Kamala: “Who am I? It seems like an easy question. And then I realize… maybe what I said to those cops wasn’t a joke. Maybe the name belongs to whoever has the courage to fight. And so I tell them. I tell them who I am.” (Ms. Marvel… p. 14)

“I always thought that if I had amazing hair… if I could pull off great boots… if I could fly — that would make me feel strong. That would make me happy. But the hair gets in my face. The boots pinch… and this leotard is giving me an epic wedgie.” (p. 35) (p. 35)

“But being someone else isn’t liberating. It’s exhausting.” (p. 35)

Kamala: “It’s me! Your sister! What you’re seeing is some sort of weird subconscious projection thingie! I’m not actually blonde!” (p. 38)

At the beginning of the story, Kamala Khan finds herself caught up in the “elite” trap. She desperately wants to be like Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel): blonde, white, wearing a sexy costume, and living in a luxurious Manhattan tower (living a life of luxury and privilege). Kamala once felt that her true identity as the child of Pakistani immigrants in Jersey City was “stiff, out of place, and inappropriate.” She began to realize that pretending to be someone else was exhausting, making her feel alienated from herself; that pretense was draining because, whether she wanted to be herself or someone else, what she needed was to be authentic, to be herself , and to educate others that nationalism toward one’s own country isn’t backward; on the opposite, it’s a source of pride. In Fanon’s theory, this is called alienation, whereby adopting the identity of the colonizing race leads to a loss of freedom and mental alienation (an identity crisis). In the end, Kamala avoided that. She chose to remain part of the people, staying grounded, listening to their concerns, and fighting for them. Her heroism belongs to everyone (the collective), not just for her own personal glory.

I noticed a contrast between Aamir Khan (Kamala’s brother); he is trapped in the “Traditionalist Pitfall.” Here, Aamir responds by rejecting the West and fleeing from this objective world; he rejects Western values in a rigid manner, locking himself away in ancient traditions, and remains inactive in taking concrete social action to help those around him. Aamir Khan, nicknamed the “Penniless Mullah” mullah without money. He refuses to participate in the modern economic system for fear of being contaminated by Western values. He chooses to spend all his time praying at home. His father once criticized him for this.

Yusuf Khan: “Aamir, if you don’t stop praying long enough to put some food in your mouth, one day you will starve to death.”

Yusuf Khan: “Prayer is noble, but when you spend all day praying, it starts to look like you’re avoiding something. Like finding a job, for example.” (p. 7)

In Fanon’s theory, this represents the “Traditionalist Pitfall”; a non-progressive (static) escapism should be rejected, one must stop isolating oneself and begin to dare to produce tangible results for the community and society. Fanon explains that when a local culture is suppressed by a dominant (Western) culture, some members of society will respond by retreating to the past in an extreme manner. They fear the loss of their identity, so they lock themselves rigidly into traditional or religious rituals. Fanon argues that people must engage in active decolonization. Fanon argues that true mental resistance (Progressive Nationalism) draws on the positive values of the past to solve the problems of the present

Through the contrast between Aamir and Kamala, the moral compass stems from their father. Kamala’s authenticity is revealed when she chooses to bring to life the verse from the Quran that her father always quoted:

Kamala: “There’s this Ayah from the Quran that my dad always quotes when he sees something bad on TV. A fire or a flood or a bombing. ‘Whoever kills one person, it is as if he has killed all of mankind — and whoever saves one person, it is as if he has saved all of mankind.” (p. 31)

Yusuf Khan: “Whoever saves one person, it is as if he has saved all of mankind”

Shifting the stereotypical view of local values — which were merely labeled as passive prayers in a room, like her brother’s. Kamala transformed them into concrete action on the streets of Jersey City, drawing from local values and the community’s spirit in studying a verse from the Quran.

Being authentic means being true to the reality of the people around us. Kamala teaches us that we don’t need to discard our true identity or become someone else just to be accepted by the world. Her father’s moral values proved to be far more universal and suitable for saving her community. Because in the end, “Good is not a thing you are, it’s a thing you do”