South Asian Representation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

I have to admit, I have never been a comic book fan but I am a big Marvel movie fanatic! I have seen almost every single movie in the MCU and it has been a pleasure to finally see some of us brown folks living the life of a superhero on the big screen. 

Kamala Khan from Ms. Marvel

A Pakistani-Muslim American girl living in Jersey City?! To see this on the tv screen was a breath of fresh air! One of the best characters in terms of representation in the MCU was so wonderfully brought to life by the adorable and charming Iman Vellani. She is such a modern interpretation of a superhero - a young girl, trying to find her way in the world and navigating her culture, family, friends, religion and discrimination while also navigating her new found powers. Talk about a coming of age story!

Kingo from Eternals

Kingo, played by Kumali Nanjiani, is just a sweet dash of how endearing Indian culture really is. The fact that this character is not only a superhero but is hiding his identity by being a BOLLYWOOD HERO is just hilarious. How did he get away with this for so long, as he is immortal and stays looking unchanged? By pretending to be all of his descendants. Generations of Kingo…who are all just Kingo himself. Pure genius!

Pavitr "Pav" Prabhakar / Spider-Man from Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse 

I watched Into the Spiderverse & Across the Spiderverse with no context from the comics themselves so I definitely was surprised to see an Indian variation of a Spiderman! This character, voiced by Karan Soni, makes me so happy that brown kids have someone to dress up as, that also connects them somewhat with their culture and bear some resemblance with. Also, he is a superhero but his love for his girlfriend is derailed by a very strict an overbearing father who also happens to be the police commissioner. Sounds like the plot line of many Hindi movies, doesn’t it?