Iman Vellani is opening up about why she fell in love with Ms. Marvel as a kid. As Vellani gears up for the Ms. Marvel premiere on June 8th, 2022, she has made her love for Marvel no secret. In fact, it is one of the reasons why she fits so well into the role of Kamala Khan. In the series, Khan is a huge fangirl of Captain Marvel, just like Vellani is in real life. Vellani’s fan status doesn’t end there, though, as she is a huge fan of the entire Marvel universe.
In fact, a throwback photo sees Vellani already donning the Ms. Marvel uniform that she made herself as a child. In addition to this, she has a video on Vimeo that expresses her love of Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. Her entire closet is even filled with Iron Man merch and she keeps a list of her questions and ideas for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Needless to say, she may even be the biggest Marvel fan in the MCU.
However, her fitness for the role of Ms. Marvel goes well beyond being a Marvel fan. Like Khan, she boasts energy, passion, and positivity that she spreads to those around her. Additionally, she is a very talented actress who can easily switch between being an awkward teenager and being a soulful and mature superhero. Vellani has more than earned her role as Khan and, in doing so, has tackled a huge challenge. After all, she is the MCU’s very first Muslim superhero and its second Pakistani-American one. While it’s certainly a big load to take up, it is part of the reason why Vellani is so passionate about Ms. Marvel.
Vellani on falling in love with Ms. Marvel as kid
In a Fan’s Guide to Ms. Marvel on Disney+, Vellani opened up what exactly it was that made her love Ms. Marvel. Vellani explained that her parents used to give her a $20 allowance and she would spend it on comic books. One day, she simply happened to pick out a Ms. Marvel comic book and fell in love. Mainly, she loved that Ms. Marvel was someone she could relate to. She grew up seeing almost no representation, but Ms. Marvel changed that. The comics depicted Ms. Marvel as fun and captivating, but also as a typical kid who dealt with the same problem that Vellani did. Check out her quote below:
My parents would give me $20 of allowance every month. I would spend it on comic books. Then one day I picked up a Ms. Marvel comic cuz it was just like, I’ve never seen a Brown person on the cover of one. And I read it, fell in love with her.
She was just so captivating and fun. She had problems that I had. She had boy troubles and she had problems in school. Iron Man helped her with her physics homework. She was a kid and it showed. Growing up with little to no representation, I needed that. It was basically Marvel comics saying, ‘Hey! You’re not alone!’
Vellani’s quote is heartwarming and it shows that she truly understands the significance of representation and the importance of the role she’s playing. Ms. Marvel gave her the representation she very much needed as a child. Now, she in turn is going to be giving that representation and inspiration to others by taking up the mantle of Ms. Marvel herself.
(featured image: Disney)
