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Marvel Comics has finally decided to diversify their superhero roster.

Meet Kamala Khan, the 16 year-old Pakistani-American daughter of conservative parents who lives in Jersey City. Kamala is slated to make her debut in January and has comic aficionados all over the world jumping for joy.

This news comes on the heels of Marvel’s “unprecedented” billion dollar deal with Netflix, in which the comic publisher will produce four superhero series for the streaming service company to debut in 2015.

Kamala is the brainchild of writer and Muslim convert, G. Willow Wilson. Wilson took to Twitter to make the major announcement just this week:

The inspiration for the new series came from the desire to give a voice to the Muslim-American experience, but is not intended to marginalize any particular demographic. Wilson told the NYTimes: 

“It is about a young girl who is figuring out who she is and what happens when these really extraordinary things happen to her.

It’s for all the geek girls out there, and everybody else who’s ever looked at life on the fringe.”

As for Kamala’s superhero powers, let’s just say that this teen is not your run-of-the mill superhero. According to the Marvel:

Khan is a big comic book fan and after she discovers her superhuman power – being a polymorph and able to lengthen her arms and legs and change her shape – she takes on the name of Ms. Marvel. The title had previously belonged to Carol Danvers, a character Khan had always admired.

Although the 16-year-old character is not the first minority superhero to hit the scene, she will surely be bringing a much-needed voice to many Marvel fans out there.

SOURCE: NYTimes, ADWeek | PHOTO CREDIT: Marvel.com