Dr. Faiza Hussain/Excalibur of Marvel Comics
Created by Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk, with creative input from Muslims Mona Bayoumi, Safiya Sayed Baharun, Farida Patel, and Sohere Roked, Dr. Faiza Hussain is a Pakistani-British Muslim medical doctor who first appeared in 2008 Marvel comics. Like her fellow Pakistani-Muslim Kamala across the pond, she’s a fangirl of superheroes, and soon finds herself with superpowers once the Skrull Invasion occurs and she is hit by one of their weapons. Instead of being harmed, she finds she has the ability to manipulate living organisms. After she and other heroes defeated the Skrulls, she becomes the wielder of the legendary sword Excalibur, and becomes Black Knight’s squire. Brown and Muslim kids growing up in Western countries often wish we could be part of the legendary stories of those countries. While we should of course have more stories and adventures inspired directly by our heritage, there’s room for both, as Dr. Faiza’s adventures and amazing books like Stone Sword Table make clear. Dr. Faiza is a healer, a warrior, and an all-around badass that happens to be South Asian and Muslim, and it would be so gratifying to see her in more comics and onscreen media in the Marvel Universe. (Captain Britain, MI:13 #1 comics)
