Sound familiar...?

In class, people brought up the interesting observation of how Marvel has introduced a new version of Wonder Women- Miss Marvel. Reading through Miss Marvel's comics, it never stuck me how similar Miss Marvel and Wonder Woman is. Until now, that is. But here are some of the similarities that I have found:

THE CREATION: Innovation or Plagiarism? Or is it just a shoutout?

Just looking at the uniform that was handed to Diana after the "tournament," we could see clear resemblance between Captain America's and Wonder Woman's. As Helen has pointed out in her blog (shoutout to Helen!), the DC artists named WW's first love interest Steve Trevor. And what is Captain America's real name? Steve Rogers. Both guys are tall and very well built. Dashing looks and blonde hair. Both in the military? Ding ding ding, anyone?

Then on the other hand, the name "Miss Marvel" is just a dead giveaway of who she is linked with. Anyone want to guess? Before she attained her superpowers, she was the love interest of the original Captain Marvel, Kree warrior Mar-Vell (not very original there, are they?).

THE ORIGINS: Their super powers were given to them.

During the Golden Age, of which the required readings are from, it was presented to us that Princess Diana/ Diana Prince acquired her powers from the mighty Greek goddess, Aphrodite herself. She was blessed by the goddess, and gifted the abilities of super strength, super speed, and eternal youth. In a similar matter, Carol Danvers, the first character that was introduced as Ms. Marvel in 1969, started out as a normal officer in the US Air Force. Her powers did not emerge until the explosion with the 

the Kree superhero later on, which caused her DNA to merge with Captain Marvel's.

THE REPRESENTATION: Feminism in waves.

Wonder Woman was, and still is the icon of feminism. WW was first introduced to bring forth the idea of "female superiority." While we read through the comics that were created at 1941, which is around 20 years after the first wave of feminism, we can see clear signs of the concept that was being carried out during that wave: liberalism. In the first few chapters that we read before class, there were scenes where the Amazons were looked down, betrayed, enslaved, and even excluded from the society of the males. But they fought against them and escaped to a peaceful land that was suited just for them. This was a clear depiction of what was going on during the time: slavery, exclusion, denial of equal rights and representation in all institutions in the society. While there are alot of problems in the comics of WW, it was a very brave first attempt.

So how does Ms. Marvel fit into the discussion of feminism? The newest Ms. Marvel is not only a teenage girl, but also a Pakistani American who is also Muslim. She is a more realistic depiction of how real women in the world are like. Like mentioned in the video of "How is Ms. Marvel Changing Media for the Better?", Kamala Khan is earnest, complicated, and maybe a little confused by, but ultimately proud of who she is. Even though she yearned to look like how superheroes are stereotypically presented, blond, white,  high thigh boots sporting heroine, she realizes that it does not make her more confident. She would much rather be able to save more people. This is also the main idea of the current wave of feminism: introducing the concept of "no universal women" and the idea of intersectionality.

Now when I go back to the comics, I can see more and more of what is similar between the two characters. Just out of curiosity, if the two were to meet up, who would win the fight?