Before The Marvels, actor Iman Vellani is flexing in a Ms. Marvel comic

Iman Vellani, star of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Ms. Marvel TV series and November’s MarvelsShe knows what it’s like to be a Muslim teenager who loves superheroes and is thrust into the spotlight along with people she used to admire from afar.

You can also find out more about the She The following are some of the reasons why you should consider hiring someone elseKnows a few things about Ms. Marvel. A teenage Muslim superhero lover who rocketed to fame (when realizing she was mutant), alongside those same heroes she had once admired. The X-Men. This year’s Hellfire Gala event story revealed that while Kamala’s powers come from her Inhuman ancestry, she The following are some of the reasons why you should consider hiring someone elseHas a mutant X gene that is dormant.

While Vellani had never before written a Marvel Comics Miniseries, Ms. Marvel and the New Mutant, you can’t say that it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Kamala Khan embarks on a new adventure today as the newest X-Men member. Unfortunately, an alliance of mutant-hating humans and computer intelligences framed mutants for the massacre of dozens of human dignitaries and exiled almost all of Earth’s mutants to parts unknown.

Image: Sara Pichelli/Marvel Comics

You could say it’s not the The best way to get in touch with us is by calling (08) 987-0909. time to realize that you’re a mutant, but at least Kamala is in good hands. Ms. Marvel and the New MutantVellani, Sabir Pirzada and Vellani are the co-authors of this book. Ms. Marvel TV series) and drawn by Carlos Gómez and Adam Gorham, with covers from Marvel legend Sara Pichelli.

Polygon sat down with Vellani over video chat this month to find out what it’s like to go from playing Ms. Marvel to writing Ms. Marvel — and from reading comics to making them.

“I thought I was working with the biggest nerds at Marvel Studios,” Vellani quipped, “but then I met the folks at Marvel publishing, and they’re a whole other level of nerds.”

Continue reading our conversation, which we have edited to make it more concise and clear.

Polygon: You’ve played Ms. Marvel on TV and in a movie. Is writing about her like acting her?

Iman Vellani: It’s almost like writing a journal. I been incorporating a lot of my personal, real-life experiences that I’ve gone through in the last three years into this book. Kamala [in the comics]It was similar to what I went through. In the book, I used a number of things I had learned during the whole process. I included the type of people who I would choose to be around, as well as how I would handle things. It was very cathartic in a lot of ways for me to be given this platform and to express a lot of what I’ve been going through, through Kamala. I’ve always felt like I’ve lived vicariously through this character ever since high school. She is me and I am she. And we’ve lived the same life. So I just feel so comfortable, whether it’s me playing her or me writing her. I feel like I understand her voice very well, because it’s very similar to my own.

Do you feel like you’ve learned something new about her through writing her?

Yes, in general. But the most valuable experience was working with Marvel’s editorial and a cowriter. Collaboration has been the best part of all this. I thought I was working with the biggest nerds at Marvel Studios, but then I met the folks at Marvel publishing, and they’re a whole other level of nerds [laughs]. It is enough to say that I am very comfortable.

And Sabir, who’s my co-writer, is probably the best and most generous collaborator ever, he really gave me the upper hand on driving the narrative and getting all my wishes answered. Anytime we came across any speed bumps or continuity issues, he’d be the first one with 20 different ideas about how to solve it, so that we get to tell the story that we wanted in the way we wanted it. I probably learned the most from him, not even directly, but just taking note of the way he responds to emails, the way he integrates editorial notes into his pages and coherently communicates opinions if there’s something that we don’t necessarily agree with. I probably would have been a lot more reluctant about this entire process if he wasn’t as good of a writer and a human being as he was. It’s been the most eye-opening part of this whole thing.

Image: Carlos Gómez, Adam Gorham/Marvel Comics

The process of creating a comic is incredibly magical. It’s so magical to see the comic book-making process firsthand. I start writing, then others draw my words and other people color them. It’s just, it’s so… Cool. I can’t describe it any other way. Every day when I get sketches, it’s so fascinating; it’s so rewarding when the artists draw the page exactly like how I pictured it. And then when they don’t, I’m like, Okay, this is me, but I should describe this certain thing better.. It’s really constant learning. And I think I’ve progressed so much from issue 1 to issue 4.

You’re scripts differ greatly from movie scripts. It’s essentially a letter to the artist. It’s a lot more intricate; it becomes very more much more detailed. Your script changes as you get to know the artist, their style of drawing and working. It’s been really fascinating.

Have you got a favourite X-Men?

It’s different for every medium. With the ’90s cartoon, I love Jubilee and I love Rogue. And with Grant Morrison’s run, I mean, Wolverine and Emma Frost are my top. It’s then House of X/Powers of XIt changes. I mean, there’s times where I really love Magneto. Can I really say this? I don’t know. It’s hard to choose, but I really like a number of women. They are all written beautifully. It does change, and I think that’s what’s so beautiful about the X-Men, because there’s a plethora of characters. The more you read about any of them, the more interesting they get, and suddenly they’re my new favorite. With every comic book I read, there’s a new favorite.

It makes me think of when Iceman first came out in the 90s as gay. Uncanny X-Men #600, and he explained that he’d stayed in the closet so long because he was so afraid of having one more label that would make people look down on him. I know you can’t talk too much about what happens in the comic, but I wonder if you could speak to how Kamala is feeling about getting “one more label.”

Image: Sara Pichelli/Marvel Comics

We’re having her integrate into this whole world by going on her first undercover mission as the greenest member of the X-Men — a very small team now, post-Hellfire Gala, we really did not have a lot of characters to choose from [laughs]. She’s simultaneously struggling to acclimate to these new colors that she’s wearing, the new life that she’s literally been given. There’s a part of her that feels like she owes something to the X-Men, because they’re the ones who brought her back to life. But she doesn’t completely want to conform, because she’s like, You guys You can also read more about the benefits of using told me I’m an X-Man, I still have homework, I don’t know what you want from me right now.

She comes to realize that being a mutant does set her apart in a way that she’s never experienced before. The hatred of mutants is a global phenomenon, especially after the Hellfire Gala. People believe that mutants are responsible for the deaths of everyone. Kamala enters this mission being a little naive to the magnitude of discrimination that she’s about to face and that exists out there for mutants. She’s also one of the only mutants who can also afford to have a life above ground; all the mutants right now are underground because people know that they’re a part of the X-Men. Ms. Marvel’s X-Man status is unknown to the public until she appears in her brand new X-suit.

I don’t want to give away too many details, but it is a real testament to the type of hero that she is and what she’s capable of. I think it’s really interesting that you brought up Bobby Drake, because Kamala has always been a mutant. She’s always had the X-gene, but now she’s public about it. It’s not the first time she has had it. Now, people’s perceptions change. And she’s like, What’s the difference? It didn’t matter. Now they know I’m a mutant, now I know I’m a mutant. Why do they look at me so differently? She’s starting to realize how hard it must be to be a mutant and the discrimination that they face. For the first time, she gets a taste of what it’s like to be seen as the enemy. It’s a whole other side of her we kind of get to play with.

What are you currently reading? What other than work research?

Lots of Paper Girls recently. I was introduced to them by the owner of my comic book shop. And I do read a lot of Image Comics — Bitch Planet is my favorite — but I’m obsessed with Paper Girls. I love it, I think it’s such a fun story.

Image: Cliff Chiang/Image Comics

We now know that Kamala’s Inhuman status has prevented her mutant gene from activating. Were we to find out her mutant powers and see her gene activating in the series?

What would you say? I’m still editing issue 4…

Ms. Marvel and the New MutantOn August 30, #1 will be available on shelves.