Marvel Comics is introducing a new superhero, a 16-year-old Muslim-American girl named Kamala Khan, to reflect the growing diversity of its readers. The character, who will be the new Ms. Marvel, lives with her Pakistani parents and her conservative brother in New Jersey.

Marvel editor Sana Amanat says, "It's to create a story for all those little girls out there who don't see a version of themselves. Particular in pop culture and entertainment because that's where they're looking, they're not looking in the news. And if they do look in the news I don't want them to see what they are seeing about Muslim-Americans. But it's really not just for Muslim-Americans it's for all little girls."

Ms. Marvel will make her debut in January and appear in a monthly series starting on February 6.