Excl: Marvel's Sana Amanat Leads Hawkeye, Captain Marvel, And Ms. Marvel Into A New Era

Marvel Comics' Sana Amanat serves multiple roles at the "House of Ideas." On the larger scale, she is Marvel's Director of Content and Character Development, coordinating projects that spotlight Marvel's up-and-coming characters across all media.

On a more intimate level, she's the editor of several books starring Marvel's most exciting rising stars. As of Marvel NOW!, these books include The Might Captain Marvel, written by YA novelist Margaret Stohl and drawn by Ramon Rosanas that follows Carol Danvers in the post-Civil War II era. Then there's Hawkeye, a new series for former Young Kate Bishop from writer Kelly Thompson and artist Leonardo Romero, and her continuing work on Ms. Marvel, starring Kamala Khan, a character Amanat co-created and who has become one of Marvel Comics' most popular new characters in recent years.

Amanat spoke to ComicBook.com about all three of these new Marvel NOW! titles, and also her responsibilities as Director of Content and Character Development and Marvel's growing YA novel line.

Be sure to check the gallery below for exclusive artwork from The Might Captain Marvel #0, by Rosanas and Emilio Laiso, and black and white pages from Hawkeye #2 and Ms. Marvel #14.

In addition to being an editor, you're also Director of Content and Character Development for Marvel. What does that role entail?

Sana Amanat: What I realized when I was working on Ms. Marvel, and a lot of the books I worked on back then, and Captain Marvel, and Hawkeye, is that we have been lucky enough to really open ourselves up to all these new demographics and people coming in and buying comics for the first time. A lot of it has to do with, yes, we're telling different kinds of stories, different types of content, but simultaneously obviously the movies that we have out there are really opening us up to even bigger audiences than ever before.

Marvel really considers itself a multimedia company and we want to make sure that we are engaging with fans from all different backgrounds, all different kinds of fans that want different kinds of experiences, and whether you're a comics fan or you're a gamer, whatever, we want to be able to create an engagement for you to really show your passion for the brand and our characters in varying ways.

My job is to be able to think about how our content is evolving through the many different platforms that we have within the Marvel ecosystem and finding ways in which we can really expand the Marvel brand into the global sphere and get more of a global audience. What are all of the different touch points that fans engage with for the full Marvel experience? Obviously, that's publishing, that's prose publishing as well, that's games and animation and live action television and live events. Of course, Marvel Studios, which is doing a great job unto itself. We want to really build upon these existing platforms, but also think about the content that we think has potential, the characters we think have potential, and the franchises that we'd like to build up.

It is some content strategy, but it's also thinking about how we can really better utilize the great content that we have and bring it in front of audiences who might be unfamiliar with them. My personal goal is to be able to get to a place where we don't really consider Marvel a boy brand anymore. We'd love to be able to say, hey, this is a brand where both boys and girls, men and women, people of all different backgrounds can feel like they find a home and a place for them to really celebrate their passion for these really great characters.

What are some of the more significant challenges you've faced in that pursuit?

SA: It is a lot of character education and understanding that it is actually really hard to say - yes, a character like Ms. Marvel is absolutely fantastic, but going from publishing to that larger mainstream goal of having her in every bookstore or specialty shop or toy store, that's a bit longer of a process. The great thing is that we have been getting a lot of attention for the type of progressive content that we have, and the great characters that a lot of different people are falling in love with, and the different iterations of them. Because we've been getting some positive media attention, I think it's really helping us to be able to educate licensees and retailers and audiences of what the potential can be.

That's where we are right now. I think right now we're also in the midst of a content explosion. We just announced the Inhumans live-action television show, which is going to be really, really exciting, but it's a challenge because we need to be able to put out content and then still have supporting content and product at the same time.

Things move very, very quickly, but we do have really great partners obviously externally, but we also have some great people across our division who really believe in it and it's just constantly being in touch with them and getting them excited about where we can go. It is definitely very challenging.

It's a lot of big endeavors that we have, but I really believe in it and I think a lot of people here really believe in the potential to just continue to grow the characters we have, but really the audiences we have as well.

You're editing several books that are very directly affected by the events of Civil War II. What about the post-Civil War II Marvel landscape are you most excited about exploring?

SA: A lot of the characters actually coincidentally that I had been working on, but I think this is something across the board at Marvel, is that they have been so dependent on these other versions of themselves, or other people in general, their other teammates. So much has been dependent on the actions they've made and they've been reacting accordingly, or they've been measuring themselves against these different ideals.

Ms. Marvel is a great example of her measuring herself against Captain Marvel for so long and doing everything that Carol has asked her to do. Same for Hawkeye, for Kate Bishop. She has this really great bond and partnership with Clint, but now, after the events of Civil War II, she has to really sort of go out on her own.

I think what's going to be exciting and interesting to explore is that sense of individuality that they both have to find and explore on their own, and definitely on their own terms, so they can really figure out what it is that they're fighting for, who they are as heroes, and who they are as civilians without that obvious support system as we tend to do in our lives. This, I think, will be a little challenging at times, and I think people are really upset that we've broken up some really great bonds with Kamala and Carol, but I think the journey back to having those two, in particular, become close again will be fascinating and a really emotional and explorative story that I think both of them have to go through separately. That's what I'm looking forward to the most.

With Hawkeye, it's just a very distinct book. When I was working on the Hawkeye books with Matt Fraction and David Aja, it was so great but what I loved about it was Kate. I wanted to tell more Kate stories. When Kelly Thompson pitched me on this Kate story, I was hooked and we were just trying to find the right angle for it. It's really fantastic. I have to say, it's one of the best launches I've worked on in quite some time.

What can you tell me about Captain Marvel's status quo following the events of Civil War II? How does The Mighty Captain Marvel compare to past Captain Marvel series?

SA: So much of what Carol's experiences have been her whole life was her always wanting to be the best at everything. The best fighter pilot, the best superhero, and I think a lot of times in the past, people haven't really allowed her to do that. I think the whole Civil War II story, she has been judged harshly and misinterpreted as doing things for the wrong reasons, and I think there is something that was kind of touched upon there at the end of Captain Marvel. Would a man in that position have the same kind of critique and be judged in the same way? The fact that she's a woman and she has to go through this – She's a soldier, right? She's going to do what she really believes is right and understands that some people are just not going to like it because she believes that she has to defend the country and the world as a superhero.

This next phase of her is really accomplishing all of those things, and people, and, for the most part, the world thinking that she's the greatest there is. She's the best superhero on the planet. Everyone wants to be just like her. And how does Carol feel at the top of the world? She actually doesn't like attention. She just wants to get the job done. That's really, really, interesting.

We'll play a little bit with the different versions. Obviously the Kree part of Carol, and also Carol as Captain Marvel and Carol as Carol Danvers, and what that means and figure out how to test all this power that she has, and I don't want to say too much about that, but she can sort of do anything. We want to play with that power and play with that potential vulnerability.

It's really, really great and what Margaret Stohl is doing with Carol, and Ramon Rosanas is doing with the art is the Carol we all know and love but it still feels very fresh and new and will probably take you to a place that a lot of readers will not expect.

Where is The Mighty Captain Marvel in terms of scale? Will this be cosmic adventures Captain Marvel, or a more down-to-Earth Captain Marvel?

SA: A bit of both. There's a reason that we put her on the space station and very much being between the Earth and space. That's a very obvious metaphor for who she is, Kree and human. It'll be a little bit of both. I think we'll go a touch more grounded because she will be dealing with all of the massive attention that she's gotten, and at the same time, this influx of refugees that are coming from war-torn planets that she needs to figure out what to do with. Of course, along the way, she makes some special bonds with some of the aliens that are coming in, and there's a threat against them and she has to sort of figure out what the mystery behind this threat is.

It'll definitely be between both cosmic and grounded. That's always where she's going to live.

Any thoughts on Brie Larson being cast as Carol Danvers in the Captain Marvel movie?

SA: Oh, I think that's a great call. I love Brie Larson. I think she's a fantastic actress, and she's got the toughness and the sweetness at the same time that I think is perfect for Carol Danvers, so I can't wait to see what she does with it.

(Photo: Marvel Entertainment)

A lot has changed for Ms. Marvel as well. She took a trip to Pakistan to get away for things briefly. What will things be like for her whens he returns to Jersey City?

SA: I think it's going to be very similar for her in that she realizes she is very much on her own. Obviously, there's the fact that she doesn't really have Carol Danvers to tell her what to do. It's going to be very defining. Also, Bruno is no longer around. That's a really big thing for Kamala because she relies on him so much to be a support system, to create crazy gadgets for her so she can get rid of the bad guys and whatnot. Along the way, I think she's going to realize that she can do it on her own, but at the same time, it's less about needing people and it's more about really wanting the support system.

We're going to introduce some new characters as well, potentially a new love interest for her, and have her have more of a relationship with the girls in her life, like Nakia and Mike and Zoe. The plan is also to set up a new villain that is attacking Kamala through various forms of tech across Jersey City. That's something that is going to manifest across the next arc and hopefully have Kamala gain a little bit more legitimacy in Jersey City and in the Marvel universe at large because she's been misinterpreted quite a bit in the last year or so.

Ms. Marvel has become an icon for both young girls and for Muslim Americans. Moving forward, is it that you hope Ms. Marvel, as an icon, comes to represent?

SA: I think it's that, despite the way that you are perceived or the group that you belong to is perceived, that it cannot mitigate the power that you have. I think Kamala is a really strong reminder of that, no matter how many times people are trying to knock you down, it comes from a place of misunderstanding and fear more than anything else. That should really embolden you to work harder but work with compassion and attempt to understand that misunderstanding. Attempt to clarify it. The only way that you do it is through your actions.

I think that really what Ms. Marvel has come to represent for so many different people is really reminding people that she's not who she is based on her religion or her culture. She's just a young woman trying to do good and to be good and to help people. Along the way, she has some really great friends, and along the way, she has crushes on boys and she is really curious about what a BLT tastes like.

I think all of those things really will eventually normalize these concepts that people have tried to demonize, these concepts of race and gender and religion. I just want people to get to know her and become friends with her so that hate-mongering will be mitigated and go away, and hopefully, at some point, we don't start confusing our safety with people doubting what an American is, and don't start confusing a religion or race with not being American.

I think we still have some work to do, but we're going to keep doing it and we're going to do it with a lot of love and a lot of humor because that's really the only way to do it. I think anger has no place in this conversation.

In the past, Kate Bishop has been a hero, an Avengers, and a private investigator. How do we find her as her new Hawkeye series begins?

SA: I think it is Kate trying to reinvent herself in a way that she's very comfortable with. We kick off talking about how she's lost a lot, and she's lost a lot of anchor points. She's trying to find them again. Is that being a private investigator? Is that really being on her own? There's a lot of questions that she has.

But there is a reason that Kate is out in California, and that's something that we're going to reveal over time. She very much realizes that she needs to do a lot of these things on her own. What I love about her is that she's just a real scrappy Avenger. She figures things out as she goes, and she has a positive and snarky attitude at the same time. She has a lot of sass. That's a lot of fun. She's also just a young woman, just trying to do good, to make friends with people and hang out. It's a really great attitude to have as an Avenger. She doesn't take anything too seriously.

It's a really well-done story and really beautifully done, too. Leonardo Romero is turning in just such fun pages that really bounce off the page and compliment Kelly's dialogue so well.

Following the events of Civil War II, and specifically, Clint Barton killing Bruce Banner, the Hawkeye codename may have a bit of stigma to it. Has Kate started reevaluating her relationship with her mentor, maybe even rebranding with a different codename?

SA: No, I think she's proud of it. For her, while she might be disappointed with Clint, I think that's always going to be her big brother. It's a name that she wants to bring back some goodness to. We play a little bit with that in the first issue, with people not understanding that there's two Hawkeyes. "Why do there need to be two Hawkeyes?" and stuff.

She's not going to cower from it. I think if anything she's embracing it, and she just wants to bring a different flavor to Hawkeye.

As one of Marvel's younger heroes, does Kate have a relationship with the Champions and their whole movement?

SA: No, we don't really touch into that. She's sort of far from them. Maybe we'll do some sort of fun team-ups or something down the line, but at the moment, this is very much solo Kate and her new supporting cast. Although, we will have some familiar faces in the upcoming issues that people will be excited about.

Who will make up that supporting cast, both in terms of allies and antagonists?

SA: There is a villain that we're seeding in this first issue. It's a brand new villain, but there's a much larger mystery to him, too. I don't want to say too much about him because he's really cool. We will hopefully see appearances from America Chavez and Jessica Jones down the line, and some other additional characters that we're still trying to nail down as to what makes sense for the storylines moving forward.

Lastly, you're overseeing Marvel's YA novel line, which has already featured a Black Widow novel and has an upcoming Captain Marvel novel in the works. What can you tell me about the stories these novels are trying to tell?

SA: Basically, we're working with Disney Publishing, so we have editors there working on it and then we're overseeing it here on this end as well. What's really exciting for us is that we have young adult novels, we have some middle-grade novels coming out. These are mostly the DPW prose books.

We do a lot of content with them, but we realize that there is a really great opportunity for this additional touch point for a Marvel fan or to create new Marvel fans through this particular platform and venue. I really do believe that there is such a natural alignment with some of our content with the young adult world, both tonally, stylistically, but also with the characters that we have because we have some really great, young, powerful female characters. That's really what great young adult novels start with.

We wanted to figure out a way to tell these stories and tell stories about characters that the world, for the most part, is familiar with, like Black Widow, but put a young adult spin on it. That's where someone like Margaret Stohl comes in and she's very big in the young adult world. She's a name there, and we wanted her to come in and tell her great version of a Black Widow young adult story, and engage with that readership in a way that is much more organic and authentic to the type of reading experience and storytelling experience that they're used to and that they enjoy.

It did quite well. It's a New York Times Bestseller list, the first novel, and the second one just came out.

We're planning on doing a Captain Marvel one as well. We have some other books that we're working on. We're doing a Squirrel Girl middle-grade novel, which is just so adorable and so much fun, and it's another way for us to get people who might not be familiar with the Squirrel Girl comic books, for us to get it in the hands of the audiences that Squirrel Girl is just perfect for.

That middle-grade novel explores more about Squirrel Girl becoming who she is for the first time and becoming her version of the hero for the first time. It's just so fun and bouncy and witty, and cute. It's just a great book to give to a young Marvel fan or someone that you want to become a Marvel fan. It's a really, really great entry point, and we think that's just a way for new fans to come in who can hopefully eventually go and maybe read comic books or go play our video games or watch our cartoons. It's just another way to engage with Marvel.