Marvel's Newest Hero Debuts In Ms. Marvel

Marvel Comics' newest superhero made his debut in Magnificent Ms. Marvel #13. The issue, by Saladin Ahmed and Joey Vasquez, sees Ms. Marvel meeting a new ally going by the name Amulet. This new hero couldn't have shown up at a better time. Kamala Khan is feeling a little down lately and having a new hero show up with a well-timed assist is a nice change of pace. The timing is great for Ms. Marvel but may prove unfortunate with it being the eve of the Outlawed event. SPOILERS for Magnificent Ms. Marvel #13 by Saladin Ahmed, Joey Vasquez, Juan Vlasco, and Ian Herring follow.

In the issue, Kamala is still reeling from the loss of her enhanced costumed and failing to reach her father in time for a much-needed blood transfusion to have its full effect. Things get worse when her still-ill-defined relationship with Bruno comes up at the county fair and he storms off.

Things get even worse when Kamala and her friends visit the fair's fortune teller and demons start pouring out of her crystal ball. They rove to be too much for Ms. Marvel alone, so it's a good thing that Amulet shows when he does.

Amulet is an Arab-American who just moved to Jersey City from Michigan. Though he keeps his identity a secret from Kamala, his real name is Fadi Fadlalah. He was created by Ahmed and Sara Alfageeh.

"Amulet is a fun, mysterious new character who will be playing a role in Magnificent Ms. Marvel for months to come," Ahmed told Marvel.com in December. "We're keeping most of the details of him close to our chests, but I can tell you that his powers are magical in nature, and that he is an Arab-American Super Hero from Michigan.

"As an Arab-American who basically learned to read from Marvel Comics, being able to team up with the phenomenally talented Sara Alfageeh to bring Amulet into the Marvel Universe is literally a dream come true. We can't wait for fans to meet him!"

Alfageeh added, "Saladin let me have a lot of fun with this concept. We talked about his defensive-style powers and how they tied into his background as a Lebanese kid. The blue and white color palette and the circular design were pulled from the Nazar, a symbol that pops up all over the Middle East that protects the wearer from the evil eye -- the harmful intentions of others. A bit of a historical, supernatural touch.

"We tend to associate sharp corners and edges with evil, and rounded designs and circles with good. This character is a gentle giant, so I wanted to make sure that even with his size he was shaped like a friend!"

Magnificent Ms. Marvel #13 is on sale now.