0:00:24.592,0:00:30.016
Now, I am actually going to do something[br]that you guys do every single day.

0:00:30.016,0:00:34.442
I'm going to ask you guys[br]to judge me right now.

0:00:34.442,0:00:37.022
The Bumbys were just doing it;[br]it's very appropriate.

0:00:37.022,0:00:40.152
Take a good look,[br]and describe me in your head.

0:00:40.606,0:00:46.048
Now, based on those descriptions, [br]how would you categorize me?

0:00:46.048,0:00:47.763
By my height?

0:00:47.763,0:00:49.311
By my skin color?

0:00:49.311,0:00:50.679
By my hair?

0:00:51.452,0:00:57.921
Now, would any of those descriptions[br]scream comic-book editor?

0:00:58.071,0:01:01.161
Maybe my t-shirt, actually;[br]I think that might have given it away.

0:01:01.161,0:01:02.209
But no, probably not.

0:01:02.209,0:01:05.829
I'm actually one of the few South Asian,[br]female comic-book editors out there.

0:01:05.829,0:01:08.344
I think, actually,[br]I might be the only one,

0:01:08.344,0:01:11.503
so for any of you South Asian females[br]interested, it's a good gig.

0:01:11.503,0:01:13.026
I highly recommend it.

0:01:13.026,0:01:14.594
Holler at my ladies? No?

0:01:14.594,0:01:16.104
All right, that's cool.

0:01:16.993,0:01:20.623
Now, what I do as a comic-book editor[br]is I make things up.

0:01:20.623,0:01:21.766
I work with creators

0:01:21.766,0:01:26.148
to tell the most uncanny,[br]amazing, sensational stories

0:01:26.150,0:01:28.778
about seemingly ordinary individuals

0:01:28.778,0:01:31.937
who come to possess[br]extraordinary identities.

0:01:32.765,0:01:35.047
We call them superheroes.

0:01:35.047,0:01:37.461
Now, when I was first asked[br]to speak at this event,

0:01:37.461,0:01:40.958
it was actually after the announcement[br]of a character I had co-created:

0:01:40.958,0:01:43.155
Ms. Marvel, the all-new Ms. Marvel,

0:01:43.172,0:01:46.539
was the first Muslim American superhero [br]to have her own series.

0:01:46.539,0:01:49.454
It really was the most obvious thing [br]in the world in my mind.

0:01:49.454,0:01:53.329
I had created a character [br]that I could identify with.

0:01:53.777,0:01:56.839
And yet it was quite possibly

0:01:57.019,0:02:01.261
the biggest publicity that Marvel[br]had seen in quite some time.

0:02:01.501,0:02:03.830
Parents called us,[br]thanking us for creating a book

0:02:03.830,0:02:06.300
that they could finally share[br]with their daughter.

0:02:06.300,0:02:07.957
Fans called us thanking us

0:02:07.957,0:02:11.287
for creating a character[br]that they could finally relate to.

0:02:11.287,0:02:14.129
We'd clearly tapped[br]into something really powerful,

0:02:14.129,0:02:17.953
something people had been craving [br]for quite some time.

0:02:18.223,0:02:23.403
And yet it was the simplest idea, [br]just masked as the craziest.

0:02:23.964,0:02:26.927
Now, to understand[br]the origins of Ms. Marvel,

0:02:26.927,0:02:29.151
we have to take a trip

0:02:29.621,0:02:32.595
to a land far, far away,

0:02:32.595,0:02:33.920
[It was New Jersey]

0:02:33.920,0:02:34.943
(Laughter)

0:02:34.943,0:02:36.841
a long, long time ago,

0:02:36.841,0:02:39.426
where - come on -

0:02:39.426,0:02:44.301
where a young girl with a cowlick[br]and bad taste in clothes

0:02:45.074,0:02:46.729
never felt like she could fit in.

0:02:46.729,0:02:49.551
She didn't look like[br]the other girls in her class,

0:02:49.551,0:02:53.559
couldn't eat the delicious,[br]delicious BLTs that they could eat.

0:02:53.559,0:02:56.574
She began to become fascinated with bacon.

0:02:56.574,0:02:57.970
What is that delicious meat?

0:02:57.970,0:02:59.350
She had no idea.

0:03:00.090,0:03:03.380
Her parents weren't on the PTA.

0:03:03.380,0:03:06.050
She didn't get Christmas presents.

0:03:06.751,0:03:11.407
And in fact, she had to wear a t-shirt [br]over her bathing suit

0:03:11.407,0:03:13.637
every single time she swam.

0:03:13.637,0:03:15.488
So clearly this girl was different.

0:03:15.488,0:03:17.193
But she did have an outlet,

0:03:17.193,0:03:19.388
and it wasn't her parents, who she adored,

0:03:19.388,0:03:21.567
who just didn't quite understand her yet,

0:03:21.877,0:03:23.506
or her three older brothers,

0:03:23.506,0:03:25.776
who were too busy[br]with hair gel and light sabers

0:03:25.776,0:03:27.236
to pay any attention to her.

0:03:27.236,0:03:29.744
It was something else[br]altogether different.

0:03:29.744,0:03:32.465
It was the X-Men.

0:03:32.465,0:03:35.016
Yes! Yes!

0:03:35.016,0:03:37.056
(Applause)

0:03:39.049,0:03:41.628
The X-Men were mutants,

0:03:41.628,0:03:46.846
individuals with mutated and enhanced[br]genes that triggered in adolescence,

0:03:46.846,0:03:48.848
giving them superpowers.

0:03:48.848,0:03:51.717
It was the coolest thing in the world.

0:03:51.717,0:03:55.376
A woman with brown skin and white hair[br]who can manipulate the weather,

0:03:55.376,0:03:58.563
a gigantic beast of a man with blue fur,

0:03:58.563,0:04:02.353
a shy girl with a Southern drawl[br]who couldn't touch anyone.

0:04:02.353,0:04:06.373
So these people were[br]that little girl's safe place.

0:04:06.595,0:04:10.565
These people she understood[br]because they, too, were different.

0:04:10.565,0:04:16.521
And it also helped that they[br]also wore ridiculous-looking outfits.

0:04:17.171,0:04:20.947
I don't know, Mom, I have no idea[br]what you were doing in that picture.

0:04:20.947,0:04:22.167
I apologize.

0:04:22.968,0:04:27.348
So, the X-Men embraced who they are.

0:04:28.168,0:04:33.204
Adamantium claws, weird[br]weather-controlling habits, mutations.

0:04:33.204,0:04:34.206
They owned it:

0:04:34.206,0:04:37.368
they knew who they were,[br]and they would defend it, no matter what.

0:04:37.373,0:04:39.501
So every Saturday morning,

0:04:39.501,0:04:43.194
when this little girl used to rush[br]down the stairs to watch that show,

0:04:43.424,0:04:45.880
she felt a little less alone

0:04:46.300,0:04:50.131
because they had fulfilled a need[br]to see herself in the world outside.

0:04:50.431,0:04:53.341
So, let's talk about why that need[br]existed in the first place.

0:04:53.341,0:04:56.598
Now, remember when I was asking [br]you guys earlier about categories?

0:04:56.778,0:05:00.046
Why don't you guys think about[br]the categories that you all belong to.

0:05:00.046,0:05:02.124
I'm going to do that up here for myself.

0:05:02.124,0:05:07.257
So, I am a Muslim, a woman,[br]an American, a comic book editor,

0:05:07.257,0:05:10.108
a short person, a lazy person, a nerd -

0:05:10.108,0:05:11.450
you can ignore that, though.

0:05:11.450,0:05:14.281
Now, the strange thing[br]about defining yourself in this way

0:05:14.281,0:05:17.013
is that it simplifies who you are.

0:05:17.013,0:05:20.843
How can everything that I am[br]be encompassed into a label?

0:05:21.213,0:05:23.873
Now, some of these labels[br]we choose for ourselves,

0:05:23.873,0:05:27.523
others we're born into[br]and others are assigned for us.

0:05:27.523,0:05:31.026
But regardless, all of them[br]come with preconceived notions -

0:05:31.026,0:05:32.559
assumptions and expectations -

0:05:32.559,0:05:33.930
of what they mean.

0:05:33.930,0:05:35.960
So if I'm Muslim,

0:05:35.960,0:05:39.080
people may expect that I cover my head,

0:05:39.080,0:05:41.445
that I don't associate with men,

0:05:41.595,0:05:43.590
that I don't drink alcohol.

0:05:44.130,0:05:47.617
Others may assume that I'm a terrorist -

0:05:48.097,0:05:49.507
I'm not -

0:05:50.177,0:05:52.316
that I hate Americans.

0:05:52.316,0:05:55.511
Well, I'm an American,[br]so I certainly don't hate myself,

0:05:55.511,0:05:56.917
sometimes.

0:05:56.917,0:05:58.965
I'm an oppressed woman.

0:05:59.325,0:06:01.523
I'm way too stubborn for that.

0:06:01.523,0:06:04.881
You can ask my poor parents;[br]they deal with it every day.

0:06:05.471,0:06:10.227
Now, because we allow others[br]to create these definitions for us,

0:06:10.227,0:06:12.524
we inherently accept them to be true,

0:06:12.524,0:06:14.482
whether it's a conscious decision or not.

0:06:14.482,0:06:18.822
So at some point, the line between[br]perspective and reality begins to blur.

0:06:18.822,0:06:22.002
When we are told by others,[br]constantly and incessantly, who we are,

0:06:22.002,0:06:24.151
when we allow others to define ourselves -

0:06:24.151,0:06:27.177
whether it's the media, [br]our parents, our friends -

0:06:27.177,0:06:32.229
we begin to accept a standard of self[br]that is not of our own choosing.

0:06:32.229,0:06:36.311
We become a splintered version[br]of the person we are destined to be.

0:06:36.311,0:06:39.248
I remember in junior high school -

0:06:40.268,0:06:43.360
it was actually right after[br]the first World Trade Center bombing,

0:06:43.360,0:06:47.969
and it was a very confusing time for me[br]for a bunch of reasons,

0:06:48.609,0:06:51.855
but in particular[br]because it was the first time

0:06:51.855,0:06:55.083
my religion was made[br]synonymous with violence

0:06:55.083,0:06:57.013
in such a public way.

0:06:57.661,0:06:59.954
I'd walked into school the next morning,

0:06:59.954,0:07:02.544
and a classmate who I'd never[br]actually talked to before

0:07:02.544,0:07:04.046
tapped me on the shoulder, [br]

0:07:04.046,0:07:10.576
and he said, "Hey, tell your people[br]to stop attacking us."

0:07:11.555,0:07:15.138
I was confused, hurt, stunned.

0:07:15.578,0:07:16.761
"Us?"

0:07:16.861,0:07:18.704
I thought I was "us."

0:07:19.084,0:07:23.112
I certainly wasn't "them," was I?

0:07:23.901,0:07:25.631
That would be the first time

0:07:25.631,0:07:29.333
that I saw the way the world viewed[br]the category I belonged to.

0:07:29.703,0:07:33.230
Names like Muhammed, Ahmed, Sharif,

0:07:33.230,0:07:35.984
names I had grown up with all of my life

0:07:35.984,0:07:42.304
were equated with terms[br]like "terrorist," "hate monger," "enemy."

0:07:42.304,0:07:46.568
I was angry at those men who had warped[br]my faith into a vengeful weapon,

0:07:46.568,0:07:51.738
and at the same time at the media[br]for propagating those stereotypes.

0:07:51.738,0:07:54.356
I swung from self-defense to self-doubt,

0:07:54.356,0:07:55.955
pride to shame.

0:07:56.335,0:08:00.445
Who was I? What side was I on?[br]Where did I fit in?

0:08:00.745,0:08:02.653
I had no idea.

0:08:02.853,0:08:05.445
For years, I had[br]constantly measured myself

0:08:05.445,0:08:07.952
against images[br]that looked nothing like me.

0:08:07.952,0:08:13.095
I didn't see myself in the TV,[br]in the classroom or in magazines.

0:08:13.197,0:08:19.186
And suddenly, my face was everywhere[br]with a big red X painted over it.

0:08:19.717,0:08:24.407
Why did I feel so uncertain[br]and insecure about my identity?

0:08:26.577,0:08:30.398
I'm going to throw some[br]social-psychological jargon out at you

0:08:30.398,0:08:32.560
to make myself sound really smart.

0:08:33.290,0:08:35.477
There's something[br]called a "stereotype threat,"

0:08:35.487,0:08:38.434
and what it says is that individuals[br]of a particular group

0:08:38.434,0:08:42.648
internalize and react to the negative[br]stereotypes associated with that group.

0:08:42.648,0:08:45.013
So because I'm so afraid[br]of everybody thinking

0:08:45.013,0:08:48.504
that all those bad things[br]that people say about me are true,

0:08:48.504,0:08:51.007
sometimes, I don't act[br]to the best of my abilities.

0:08:51.007,0:08:52.547
I underperform.

0:08:52.618,0:08:56.338
Whether it's academically, socially -

0:08:56.338,0:08:58.736
I was definitely[br]an introvert for a reason.

0:08:59.566,0:09:05.046
And basically what that means[br]is that you act against your true nature

0:09:05.046,0:09:09.207
because you're constantly trying[br]to live up to other people's expectations

0:09:09.216,0:09:11.526
or deny their assumptions.

0:09:12.222,0:09:15.645
You mask who you truly are.

0:09:16.095,0:09:19.010
So, how to we deflect these threats?

0:09:19.010,0:09:21.235
Yes, you're right: with more jargon!

0:09:21.235,0:09:24.915
There is something[br]called a "mirror-neuron theory."

0:09:24.940,0:09:28.054
What it means is that your brain neurons[br]react in the same way,

0:09:28.054,0:09:30.463
whether or not you[br]are the one doing the action.

0:09:30.463,0:09:35.230
So, if I'm watching you[br]eat a really delicious cheeseburger,

0:09:35.230,0:09:37.092
my brain is reacting in the same way

0:09:37.092,0:09:40.470
as if I was eating that really delicious[br]cheeseburger myself.

0:09:40.470,0:09:41.851
Which is why the Food Network

0:09:41.851,0:09:44.520
is quite possibly the greatest[br]programming of all time.

0:09:44.520,0:09:46.350
Only show I watch!

0:09:47.268,0:09:49.519
Now, imagine if what we saw on the media

0:09:49.519,0:09:53.484
reflected a positive portrayal[br]of the group that we belonged to.

0:09:53.684,0:09:55.319
How would our brains react?

0:09:55.336,0:09:57.396
How would our perceptions change?

0:09:57.646,0:10:01.056
That was the secret of the success[br]of the show "The Cosby Show,"

0:10:01.056,0:10:03.024
the groundbreaking and intelligent sitcom

0:10:03.024,0:10:06.204
that truly helped to adjust[br]perception of African Americans.

0:10:06.204,0:10:07.954
It was the first of its kind.

0:10:07.954,0:10:11.715
By focusing on the comedic[br]trials and tribulations

0:10:11.715,0:10:16.955
of a successful and lovable family[br]that just happened to be African American,

0:10:16.955,0:10:19.918
it took away those[br]limiting qualifiers of race

0:10:19.918,0:10:25.258
and helped to redefine what it meant[br]to just be an American family,

0:10:25.518,0:10:29.327
all through the power of story.

0:10:30.823,0:10:35.963
Now while we look to the media to bring us[br]the stark realities of humankind,

0:10:35.963,0:10:39.995
we seek stories to find[br]some emotional connectivity with it.

0:10:39.995,0:10:43.571
Stories give us a glimpse into[br]the inner workings of the human spirit,

0:10:43.571,0:10:46.138
its pitfalls and its potentials.

0:10:46.138,0:10:51.148
And they stir within us a desire[br]to reach the excesses of our imagination.

0:10:51.148,0:10:55.795
They challenge us and force us to look[br]at one another for who we truly are

0:10:55.795,0:10:58.777
in the hopes of possibly[br]connecting our souls,

0:10:58.777,0:11:01.958
and for that reason, they are sacred.

0:11:01.958,0:11:03.845
And at the same time,

0:11:03.845,0:11:07.063
they can be the shields[br]against the threats to our soul,

0:11:07.163,0:11:09.221
threats to our identity.

0:11:09.221,0:11:11.225
So what the mirror-neuron theory is saying

0:11:11.225,0:11:14.743
is that it's human nature[br]to follow the actions of the masses.

0:11:14.743,0:11:18.051
We repeat and/or believe[br]what people tell us to believe -

0:11:18.051,0:11:21.131
about others and about ourselves.

0:11:21.431,0:11:26.761
So why not tell stories[br]that are empowering and aspirational

0:11:26.761,0:11:29.746
and challenge us to be better?

0:11:30.516,0:11:31.911
(Applause)

0:11:38.655,0:11:42.845
That is exactly what superhero stories do.

0:11:45.914,0:11:49.364
The history of comics is about the misfit,

0:11:49.364,0:11:50.784
the unlikely hero,

0:11:50.784,0:11:54.330
the ability to create greatness[br]where there was once doubt.

0:11:54.600,0:11:56.375
The unassuming Peter Parker,

0:11:56.375,0:11:59.360
the wallflower who's picked on[br]and misunderstood,

0:11:59.360,0:12:02.338
gets bitten by a radioactive spider

0:12:02.338,0:12:07.928
that gives him extraordinary powers[br]and extraordinary responsibilities.

0:12:08.510,0:12:12.782
Yet his path is filled with villains[br]who would doubt his determination,

0:12:12.782,0:12:15.522
who would threaten those he loves,

0:12:15.522,0:12:17.722
threaten his life choices.

0:12:18.793,0:12:25.213
And yet Spider-Man, being the hero[br]that he is, would always swing back,

0:12:25.815,0:12:28.180
he'd always beat the bad guy

0:12:28.350,0:12:30.805
and he'd always get the girl.

0:12:31.168,0:12:34.413
Or girls, in Spider-Man's case.

0:12:34.413,0:12:36.438
Lots of love drama there.

0:12:38.320,0:12:44.010
For 75 years, Marvel has been telling[br]the tale of the outcast behind the mask.

0:12:44.010,0:12:47.858
It's through his flaws and desires that we[br]connect with the heart of the character

0:12:47.858,0:12:52.638
so that when he emerges as a hero,[br]we have a real reason to champion him

0:12:52.638,0:12:55.902
because we understand[br]those struggles too, don't we?

0:12:55.902,0:12:58.372
And we also want to move past them.

0:12:58.879,0:13:02.515
Heroes make a choice to fight injustice,[br]to protect the innocent,

0:13:02.515,0:13:05.382
to put the balance back[br]on the side of the good,

0:13:05.382,0:13:08.131
no matter how much[br]they sacrifice of themselves.

0:13:08.131,0:13:12.308
They're willing to die for it[br]because they've chosen who they are.

0:13:12.308,0:13:16.228
And they will defend it no matter what.

0:13:18.120,0:13:20.949
So when that little girl[br]sat rapt to attention,

0:13:20.949,0:13:23.578
all those years ago[br]at her television screen,

0:13:23.848,0:13:25.433
watching the X-Men,

0:13:25.433,0:13:30.323
it wasn't just because they had taken her[br]on an astonishing adventure.

0:13:30.323,0:13:33.907
It's because they told her[br]that it was okay to be different.

0:13:33.907,0:13:36.170
In fact, you had to fight for it.

0:13:36.858,0:13:39.346
Because we all[br]want to be heroes, don't we?

0:13:39.346,0:13:44.006
And wouldn't it be amazing[br]if heroes looked just like us?

0:13:44.201,0:13:49.731
So why does a character like Kamala Khan[br]resonate with so many people?

0:13:50.071,0:13:54.727
Like the first African-American[br]and Latino Spider-Man, Miles Morales,

0:13:54.727,0:13:57.977
Kamala Khan is so much larger[br]than just a pop-culture icon.

0:13:57.977,0:13:59.107
She came together

0:13:59.107,0:14:03.497
in response to that global[br]subconscious desire for representation

0:14:03.498,0:14:08.618
for those Muslim American,[br]bacon-sniffing, short, nerdy girls like me

0:14:08.798,0:14:10.402
and for anyone else,

0:14:10.402,0:14:14.617
regardless of their gender,[br]sexuality, race, religion,

0:14:14.617,0:14:17.702
who just feel like misfits themselves.

0:14:17.702,0:14:21.467
In the actual Ms. Marvel series,

0:14:21.907,0:14:25.702
Kamala Khan is just a girl[br]trying to fit in.

0:14:26.112,0:14:29.789
She's constantly negotiating,[br]renegotiating who she is

0:14:29.789,0:14:32.189
and all of the rules that come with it.

0:14:32.546,0:14:34.081
Where does she belong?

0:14:34.081,0:14:36.546
She has no idea.

0:14:36.764,0:14:42.061
She's still figuring out[br]that journey to her authentic self.

0:14:42.061,0:14:43.068
But all she knows

0:14:43.068,0:14:47.738
is that she does not want to be limited[br]by the labels imposed upon her.

0:14:48.338,0:14:53.048
So really, Kamala Khan's story[br]is everyone's.

0:14:53.528,0:14:56.651
It's about confronting the labels[br]you've been assigned

0:14:56.651,0:14:59.198
and sculpting them and redefining them

0:14:59.198,0:15:05.348
until you figure out who you truly are[br]and what you actually believe.

0:15:06.269,0:15:08.189
One of my favorite mottos -

0:15:08.203,0:15:12.072
actually I have it written[br]on a post-it over my computer.

0:15:12.072,0:15:13.517
I look at it every single day,

0:15:13.517,0:15:17.192
and it was said by a poet named Rumi.

0:15:17.767,0:15:18.987
And it goes,

0:15:18.987,0:15:24.117
"Do not be satisfied with stories,[br]that which has come before.

0:15:24.637,0:15:27.642
Unfold your own myth."

0:15:28.427,0:15:30.775
And that is our challenge.

0:15:30.775,0:15:34.855
Every single one of us,[br]no matter the categories we've inherited,

0:15:34.855,0:15:38.282
we must unfold our own myth.

0:15:38.282,0:15:40.205
And it won't be easy.

0:15:40.335,0:15:44.733
We're constantly navigating,[br]rearranging, reinventing

0:15:44.733,0:15:48.500
others' expectations[br]of ourselves every day.

0:15:48.870,0:15:52.084
But every word we write[br]in the narrative of our own lives,

0:15:52.084,0:15:56.264
we come closer to uncovering [br]what's beneath our own masks,

0:15:56.270,0:16:01.780
maybe even embracing that true misfit,[br]that true crazy one within.

0:16:03.190,0:16:05.647
Oh, it'll be a fight, that's for sure.

0:16:05.647,0:16:07.787
But that battle for your soul,

0:16:08.837,0:16:10.947
for your authentic self,

0:16:10.947,0:16:13.987
it's worth it, isn't it?

0:16:13.987,0:16:16.050
It's bold; it's brave.

0:16:16.285,0:16:19.285
In fact, I would say it's heroic.

0:16:19.524,0:16:22.069
So now it's your turn.

0:16:22.829,0:16:24.904
Tell me your story.

0:16:25.315,0:16:26.785
Thank you.

0:16:26.785,0:16:29.035
(Applause)