Pakistani-American Yusuf Khan, with his wife Muneeba, raised his family in America, so that his children could be anything that they wanted when they grew up. When his daughter Kamala started keeping secrets, he continually offered her help despite her rejections.
From Karachi to Jersey City
Yusuf’s family has lived in Karachi for many generations. He met Muneeba and together they shared a love for Jon Bon Jovi and many adventures before getting married and moving to Jersey City, New Jersey in America. There, Yusuf worked long hours while Muneeba stayed home to care for their infant son, Aamir. Several years later, Yusuf and Muneeba had a daughter, Kamala.
A Father’s Wisdom
Often, Yusuf found that his children looked to him for advice, and with the experience of youth behind him, he had a great deal of wisdom to share.
Foes of His Family
When The Department of Damage Control (D.O.D.C.) attacked Kamala and her friends, Yusuf rushed to support and protect them.
Family Ties and Allies
Yusuf is most closely allied to his family, his wife Muneeba, and children Aamir and Kamala. Kamala’s best friends Bruno Carrelli and Nakia Bahadir, are like his own children as well. Bruno builds a security camera for Yusuf and a network- and technology-connecting device, the Zuzu, programming it to understand Yusuf’s native language of Urdu.
Yusuf is also a religious man, attending the Islamic Masjid of Jersey City, where he’s close with Sheikh Abdullah and his best friend Rasheed, who runs for the mosque’s board.
A Father’s Path
When his daughter Kamala failed her driver’s test, Yusuf first argued with the examiner but came to accept the examiner’s decision. After Kamala asked to attend AvengersCon, Yusuf asked what she’d be wearing but her response didn’t thrill him nor Muneeba. Yusuf defended his wife when she was hesitant to let her go, until Aamir spoke to both his parents and convinced them to trust Kamala. Yusuf and Muneeba decided that the only way she could attend was if Yusuf went with her. Muneeba made matching Hulk costumes for Yusuf and Kamala to wear to the con, and when they presented their terms to Kamala, Yusuf, dressed as the Hulk, leapt into her bedroom with the excitement of a dad cosplaying. Kamala expressed embarrassment and Muneeba decided she could no longer go.
At dinner with the family, including Aamir and his fiancé Tyesha Hillman, Yusuf shared how his family lived in Karachi for generations but that Muneeba’s family only moved to Karachi after Partition, when the British left in 1947 and India split into India and Pakistan. Muneeba left the table though, not wanting to talk about such a sensitive subject. Yusuf told his mother-in-law’s story of how as a toddler, the little Sana got separated from her father at Karachi train station while attempting to flee the city. Yusuf explained that Sana always said that she followed a trail of stars back to her father and boarded the last train out of the city. When Tyesha asked about Sana’s mother, Aisha, Yusuf added that they didn’t know what happened to her, only that she disappeared like many others that night. Suddenly Kamala blacked out and fell over. Yusuf and her family hovered over her, worried.
At the Eid festival, Yusuf was approached by Kamala’s close friend Nakia, who was running for their mosque’s board. Yusuf’s best friend was also running, creating a conflict for him but Nakai was persistent in her pitch. Later that night at the festival, a young boy fell from the mosque’s minaret window and desperately dangled from it. Yusuf and the community watched as suddenly the new teenage Super Hero “Night Light” helped the boy.
Later, Yusuf went to the Circle Q where Bruno worked and told him how he missed the mehndi party at their house. He bought a treat, one that Muneeba wouldn’t approve of, and caught Bruno’s apparent classwork nearby. He saw that it had Urdu written on it and offered to translate. He read tales of the Djinn, supernatural beings from pre-Islamic folklore, who were also called genies and demons depending on the culture. Yusuf read about the group of hidden Djinn exiled from their home world and trapped in our own, lurking in the shadows while searching for the key to get them home, but that it would take a primordial power to do so. He thought it interesting and claimed he hadn’t heard the legend before.
When his son Aamir was stressing about money before his wedding, Yusuf consoled him and reminded him that he’d find his way after grad school. Yusuf shared that Aamir could choose fear or love, and reminded him how his son was brave for choosing family. He joined Muneeba, Aamir, Sheikh Abdullah, his son Aamir, Tyesha, and her parents at the wedding ceremony, showing his support for their marriage.
Yusuf and Muneeba later participated in the dance performance to honor the newlyweds. As dancing continued into the night, suddenly the fire alarm went off and Yusuf and all the guests evacuated, but his daughter was nowhere to be found. He then heard rumors that she pulled the fire alarm. Yusuf and Muneeba saw that the people Kamala was with at the wedding were arrested by Damage Control. When Kamala returned home later that night, Yusuf and Muneeba questioned her, offering her help but she refused to tell them anything.
While Kamala and Muneeba visited Yusuf’s mother-in-law Sana in Karachi, Yusuf received a call from Muneeba. On the call, Muneeba revealed that their daughter was the hero “Night Light”. Because he had the call on speakerphone, Aamir and Tyesha who were nearby overheard. Upon Muneeba and Kamala’s return home, Kamala revealed her alter-ego to her family but Yusuf and the others already knew to her disappointment. Suddenly, the family got a call from Nakia informing them the Circle Q exploded and Bruno was missing. Kamala rushed to find him, while Muneeba tracked Kamala’s phone to the high school. Hearing that Kamala and her friends were being attacked by Damage Control, Yusuf and Muneeba sent Aamir to help them and then rushed to the school where they found it blocked by Damage Control.
When Kamala’s friend, Kamran, who exhibited similar powers to hers, exited the school, Kamala joined him and they defended themselves from Damage Control. When Kamran’s powers were out of control, Yusuf and the community that gathered were under threat, but Kamala protected them. In turn, when Damage Control threatened Kamala, Yusuf and the others rushed the barricade to protect her, allowing her to escape.
Yusuf reunited with his daughter on their rooftop and expressed how proud he was of her. He shared the meaning of her name with her, that “Kamala” meant “perfect” in Arabic but that in Urdu, it meant something more like “marvel”. He explained how he and Muneeba tried for years to have a second child after Aamir, and once Kamala came, they thought she was perfect and called her their little Ms. Marvel. He watched his daughter leap off the roof using her hard light abilities and in awe, he called it magic.
