Dr. Faiza Hussain is a fictional

superheroine A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

appearing in

American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'', ...

published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. Created by writer

Paul Cornell Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as ''Doctor Who'' fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield. As well as ''Docto ...

and artist

Leonard Kirk Leonard Kirk is an American-born comic book artist living in Canada. He has worked on such properties as ''Supergirl (comic book), Supergirl'', ''Justice Society of America, JSA'', ''Star Trek'', ''Batman (comic book), Batman'', and ''Witchblade' ...

, the character first appeared in '' Captain Britain and MI: 13'' #1 (May 2008). Faiza Hussain uses the codename Excalibur. She is used as the title's " point of view character.""British Invasion"

Marvel.com Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York, formed by the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group and Toy Biz. The company is a wholly own ...

, March 24, 2008

Publication history

Faiza Hussain was created by

and

, with the character debuting in '' Captain Britain and MI: 13'' #1 (May 2008). Cornell has been aided in the development of this character by a panel of Muslim women, Mona Bayoumi, Safiya Sayed Baharun, Farida Patel, and Sohere Roked.DAMN BLOODY SKRULLS: CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI: 13

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

, April 29, 2008 Faiza Hussain, originally written in early scripts as "Faisa", is named after the former

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

Captain

Nasser Hussain Nasser Hussain (born 28 March 1968) is a British cricket commentator and former cricketer who captained the England cricket team between 1999 and 2003, with his overall international career extending from 1990 to 2004. A pugnacious right-ha ...

and although she is a

British Muslim Islam is the second largest religion in the United Kingdom, with results from the 2011 Census giving the total population as 2,786,635, or 4.4% of the total UK population,cliché A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...

s associated with Muslim characters.

Fictional character biography

Faiza Hussain is the only daughter of a family of Pakistani heritage who live in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. A

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

medical doctor, and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

fangirl A fan or fanatic, sometimes also termed an aficionado or enthusiast, is a person who exhibits strong interest or admiration for something or somebody, such as a celebrity, a sport, a sports team, a genre, a politician, a book, a movie, a vid ...

, Faiza initially gets caught up in the Skrull's

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

as she is performing battlefield triage while the Skrull attack is going on around her. While tending to the wounded, alongside the

Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with t ...

, Faiza Hussain is struck by a Skrull laser weapon, this weapon seemingly gives Faiza powers which she uses to help Black Knight fend off more Skrulls. After the defeat of the Skrulls, Faiza Hussain became the wielder of

Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...

, and joined MI:13 as Black Knight's steward. When

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

attacked the United Kingdom he personally attacked Faiza's family, injuring her mother while kidnapping her father and sending forces to attack the members of MI:13. In the aftermath of the attack,

Pete Wisdom Pete Wisdom is a fictional secret agent published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Excalibur'' vol. 1 #86 (February 1995), and was created by Warren Ellis and Ken Lashley. Wisdom is a British Secret Service agent with the mutant ability ...

deduced that attack's aim was to keep Faiza (and Excalibur) out of the battle. He gives Faiza the codename "Excalibur" because he wants Dracula and his forces to hear and know that the mythical blade is still an active part of MI:13. During the '' Secret Empire'' storyline, Faiza appears as a member of the Champions of Europe alongside

Ares Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war b ...

Captain Britain Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain Weekly'' #1 by writer Ch ...

Guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...

Outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

, and Peregrine. Alongside

Squirrel Girl Squirrel Girl (Doreen Allene Green) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Will Murray and writer/artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' vol. 2 #8, a.k.a. ''Mar ...

and

Enigma Enigma may refer to: *Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling Biology *ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain Computing and technology * Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup * Enigma machine, a family ...

, the Champions free

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

from a Hydra invasion force.

Powers and abilities

Faiza Hussain has the power to manipulate, assemble, and disassemble anything on an atomic level. She can disassemble a living body into its component parts while keeping the subject alive. She stopped a horde of Skrulls by preventing their bodies to move with her powers. She is seen to use these powers not only on living organisms, but also on other kinds of materials, like Black Knight's clothes. She can also use her powers to heal the wounds of others. The extent and classification of these powers are yet to be revealed, but Black Knight described them as purely defensive. In a interview,

outlined her powers: Additionally, Faiza Hussain wields the sword of Excalibur. The sword allows her to sense magic near herself. She is also a trained doctor.

Reception

Critical reception

Kieran Shiach of ''

ComicsAlliance ComicsAlliance was an American website dedicated to covering the comic book industry as well as comic-related media, and is owned by Townsquare Media. The site has been nominated for multiple awards including a 2015 Eisner Award win in the catego ...

'' asserted, "Britain needs someone who represents the very best of our nation; our multiculturalism, our stiff upper lip and affable self-deprecation, even our National Health Service. Faiza Hussain is everything I love about Great Britain, and she makes me proud to be British, and if someone is going to represent my nation in superhero comic books, there’s no better candidate."

Accolades

* In 2019, ''

CBR.com ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

'' ranked Faiza Hussain 4th in their "Top 15 British Superheroes in the Marvel Universe" list. * In 2020, ''

Scary Mommy Scary Mommy is a website that produces content targeting mothers, which generally focuses on parenting, motherhood, current events and pop culture. The site is owned by Bustle Digital Group and is based in New York City. History Scary Mommy ...

'' included Faiza Hussain in their "Looking For A Role Model? These 195+ Marvel Female Characters Are Truly Heroic" list. * In 2021, ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...

'' included Faiza Hussain in their "10 Best British Heroes Fans Would Love To See In The MCU" list.

Other versions

''Age of Ultron''

In the ''

Age of Ultron "Age of Ultron" (abbreviated AU) is a 2013 comic book fictional crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics that involved the conquest of the Earth by the sentient robot tyrant Ultron. The storyline consisted of an eponymous, 10-issue core m ...

'' crossover, Faiza Hussain briefly adopts the mantle of Captain Britain from Brian Braddock in case he would die battling Ultron.

''Secret Wars''

This version of the character returns in the two-part ''

Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written ...

'' tie-in, ''Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders''. While she refers to herself as Captain Britain, she has no memory of what, where, or who "Britain" is due to the recent destruction of the Multiverse.''Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders'' #1-2

In other media

Video games

* Faiza appears in the

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

game '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance'' as a playable character.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hussain, Faiza British superheroes Fictional British secret agents Fictional characters with healing abilities Fictional female doctors Fictional physicians Marvel Comics female superheroes Fictional swordfighters in comics Muslim characters in comics Muslim superheroes