Nakia Bahadir

Nakia Bahadir is a close friend and classmate of Kamala Khan in Jersey City, a Pakistani-American Muslim teenager whose grounded, no-nonsense personality makes her one of the most authentic supporting characters in Kamala's world as Ms. Marvel.

Few supporting characters in Modern Age Marvel have felt as immediately, authentically real as Nakia Bahadir, who stepped onto the page in the landmark first issue of Ms. Marvel in 2014, part of G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona's groundbreaking creative vision. Rooted in the vibrant Jersey City world that surrounds Kamala Khan, Nakia brings genuine texture and warmth to a run that redefined what Marvel comics could look like and who they could speak to. She's kept remarkable company across a decade of adventures — sharing pages with Ms. Marvel herself, Bruno Carrelli, Aamir Khan, and even Captain America — and her presence has extended across multiple series including Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace and Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant. If you love comics that feel lived-in and true, Nakia is exactly the kind of character who makes that world worth returning to.