Muslim With Excalibur

I was delighted to discover this week that someone has been messing with symbols in a way that seems unprecedented to me. Over in the UK, writer Paul Cornell (best known for his work on the new Doctor Who TV series) has been writing a superhero comic for Marvel based on venerable character Captain Britain. Like his earlier series Wisdom, which was one of the few comics I allowed myself money to buy in 2005, he is using it as a chance to explore ideas of Britishness in the 21st century. Who are these Britons, anyway?
He has attracted controversy for including in his ranks, as the reader viewpoint character, a young muslim woman, Faiza, complete with traditional attire. The controversy hasn’t come from an outcry – rather, from occasions when the comics media has gone all inappropriate (making ‘terrorist’ jokes is just the start of it). By and large, everyone’s been quite happy with Faiza, and it helps that the series as a whole is well-conceived and well-crafted fun.
In an issue released a month ago, young Faiza moves from initiate to full-blooded hero when she pulls Excalibur from a stone, being judged worthy to do so. (Yes, I know it was a different sword in the stone in the legend, so does Cornell, just roll with it.) This is both an obvious move and an audacious one. The King Arthur legend is the only mythology that is claimed by Britain, and over which they feel ownership. And with British identity very much under contest at present – witness endless tabloid headlines about those Muslims changing the way we British people live – it’s a bold political statement as well, about what being British means today.
Here are the panels in question:

Anyway, there’s plenty more that could be said about this but I’ll spare you because I need to get in to the office now.
The issue also includes the shocking death of another character, a shapeshifting alien who assumes the form of John Lennon most of the time because he likes it, and who is executed for mocking his fascistic captors. That’s very British, right there, not being executed for steely defiance, but rather for doggedly taking the piss. I think Britishness is in good hands with Cornell.
Further reading: Cornell’s blog where he takes reader comments on the issue in question.