It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's a Chinese Superman!
Amidst an ongoing entertainment reform in ensuring there is diversity in the stories that are being told in literature, television, film and theater, DC Comics has finally revealed that they will be introducing a Chinese character as the next one who will don the Man of Steel's cape in July.
According to China Central Television English, the move marks the first time a major American comic book publisher will have a Chinese superhero.
Named Kenan Kong, the character is born in Shanghai and was a bully until his life is turned upside down when he inherits Superman's superpowers.
Chinese-American illustrator and author Gene Luen Yang has been tasked to write the new series for DC Comics.
Yang has confessed that he did not see as much Asian faces on television and the movies as he would like growing up but that he is fully supportive of the ongoing diversifying measures entertainment companies are undergoing.
In a conference about the Asian identity in Los Angeles, California, Yang pointed out that sinister comic book villains in past series have been drawn to have particularly stereotypical Asian features and descriptions. He, however, believes that the fact that Asian culture is now injected into the very popular Superman franchise can help teach fans about human values that is beyond cultural boundaries.
"Superman isn't just a character," Yang said. "He's also an icon. He stands for something. He stands for truth and justice, all these deep values. These values are universal."
Marvel Comics is also diversifying its own rank of superheroes with the current Hulk a Korean-American and the Spider-Man now an Afro-Latino man.
