Comic fans can expect a new superhero this year in a young Muslim boy.
The new title from publisher Liquid Comics will launch in early November and feature a young Muslim boy in a wheelchair who discovers he has superpowers. Authored by a group of disabled children from the U.S. and Syria who were brought together last month in Damascus by the non-profit Open Hands Intiative, an early look at the storyline follows the boy, who lost his ability to walk after a landmine explosion, as he discovers his power to control metal with his mind. His superhero moniker? The Silver Scorpion.
Sharad Devarajan, the co-founder and CEO of Liquid Comics, told the AP that the book will be distributed in both Arabic and English, with 50,000 copies headed to Syria and other areas of the Middle East. “The opening question we asked the kids was if you could have any superpower what would it be? I’ve asked that question in many different groups before and the typical answers are always the ones you’d expect – flying, reading minds, or being super strong,” Devarajan told the AP, noting that none of the kids wished that the boy’s superpower would be a cure to his disability.
The upcoming comic will be the first in a series of titles featuring international superheroes, with most of the characters based on ideas created by the same group of international kids who created the Silver Scorpion.