Out of cosplay ideas? Dress as these cool South Asian heroines

As Mumbai Comic Con nears, ditch the Hollywood cliches for characters closer to home.

Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins gave us the movie of the year with Wonder Woman, shifting the spotlight on female superheroes. As Mumbai gets ready to host the seventh edition of the Comic Con next weekend, founder of Comic Con India, Jatin Varma, says, “It is an important platform, both for fans and creators, to look at content beyond the mainstream.” This time, why not take cosplay inspiration from these lesser-known female superheroes fighting battles in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh?

Raat uses fierce combat skills to fight for peace in Kolachi, based on Karachi in Pakistan. (Wasiq Haris, creator of Raat Comics)

The Keepers

Kala leads The Keepers, is trained in combat and is a linguist. (Aza Comics)

Jazmin Truesdale, CEO of Aza Entertainment, based in USA, created Aza Comics with a view to bring more cultural diversity to the world of superheroes. They released The Keepers in 2016, a team of five women peacefully going about their jobs by day, and fighting for justice by night. Led by Kala, they are Adanna, Amaya, Fenna and Ixchel and belong to different realms in the Aza Universe.

Kala is a college student trained in combat and a specialist of languages. She manipulates force to fly and augment her strength and speed.

Dress-up: For Kala, pair black pants with a red and black crop top, use a bunch of silver kadas to go with black gloves. Use black and red belts as girdles, and leave your hair open. Red boots might be hard to find, so you can settle for red sneakers instead, paired with red socks. Carry a blunt dagger.

The Keepers’ other member is Adanna, a Mumbai mechanic at her own autoshop. She also fixes the bad boys with her powers of shapeshifting - between gaseous, solid and liquid states, and super strength.

Adanna owns an autoshop in Mumbai and her superpower includes shapeshifting. (Aza Comics)

Dress up: Pick ripped blue overalls with a one-sided strap, worn over a black racerback bra and a purple off-the-shoulder top. Pair with yellow hiking boots, or yellow trainers. Tie your hair into a high ponytail, and finish with a brown belt at your waist.

Ms Shabash

Shabnam Sharif is a journalist at a lifestyle magazine in Bangladesh, working in her blue . But a whiff of injustice, whether it is women being eve-teased, or facing opposition to pursue their careers, she transforms into the caped crusader Ms Shabash, created by Mighty Punch Studios in 2015. She gets her super powers from a magical mango tree, and fights villains such as ‘Auntybots’ - sari-clad droids, similar to your nosy neighbour who cannot stop commenting on your clothes - and Ms Porcha, the CEO of a fairness company, who transforms citizens of Dhaka into white-skinned zombies.

Ms Shabash gets her superpowers from a magical mango tree. (Mighty Punch Studios)

Dress up: Wear an orange top over green pants and a green full-sleeved T-shirt. Add a yellow dupatta for the cape. Orange, calf-length socks (to substitute for orange boots) will complete your look.

Burka Avenger

The Burka Avenger is an animated television series produced by Unicorn Black. In the titular role is Jiya, a teacher at an all-girls school in the fictional town of Halwapur in Pakistan. She turns into the superwoman Burka Avenger to fight for justice, peace and education for all. Her weapons include books and pens, in conjunction with Takht Kabaddi, a secret ancient mystic martial art. Her enemies include politicians and mercenaries who want to shut the girls’ school.

Burka Avenger is an animated TV series from Pakistan. (Unicorn Black)

Dress up: A burka. Simple, yet powerful.

Raat

Raat roams the streets of Kolachi, based on Karachi, Pakistan, with no superpowers, using her wit, fists (or sometimes a catapult) and determination to carry out controlled vigilante justice to bring peace to all. Created by Wasiq Bin Haris, she is a clearing the streets of her city, one bad boy at time.

Dress up: Pick brown harem pants and a pista-green kurta. Use white bandages to glove up your hands and feet. Complete the look with pink shoes, a blue long scarf, a broad brown belt, if you don’t find a belt of pouches, and a face mask or black face paint. The costume also accommodates a small backpack so you don’t have to worry about where to keep your things when at the venue.

Mumbai Comic Con

Where: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon

When: November 11-12, 11 am to 8 pm

Tickets: Start from Rs 499, available online