Comics creator Falah Faisal on the ideal Indian superhero

Falah Faisal is the creator of Musalman (2017), an Indian superhero who takes on current events such as discrimination by landlords, suspicion from cricket fans, and even darker issues such as the lynching of Muslim men. Musalman is vehemently non-violent. Although he can fly and has super-strength, “he chooses to converse and uses logic to solve problems rather than his fists,” Faisal says. Growing up in a post-9/11 and post-Godhra world, Muslims are too often presented as terrorists and villains in the mainstream, Faisal adds. “So I wanted to present a counter-narrative, one that reflects the mindset of the silent majority that never gets invited to speak on news channels.” Here, he discusses what makes for an ideal Indian superhero.