Superheroes of the sub-continent

We all have grown up in a world dominated by DC and Marvel comics, pretending to be like our favourite superheroes. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk and Captain Marvel, you name it, and we will tell you all about their superpowers, their crystallizing moments and their action-packed sequences. That’s the level of influence they have had on us! 

While they inspired us to do good, guided us in our difficult moments, and supported us in our adversaries, we always felt an inexplicable void due to the lack of relatable and local superheroes familiar to our culture. But that void has been gradually filled thanks to the many creators from India and Pakistan who have introduced us to amazing characters that are equally appealing to audiences in the East and West. 

So, all nerds and Funko Pop-hoarders, join us as we bring you a rundown of all Pakistani and Indian superheroes in this article.

THE COOLEST SUPERHEROES OF PAKISTAN

SHAANI

• Country of origin: Pakistan
• Director: Saeed Rizvi
• Music: Azhar Hussain
• Medium: Movie
• Superpower: Combat strength, Supervision
• Most incredible feat of strength: Battles against the biggest villain

Babra Sharif and Mohammed Ali-starrer Shaani is a 2001: A Space Odyssey meets E.T with 1989’s-esque special effects, Dishoom-boom and 7 Nigaar awards to its credit!

PASBAAN LEGION

• Country of origin: Pakistan
• Creator: Umair Najeeb Khan, Imran Sultan
• Music: Umer Farooq
• Medium: Comic
• Superpower: Time travel, hacking, electrokinesis, foresight and more
• Most incredible feat of strength: Brings both Marvel and DC fans aboard

Call it the Pakistani version of Avengers or Justice League! You have got a desi Batman, Flash, Cyborg and Thor.

VARIOUS, ZINDAN: THE LAST ANSAARS

• Real Names: Taimur, Zain, Khan etc
• Country of origin: Pakistan
• Creator: Omar Mirza and Khurram Methabin
• Art: Sajad Shah and Adelso Corona
• Medium: Comic
• Superpower: Magic, flying powers, sword fighting skills, strategy
• Most incredible feat of strength: Mughlia sultanat se panga (Row with the Mughal empire)

Two orphans Taimur and Zain are taken in by a secret order of people called Ansaars, who oversee the world’s biggest criminals in the Mughal era. All hell breaks loose when those criminals are released into the real world.

PAKISTAN MAN

• Country of origin: Pakistan
• Creator: Hassan Siddiqui
• Medium: Comic
• Superpower: Flying
• Most incredible feat of strength: Meets Sultan Rahi and smacks Meera with an English dictionary

Sporting a green suit, a cape and a moustache, Pakistan Man fights against injustice and evil in and beyond Sastapur!

PAKISTAN GIRL

• Real Name: Sarah
• Country of origin: Pakistan
• Creator: Hassan Siddiqui
• Art: Ali Hyder 
• Medium: Comic
• Superpower: Flying
• Most incredible feat of strength: Afridi of the superhero world

A teenage girl from a village who wakes up from a coma after a blast, soon realizes she has superpowers, and boom…boom! She is the Gabbar for evils and a friend of people. And, did I tell you she also has a cute pet cat?

BLOODY NASREEN

• Real Name: Nasreen
• Country of origin: Pakistan
• Creator: Shahan Zaidi
• Medium: Graphic novel
• Superpower: Excellent marksman, savant with a Samurai sword
• Most incredible feat of strength: Anti-naik parveen parda nasheen (Assertive, uncompromising)

Although the character is strictly concept art and hasn’t yet materialized into a comic series, Bloody Nasreen’s impact as penned by Shahan Zaidi has been prolific in the scene, inspiring many cosplays at various comic con events since the inception of the artwork.

We can only hope to see an adaptation on the silver screen. The character of Bloody Nasreen hails from the gritty streets of Karachi. Nasreen is a 27-year-old badass who likes to wear skull-printed dresses, smoke cigarettes and wields a pistol and a katana, and dishes out her own brand of anti-hero justice. A Punisher in a floral kurti and a ponytail that Lara Croft would be envious of. 

BURKA AVENGER

• Real Name: Jiya
• Country of origin: Pakistan
• Creator: Haroon
• Writers: Adi Abdurab, Asad Zafar, Arslan Naseer, Haroon, Khaya Ahmed, Shehzad Ghias, Nida Hasan Fancy, Syed Zain Raza, Ahmer Naqvi
• Music: Ali Zafar, Ali Azmat, Haroon, JoSH
• Medium: Animated TV series
• Superpower: Takht Kabaddi
• Most incredible feat of strength: Makes burqa looks cool

Burka Avenger is our very own Black Widow! A black-clad woman in her mid-20s — who uses Takht Kabaddi, a martial art involving books and pens to fight evil mercenaries and politicians like Baba Bandook and Vadero Pajero – is a highly inspiring superhero!

TEAM BAHADUR

• Real Name: Zain, Jumper Umer, Hamza Racer, Manahil
• Country of origin: Pakistan
• Medium: TV serial
• Superpower: Combat strength, karate, boxing
• Most incredible feat of strength: Dum laga kay haisha (Give it all their force)

Team Bahadur – a quadruplet of bravery! Four lively kids with different strengths aim to fight bad people in the world!

JINN, AINAK WALA JIN

• Country of origin: Pakistan
• Director: Hafeez Tahir
• Writer: Abdul Hameed
• Medium: TV show
• Superpower: Magic
• Most incredible feat of strength: Leads to the creation of ainak wali buntee (specs-shaped candy) and introduces iconic characters like Nastoor, Bil Batori and Zakota in Pakistan’s fantasy-fiction universe. 

Ask any 90’s kid about the genie from Ainak Wala Jin and they will know! A tall, handsome genie comes to earth from the Caucasus Mountains to get rid of his eyesight problems. As he lands on Earth, he meets a young boy who loves fantasies. The boy brings him home and they both start living together, giving birth to an exciting story of action and adventure.

MAULA, MAULA JUTT (ORIGINAL)

• Real Name: Maula
• Country of origin: Pakistan
• Director: Yunus Malik (later reimagined by Bilal Lashari)
• Music: Master Inayat Hussain
• Writer: Nasir Adeeb
• Medium: Film 
• Superpower: Gandasa (a wooden stick/ desi halberd)
• Most incredible feat of strength: Bharkain maarna and super gandasa wielding powers

“Maula Noun Maula Na Maare, Te Maula Nai Marda”. A fiery Maula fights Natt’s clan to settle old scores!

SALAAR AND ZAIN, PROJECT GHAZI

• Real Name: Salaar and Zain
• Country of origin: Pakistan
• Director: Nadir Shah
• Writer: Syed Mohammed Ali Raza
• Medium: Film
• Superpower: Supersoldier
• Most incredible feat of strength: Protects the project at the cost of their lives

Forget Captain America, Winter Soldier and the like! We have our very own super soldier in the form of Salaar, the only surviving mercenary of an advanced soldier project – Project Ghazi. Together with a son of a deceased soldier who has inherited super-genetics from his father, he fights a supervillain, Kataan, who plans to destroy the project.

UMRO AYYAR

• Real Name: Umro Ayyar
• Country of origin: Pakistan/Iran 
• Source: Dastan-e-Amir Hamza (Hamzanama)
• Medium: TV, Films, Books
• Superpower: Theft and cleverness
• Most incredible feat of strength: Shows goodness to all the needy

Umro Ayyar is the Robin Hood of Pakistan/medieval Iran. He steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Based on his life, a Pakistani film called Umro Ayyar – A New Beginning (2023) is currently in the works!

COMMANDER SAFEGUARD

• Real Name: Commander Safeguard
• Country of Origin: Pakistan
• Creator: Imtisal Abbasi (IAL Saatchi & Saatchi)
• Medium: TV show/Comic
• Music: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Jawwad
• Superpower: Cleanliness
• Most incredible feat of strength: Encourages kids (and adults) to shower twice a day

Commander Safeguard fights Dirtoo (leader of germs) and his team that includes grotesque folks like Kachra Raani…”Jo Khana Mange Na Pani” to protect kids in town, motivating them to stay clean!

PRINCE ADVENTURES

• Real Name: Prince
• Country of Origin: Pakistan
• Creator: Lu
• Medium: Cartoon
• Superpower: Prince biscuits
• Most incredible feat of strength: Fights mustachio 

Fond of chocolate-filled biscuits, Prince has a common funda, “Khush raho or khushi phelao tubhi tou glow karta hai mera crown, I wish hamesha muskurata rahe mera town” (Stay happy and spread happiness. This leads to the glow of my crown and happiness of my town). He embarks on exciting adventures and fights those who try to steal the happiness of his people.

GOGI

• Country of origin: Pakistan
• Creator: Nigar Nazar 
• Medium: Comic
• Superpower: Goes way beyond Chakla-belan (A rolling board and a rolling pin)
• Most incredible feat of strength: Enters Pakistan into the superhero scene

Donned in polka-dot dresses, Gogi is a housewife, who faces interesting adventures every day. She is billed as “Pakistan’s first superhero”, who through her adventures, highlights issues women face in our society.

THE MEMORABLE SUPERHEROES OF INDIA

MR INDIA

• Real Name: Arun
• Country of origin: India
• Director: Shekhar Kapur
• Writer: Salim–Javed
• Music: Laxmikant–Pyarelal
• Medium: Film
• Superpower: Uses a cloaking device/ watch
• Most incredible feat of strength: Made Mogambo happy but only once

Arun, a street violinist and a caretaker of ten orphans, finds a cloaking device made by his late father, Professor Sinha. He uses that gadget to fight a well-known criminal Mogambo who aims to conquer India. A stoic, robotic character that gives off Hitler-esque vibes, Mogambo has an aura of dread around him, that leaves people with no choice but to succumb to his tyranny. Hail Mog…! Oops.

KRRISH

• Real Name: Krishna Mehra
• Country of origin: India
• Director: Rakesh Roshan
• Writer: Rakesh Roshan
• Music: Salim–Sulaiman
• Medium:Film
• Superpower: Superintelligence, incredible strength, excellent speed, agility, stamina, strong reflexes
• Most incredible feat of strength: Lifted half a big building and an Airking Airbus A380-841​​

Son of a scientist Rohit Mehra, Krishna uses his unique abilities to fight against Dr Siddhant Arya who has held his father hostage to build a computer that can see the future.

BHAVESH JOSHI SUPERHERO

• Real Name: Bhavesh Joshi
• Country of origin: India
• Director: Vikramaditya Motwane
• Writer: Vikramaditya Motwane, Anurag Kashyap, Abhay Koranne
• Music: Amit Trivedi
• Medium: Film
• Superpower: Martial arts, vigilantism and combat skills
• Most incredible feat of strength: Fights corrupt ministers and politicians

Sporting paper-bag masks, three friends, Bhavesh Joshi, Sikandar “Siku” Khanna and Rajat Sikander Khanna (Sikku) build a YouTube channel, Insaaf TV, where they expose corruption and common wrongdoings. While the other two soon give up, Bhavesh continues the mission and is eventually gets killed. Later, Sikku claims his identity to expose the crimes of both Patil and Rana. The movie plays out as if Batman were middle class, and is all the better for it. 

Echoes vibes of the gritty Daredevil TV series (not the movie – we don’t talk about the movie — EVER !!!) 

MINNAL MURALI

• Real Name: Jaison Varghese
• Country of origin: India
• Director: Basil Joseph
• Writer: Arun Anirudhan, Justin Mathew
• Music: Shaan Rahman, Sushin Shyam, Weekend Blockbusters
• Medium: Film
• Superpower: Superhuman strength, ultra speed, enhanced senses, control over gravity
• Most incredible feat of strength: Stops a bus packed with people from going off a cliff

Hit by a lightning bolt on Christmas Eve, a young tailor, Jaison and Shibu from Kurukkanmoola, get superpowers simultaneously. While Jaison uses his powers to help others, his frenemy Shibu goes evil and finds ways to harm people, leaving the former with no choice but to confront the latter.

ALAG

• Real Name: Tejas Rastogi
• Country of origin: India
• Director: Ashu Trikha, Jim Mulligan
• Writer: Tagore Almeida, Sanjay Masoom, Ashu Trikha
• Music: Aadesh Shrivastava
• Medium: Film
• Superpower: Superintelligence, Telekinesis
• Most incredible feat of strength: Breaks glass doors

Having spent his entire life in a pitch-black basement of the house, Tejas, a man without body hair, knows nothing about the outside world. When his father died, he is sent to a rehabilitation institute for young criminals, where he first shows signs of telekinesis.

G.ONE, RA.ONE

• Real Name: G.One
• Country of origin: India
• Director: Anubhav Sinha
• Writer: Anubhav Sinha, Kanika Dhillon, Mushtaq Shiekh
• Music: Vishal–Shekhar
• Medium: Film
• Superpower: Superstrength, superspeed
• Most incredible feat of strength: Runs faster than a car, jumps through buildings and dances on Chamak Challo!

G.One is a protagonist in a game created by a game developer, Shekhar Subramaniam, who takes on the face of its creator when it enters the real world to save Subramaniam’s son, Prateek (alias Lucifer) from the game’s antagonist, R.One. G.One’s jumps, powers, its character motivations pay a humble nod to iconic characters like Neo and Terminator.

DRONA

• Real Name: Aditya ‘Adi’ 
• Country of origin: India
• Director: Goldie Behl
• Writer: Goldie Behl, Jaydeep Sarkar
• Music: Dhruv Ghanekar
• Medium: Film
• Superpower: Indian martial arts (Kalaripayattu, Chhau, Gatka), and sword fighting
• Most incredible feat of strength: Makes Abhishek Bachchan act

Unaware of his actual identity, a young man called Aditiya fights an evil sorcerer, who wants to establish his control over the world.

KANTHASWAMY

• Real Name: V. Kanthaswamy
• Country of origin: India
• Director: Susi Ganesan
• Writer: Susi Ganesan
• Music: Devi Sri Prasad
• Medium: Film
• Superpower: Flight, speed, agility
• Most incredible feat of strength: Moves through buses

Masked as Kanthaswamy, a CBI officer, is a modern-day Robin Hood, who fights evil and helps the needy.

NAGRAJ

• Real Name: Mr. Nagraj Shah
• Country of origin: India
• Creator: Rajkumar Gupta, Manoj Gupta
• Medium: Comic 
• Superpower: Shapeshifting, flight, invisibility, skin shedding, telepathy, poison bite, infrared sensing, energy absorption and manipulation, sixth sense, hypnotism, martial art, superhero stamina and strength
• Most incredible feat of strength: Fought the Hulk

Declared dead at birth, Nagraj is later cured by King Maniraj and his wife Queen Manika, leaders of ageless Ichchhadhaari nags. For a while, he is used as a terror weapon by an evil scientist called Professor Nagmani but then upon confrontation with a sadhu named Baba Gorakhnath, he vows to eliminate corruption from the Earth.

THE SADHU

• Real Name: Colonel Timothy Townsend
• Country of origin: India
• Creator: Gotham Chopra and Jeevan Kang
• Medium: Comic
• Superpower: Reality manipulation
• Most incredible feat of strength: blasts a wave of energy through his third eye 

Colonel Timothy Townsend is an evil British commander who kills the family of James and prays to the dark side of the goddess Kali, who ultimately blesses him with supreme powers. He uses those powers to dominate the crime scene in London.

 

BHOKAL

• Real Name: Rajkumar Alop
• Country of origin: India
• Creator: Manoj Gupta and Sanjay Gupta
• Medium: Comic
• Superpower: Bhokal-Shakti
• Most incredible feat of strength: Kills his rival Fuchang

Rajukumar Alop, a legendary warrior prince from Parilok, comes to Earth to defend the people of Vikasnagar. He uses the powers of his teacher, Mahaguru Bhokal to fight the evils.

AVATAREX

• Country of origin: India
• Creator: Grant Morrison
• Medium: Digital comic
• Superpower: Superhuman strength
• Most incredible feat of strength:

A nod to Super-Man! Avatrex is a superhero that faces upheavals in present-day India.

SHAKTIMAAN

• Real Name: Pandit Gangadhar Vidyadhar Mayadhar Omkarnath Shastri 
• Country of origin: India
• Creator: Mukesh Khanna
• Director: Dinker Jani
• Medium: TV show
• Superpower: 7 chakras
• Most incredible feat of strength: Speaks shudh (pure) Hindi

A newspaper photographer, Pandit Gangadhar Vidhyadhar Mayadhar Omkarnath Shastri, who has gained powers through meditation and five elements of nature, moonlights as a Shaktimaan to fight Tamraj Kilvish, a dark lord. This character is sort of a mix of Captain Planet and Avatar – The Last Air Bender.

INSPECTOR STEEL

• Real Name: Inspector Amar
• Country of origin: India
• Creator: Naresh Kumar, Lalit Sing, Pradeep Sherawat 
• Medium: Comic
• Superpower: Superhuman intelligence/strength/stamina/endurance/durability, automatic bullet and rocket firing ability, advanced senses, lie detection, X-ray vision
• Most incredible feat of strength: Fights Mechanic, Dr. Virus, Sir Gunga, Hammer and Auzaar

Inspector Amar is a heavily armed and armoured cyborg with superpowers.

SUPER COMMANDO DHRUVA

• Real Name: Dhruva Mehra
• Country of origin: India
• Creator: Anupam Sinha
• Medium: Comic
• Superpower: Superhuman intelligence, ability to talk to birds and animals, stunt biker, acrobats, martial arts, marksmanship, invisibility, sixth sense, strategy, detective abilities, can hold breath for 20 minutes
• Most incredible feat of strength: Partnered with Nagraj

Super Commando Dhruva is a combo of Batman and Robin with the moral compass of Captain America. In addition to his skills and abilities, he has superpowers that help him become highly effective on his missions. Also, he swings around buildings like Spider-Man.

CHAKRA – THE INVINCIBLE

• Real Name: Raju Rai
• Country of origin: India
• Creator: Stan Lee, Sharad Devarajan, Gotham Chopra
• Director: Sharad Devarajan
• Writer: Stan Lee, Sharad Devarajan, Sharad Devarajan, Ashwin Pande, Scott Peterson
• Music: Siddharth Coutto, Dominic Chiudoni, Pierre Gerwig Langer, Lynn Publishing, Mark John Petrie
• Medium: Film
• Superpower: Chakras
• Most incredible feat of strength: Gets Stan Lee onboard

Born in Mumbai, a young Indian boy fights all super-villains sporting a highly advanced suit that weaponizes all seven chakras in the body.

DOGA

• Country of origin: India
• Creator: Sanjay Gupta, Manu, Tarun Kumar Wahi
• Medium: Comic
• Superpower: Excellent marksman, an expert in all firearms

A Punisher with a hint of Dead Shot level of accuracy, Doga is a dog-mask-wearing anti-hero who talks to dogs and fights against Dr Virus, a genius biologist who wants to kill Dhruva.

That wraps up our list of superheroes. Hope you have enjoyed going through this list. If we have missed out on any of your favourite characters, let us in the comments below so we can update our article. Happy geeking!