Asian American Superheroes

asian american superheroes

As you can tell from my love of C.B. Lee’s YA book Not Your Sidekick, I’m all about Asian superheroes. And if you haven’t read Not Your Sidekick or its sequel Not Your Villain, well, you really need to get on that. I can’t recommend the series enough! It’s heartwarming, super queer, and just a whole lot of fun.

Lately, I’ve been branching out from just YA novels when it comes to Asian superheroes. It’s back to the basics: Superhero comics! Here are a few of the Asian American superheroes I’ve been reading in the last year:

Kamala Khan: As a regular Pakistani American teen from Jersey City with a fangirl’s love for superheroes, Kamala Khan makes for a pretty awesome Ms. Marvel. There’s been rumors of the possibility of Kamala Khan appearing on the silver screen at some point, and I’m already so invested. You can get started following Kamala Khan’s adventures with Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal.

Amadeus Cho: Amadeus Cho has taken on the powers of Hulk, but hopefully he’s got enough genius to handle his superhero job. The highlight of the series for me is actually this genius superhero’s sister Maddy Cho, who’s smart, practical, and pretty good with robots. There’s an issue where Amadeus, Kamala, and a number of other Asian American superheroes hang out and kick butt. It’s pretty awesome. A good place to start is The Totally Awesome Hulk, Volume 1: Cho Time.

Cindy Moon: To be perfectly honest, I don’t totally get Silk or her origin story. I’m mostly here for the awesome art. In the volume I picked up (Silk, Volume 1: Sinister), Cindy Moon — who, yes, has spider powers like Spiderman — has fallen in with a villain and is doing what it takes to get what she wants. I enjoyed this volume a lot, even though I didn’t totally get the context, and I’m definitely planning on reading more.

Who’s your favorite Asian American superhero? Do you have any other favorite superhero comics? Comment and let us know!