Whether it is the potholes on the streets, poor education system, intolerable traffic congestion, wholesale corruption, counterfeit medicine or injustice caused to mankind; the Bangladeshi society has no shortage of fuel for causing utter despair. We live in a society that seems way darker and dreadful than Gotham. It is hard indeed to find heroes in the real world who might solve our problems. In times of utter despondence, mankind has looked to find inspiration and hope in art and literature. In course of time, Bangladesh has come up with Heroes of our own, from who we seek hope, inspiration and even laughter, which perhaps can make us face the challenges with a lighter heart, writes Neebiir Kamaal
Somo
He travels time and space to take on Superiors who are against mankind. Somo is a time and space traveler with superhuman powers and an adventure seeker who never backs away from standing up for people. As this Panjeree Publications character created by Sharier hops on to his time machine and disappears from one era to the next one, he makes new friends in Rob, Don and boatman Pahar and leads them on a mission to save the world from Superiors who want to eradicate all the people who care about preserving nature. Their task eventually lands the quartet on Mars.
Shabash
Shabash is not your typical superhero. In fact, this character of Mighty Punch Studios created by Samir Asran Rahman is a slacker who spends most of his time playing video games and checking his Facebook account. But when his next-door neighbour, Kiron, insists that he uses his powers for the greater good, he dons a costume and becomes Bangladesh’s first ever superhero. He gets his powers (super strength and the ability to fly) from an atomic mango and his alter ego, Shabab Sharif. He works as a junior copywriter at an advertising agency. So far we have seen him battle Blatt the Cockroach King and Miss Quito, a giant, genetically modified mosquito, but we have also seen him take time out to attend the Dhaka Comicon, play tape tennis cricket with a bunch of kids, and binge eat biriyani in Old Dhaka.
Ms Shabash
In an alternate reality, most things remain the same except that the coolest superhero in town is Ms Shabash. This Mighty Punch Studios character created by Samir Asran Rahman has the same powers as Shabash, but while the latter is more of an endearing goofus and slacker who has to be goaded into superhero duty by Kiron, Ms Shabash is a lot more proactive and ambitious. Her alter ego, Shabnam Sharif, works as a ‘serious’ journalist at a local magazine. In her first issue (which debuted on International Women’s Day), Ms Shabash takes on Whitewash – a villain who gets her powers from an accident at a skin whitening cream lab. She also has to face off against an army of holier-than-thou Auntybots and ends up defeating them in a dance-off.
CK Zaki
He works for the Special Branch of Bangladesh Intelligence, and is also adept at high class espionage. CK Zaki takes up cases that often involve international conspiracies and has to travel beyond borders to solve them. The Dhaka Comics character created by Arafat Karim often takes real life cases like the making of counterfeit medicines in Bangladesh, the victimisation of Bangladeshi immigrants in Malaysia and many more.
Sadi Haque
When one is super rich, life does give opportunity to try bigger adventures out. Sadi Haque, who is originally from Puran Dhaka, has inherited limitless assets and cash after his uncle passed away. The Dhaka Comics character created by Mehedi Haque used to live in Africa before. His wife and son were murdered in Africa at the hands of people who had claimed to know black magic like Voodoo. Since then Sadi Haque has established Nihilin Club, which aims to disprove all superstitions that are found in societies. He is seen on a mission to free people of Bangladesh from superstitions.
Dadu Nadu
This duo belongs to the world of science fiction. Dadu is an inventor and gifted scientist. He also has a secret lab where he makes fun things like a chalk that autocorrects spellings and much more. Nadu on the other hand is a school going kid who partners up with Dadu for all the adventures. Created by Mehedi Haque of Dhaka Comics, they raise awareness among children about important things like nutrition and hygiene. In one adventure, the duo goes to Haba Gobar Rajjo to catch a villain who has stolen all the iodine from all the food.