It's official now. Superheroes have got to go! And the writing's pretty evident on the wall. Risking sounding like a Watchmen echo, gone are the days when fans would go wide-eyed whenever Superman shot beams from his eyes or blew away the baddies with his super breath. In fact, wait… everything the guy did was 'super'. Super-flex, super-sweat, super-fart, everything! This was true not just with Superman alone, but with dozens and hundreds of other superheroes who were just too super for reality.

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Sure, this is the comics' domain. Everything need not be close to reality. But there's only so much a reader can take. Globally, I think, people have just gotten too bored with the whole "I am too powerful for you" hero. Take the movie adaptations for instance. There is less of the super-ness and more of the grim, real stuff. For instance, with every passing sequel of the Tobey Maguire Spidey series, there seemed to be that much more of the fun element (which is quite a huge part of Parker's personality) missing. The character got more and more morose. And when it comes to Nolan's Batman, it doesn't even feel like a comic book adaptation. The movies are that intense.

So why has the superhero fallen? Maybe it has to do with the fact that people globally are facing so many issues in their daily lives that something as fictional as comic heroes, who once stood for some sort of relief or hope, doesn't serve its purpose today. Life has become far too tough for people to fantasise about a saviour in red underwear. Maybe today the 'superawesomeness' may come across as a taunt or a gimmick. Comic creators had made these characters loaded with tremendous powers. Call it artistic licence or wishful thinking. But over the years, people got smarter and knew better than what they read in comics.

So today, instead of having heroes with god-like powers, comics have touched down to reality. Which brings me back to the statement, "Superheroes have got to go." Exit Superhero, enter normal-everyday-guy-in-costume. That's the guy we all would relate to. If any of us was to don a cape or a cowl and parade on the streets, we would be that guy. Which is why comic titles such as "Kick Ass" are so popular among young readers.

And it's not just the crime fighting genre that has seen this trend. Back home, we have our very own comics such as the classics from Amar Chitra Katha, Tinkle, etc, which tell tales ranging from mythology to humour. There is no need for a super-being to carry a book or a narrative forward. India has had its share of superheroes right from the start. The Ramayana and Mahabharata are full of these. The West may have their own mythologies, but our epics are overflowing with powerful beings, most of whom would put DC and Marvel to shame. So, India definitely does not need a new or improved superhero. We have many other things to look at.

My purpose of creating Angry Maushi was to have a character who is quintessentially a Mumbaikar, an average ordinary everyday maushi from the streets of Mumbai, who in her fits of rage can go to violent extents and take on the system. Sounds quite normal, but what followed in the pages I drew was utter mayhem. She's no super-heroine. She's got no super-powers. Yet, she is powerful enough to change things in ways no one else can. And isn't that the whole point?