Mapui

Mapui Kawlim (alias Wingstar) is a superhero appearing in the Indian comic book Tinkle. It was created by Sean D′mello and Artist Vineet Nair. It made a debut on the 35th anniversary issue of the comic book, issue number 639 released in November 2015.^[1] It is the first superhero from Mizoram. The name "Mapui" is a popular pet name among the Mizo people. The character originates from Aizawl, the capital city of Mizoram. She is the first female superhero from northeast India in the series of Tinkle.^[2] The editor Rajani Thindiath described it as a "reluctant superhero" but "has the potential to be the most iconic female superhero characters in Indian comic history."^[2] She acquires super flight and super strength from gadgets developed by her inventor-father.^[3]

Character

Mapui is a 13-year-old girl from a middle-class family living in Aizawl. She is a naturally reluctant girl and preferring to play cricket than being a superhero. She is a regular school girl, but would try to avoid home works, and particularly averse to doing mathematics. She would rather go for sleepovers. Her father, Tashi Kawlim, is an inventor working for the Space Development Arm of the government. Her gadgets, including a secret superhero boost are developed by her father.^[4] She became a superhero after testing the gadget inventions of her father.^[5] Her gadgets are rocket thrusters that can make a speed of 110 km per hour, iron fists that can break brick walls, and reinforced robotic arms that can lift a ton of weight.^[1] Wearing a white and green suit, she fights criminals at night as her alias Wingstar.^[2] The signals of criminal activity are indicated by a special wristwatch, which allows her to receive notification at the same time as the police.^[5]

Purpose

The Tinkle has successful and regular characters such as Shikari Shambhu, Suppandi and Kalia the Crow. But they are becoming old-fashioned strips. It tries to include characters hanging innovative technology. Introduction of two female superheroes, SuperWeirdos and PsyMage, were not a success.^[5] The CatchNews reported that one of the objectives of introducing this superhero is to mend the feeling of prejudices among the people in northeast India. There are opinions in the mainland India that northeast India is more closely allied to China than to India. This has resulted in outcries of racial stereotyping and discrimination.^[1][3] The prejudices also turned to occasional violence, and northeasterners are the major victims.^[6][7] There are rape incidences of northeast Indian girls in other parts of India.^[8][9][10]

In a comment, editor Rajni Thindiath added another objective, saying, "We need more iconic female heroes to join the plethora of enduring male comic characters in the country – Suppandi, Shikari Shambu and Tantri the Mantri. Over half of the children in our country are female after all."^[4]

References