【1983 Archives】

Not all heroes have983 Archives or need, super powers.

Actor and activist Nicole Maines will join CW's Supergirlduring its fourth season as Nia Nal, aka Dreamer. The network confirmed the news at Comic-Con on Saturday, making Maines the first transgender superhero on TV.

In an appearance during the Comic-Con Supergirlpanel, Maines described her character as a young, hungry reporter who's been sent to National City to learn the ways of journalism, and superhero-ing. She added that Nia Nal is an appealing role to take on because of who she is on the inside.

"She's so pure," Maines said. "She has this ferocious drive to protect people and to fight against discrimination and hatred. She's the superhero we need right now."

There may be more high-profile roles to come for Maines as well. She said that she's been going out for lots of auditions lately, and the response she's seen has been encouraging.

"[A] lot of different shows have been really eager to tell the stories of transgender people, especially transgender youth because it's just such an important issue right now in our society and the world," she said. "It seems only fitting that we have a trans superhero for trans kids to look up to. I wish there was a trans superhero when i was little."

Prior to the Supergirlnews, Maines had been featured in the 2016 HBO documentary, The Trans List, which profiled eleven transgender Americans. She also made a 2015 guest appearance as a transgender teen in the USA Network series, Royal Pains.

During an interview with Variety, Maines elaborated more on the idea she expressed during the panel, that there's a growing interest in securing better representation for the trans community in TV and film. "What we see on television has a very dramatic effect on our society," she said, and that makes representation more important now than it has been in the past.

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The recent blow-up around Scarlett Johansson, who was set to take on the role of a trans man in an upcoming film until intense criticism of the decision led to her step away from starring in the project, only reinforces Maines point about getting representation right. She recognizes that these casting decisions don't necessarily come from a malicious place, but that distinction matters little to the disenfranchised.

It's a matter of getting people to better understand the context, she said.

"With trans folks we have a lot of people accusing us of just playing dress up for whatever reasons and that’s just not true. Having trans people play trans roles show that we are valid in our identities and we exist."