Quotes About Identity

When I asked myself what I'd want to see in a comic about a Pakistani superhero, the first word that came to mind was 'relatable.'

In most superhero shows, the superhero is pretty young. He's in his 20s; he's single. 'Black Lightning' is a man who's middle-aged, going through a divorce, and has two daughters.

When you're playing a superhero, you're almost playing two different people. I separate when I'm playing Jefferson Pierce and the days when I'm playing Black Lightning.

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.

Playing a superhero isn't interesting because then you personify perfection, which is boring!

There isn't just one kind of person that can play a superhero.

For the longest time, I still tried to hold up this act - this nice-guy, superhero, role-model persona - that wasn't really me and wasn't serving me.

I want to give black kids a new superhero.

Hearing that you fit into someone's idea of a superhero is a huge confidence builder.

I would love to see an Asian American superhero.

When I've been asked in the past about my dream role, I always expressed how much I'd like to be a superhero.

I've always wanted to play a superhero. It was just about figuring out which one I could actually play.

I'm not Andrew Zimmern, who is like a superhero to me. I'm not Anthony Bourdain, who was a superhero to me.

I hope in my lifetime we will get to see an Indian superhero for sure.

I kind of love being a superhero.

It does feel like we get to just carte blanche create a superhero origin story for 2021, for this day and age, that is told through a distinctly Asian American lens.

I want to play a character which is as far away from myself as possible and a character that isn't even human, a superhero is just that.

The first time I tried on Shang-Chi's superhero suit - Marvel has never had an Asian lead, so that was such a rare and impactful moment, for me as an actor but also for people who look like me. I nearly cried. It was so emotional.

For too long, history has imposed a binary condition on its black citizens: either nameless or renowned, menial or exceptional, passive recipients of the forces of history or superheroes who acquire mythic status not just because of their deeds but because of their scarcity.

These superhero movies are starting to give more love to not only black characters but also to more female characters, which is necessary because you have boys and girls of all colors who are looking at these superheroes saying, 'I want to be that. I want to look like that. Show me somebody that I can automatically connect with.'

It's important to for your kids to see themselves in their superheroes. Really, it's important for all of us.

I have never met a superhero, but why are we so obsessed with superheroes?

Most superheroes, when you look at origin stories - before they invent their costume, they just go with what's around.

There aren't a lot of African-American superheroes. I've been reading comics since I was eight or nine years old. Luke Cage stood out.