Wielding the Blade Of Masters and possessing an invincible armour, he fights the forces of evil while he struggles to cope with his newfound power and the responsibility that comes with it. Is this Superman, He-man, a Jedi knight or Iron Man? Nope this superhero is closer home and very much a part of every Indian household. That’s right, the latest superhero out of the Virgin Comics factory is our very own Sachin Tendulkar!
The comic book series which will be called Sachin
Tendulkar’s Master Blaster is under production at present and will hit the stands soon, courtesy Virgin and Gotham comics. Metrolife caught up with the creators to find out all about this new entry into the world of comics.
Was it difficult to create a character who is already a huge icon? “Creating a superhero is not a problem but the fact that it is Sachin Tendulkar posed a challenge. Sachin is already somewhat a superhero, so it had to be handled differently but it has been fun,” says Jeevan Kang, the illustrator who has created the master blaster.
But why Sachin Tendulkar? “We had success with the Indian characters we had created like Spiderman India and Devi, so we decided we needed a homegrown hero. Sachin’s popularity is spread over the entire country, with no barriers, as opposed to other icons, like movie stars who may be popular in only certain regions of the country,” says Senior V-P (marketing), Gotham Comics, Samarjit Choudhry.
“Sachin is well known and loved by everyone. Even as a person he is charismatic, benevolent and basically he is what many kids aspire to be. He has inspired a whole generation of children. This makes him ideal to be made into a superhero” says Mahesh Kamath, the writer who is currently scripting the series.
The series will be a monthly and will be launched simultaneously in English and at least two Indian languages. Depending on the response, they plan to increase the number of Indian languages. Says Samarjit, “Entertainment must cater to the era and that is something Indian comics was just not doing. We decided to change that and the success of heroes like Spiderman India both in India and abroad, encouraged us to create more of our own characters.”
As he rightly points out, this comic should bring on the age of Indian comics considering all the previous generations have known international comic book superheroes, the time has for kids to grow up on Indian superheroes!
THE MASTER BLASTER
So what is the story all about? The creators aren’t willing to reveal all yet, but they did give us a sneak peek  for all you die-hard Sachin and comic book fans!
Real name- Sachin Tendulkar
Enemies- The Black Eleven (eleven different supervillians with a whole range of powers of their own!)
Powers- Super strength, flight, energy blasts, Blade of Masters
Bio- Cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar is already a legend. But Sachin is destined for further greatness, as he learns that the keepers of the sword have considered him worthy to wield the Blade of Masters, an ancient artefact with superpowers. As the chosen one, Sachin tries to deal with the burden of his new responsibility of battling the forces of evil apart from performing on the cricket field.
First appearance- Virgin Comics 2007, Sachin will be introduced in a special edition sometime next month.