Latine lead characters on TV are still a rarity, but that’s slowly changing with shows like One Day at a Time and Gentefied, and now we can add superhero Wonder Girl to the list. The CW series marks the first Latina superhero title character of a DC TV series, Deadline reported. Yara Flor is a Latina Dreamer born of an Amazonian Warrior and a Brazilian River God who learns that she is Wonder Girl. Similar to the storyline of Wonder Woman, she uses her newfound powers to fight evil forces and protect humankind.
Dailyn Rodriguez–who is the daughter of Cuban immigrants–is the writer/executive producer bringing the DC characters created by Joëlle Jones to life. Rodriguez is also the executive producer/co-showrunner of USA Network’s Queen of the South. The upcoming CW series tells Yara’s backstory/origin story, the news of the TV show follows last month’s announcement that she’s the new Wonder Woman. She’ll make her comic book debut this January in “Future State: Wonder Woman,” part of DC’s Future State event written and drawn by Jones. The “Future State” event follows the successors of DC’s top heroes in various alt-futures and Games Radar reports it’s likely a limited series.
“Yara does have some connection to the Amazons, and part of what we’ll discover in her origin is what activates her position, what makes her Wonder Woman at this time,” Superman Group Editor Jamie S. Rich said of Yara, according to Comic Books Resources. “She’s from Brazil but was an immigrant to America. There’s also that element of her story.”
News of the series sparked supportive tweets praising Rodriguez and the creation of a Latina superhero. ODAAT showrunner Gloria Calderón Kellett tweeted, “Latina Wonder Girl written by my Cuban-Am sister from another mister @dailynrod ?!? MY HEART!!”
Wonder Girl has yet to receive a premiere date.