As amazing as it is to see women like Gal Gadot, Scarlett Johansson, and Tessa Thompson lighting up the big screen in superhero pics, the genre is sorely lacking in female characters who can’t squeeze into costumes between the sizes of 0 and 4. Those in favor of more inclusive representations of body types will be happy to learn that Sony Pictures is developing a feature based on Valient Comics’ Faith, a “plus-size” female heroine. Deadline reports that Maria Melnik (“American Gods,” “The Maze”) will pen the script.
The comics center on Faith Herbert, a comic book aficionado and science-fiction lover whose appreciation of all things geeky is tied to her late parents. The superfan also has superpowers — she has Telekinesis and can fly.
“Faith marks a step forward toward making spandex characters more inclusive, since the men are almost always well muscled and the women model thin,” the source notes. “Unless she’s redrawn, Faith isn’t that. She made her debut in 1992 as a member of the Harbinger team and her accessibility made her popular enough to get her own comic book series. She is able to fly and has the ability to levitate other objects in her ‘companion field.'”
We don’t necessarily agree that women in superhero pics are “model thin” — their muscles, for example, are often emphasized — but they are indeed all thin. We’re hopeful that “Faith” helps illustrate the point that being fat doesn’t equate to being unhealthy or unfit.
No word on who will play Faith in the adaptation or any directors being eyed for the project.
