‘Supergirl’s Nicole Maines: Why Playing TV’s 1st Trans Superhero Has ‘Set A New Standard’

The CW/The Everett Collection

Nicole Maines made history as TV’s first transgender superhero and she hopes to have paved the way for more trans representation in Hollywood.

Supergirl star, Nicole Maines, 23, is known by many fans as “Dreamer,” aka “Nia Nal” in her everyday life. The GLAAD Award-nominated actress made history when she became TV’s first transgender superhero. Now as the CW hit series reaches its final season, Nicole hopes her role has “set a new bar” for Hollywood to cast more individuals from within the trans community.

“In terms of representation, I hope that Dreamer has set a new bar where trans people can exist in what spaces we’re allowed into,” Nicole told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “I hope that this allows trans people to be cast more for recurring roles on series. I hope that more main characters are trans and that our stories don’t revolve around our transness and that we’re portrayed as who we are — people.”

“We have stories, and we’re all different. We can be good guys and bad guys, we can make good choices and bad choices,” the Woman of the Year honoree said. “I think Nia has been a great example of that. She’s made plenty of great choices and great strides and she’s a hero. She’s made her fair share of terrible decisions. We’ve seen her as this three-dimensional, multifaceted character and I hope that we see more trans representation like that because that’s how we are in real life. We’re not any one version of transness; we’re people. I really hope that it sets a standard for that.”

And although Supergirl has approached its final season, Nicole “can’t wait” for her next venture. The actress surprised fans with a big announcement on March 11 as she tweeted: “Well, isn’t this just a Dream come true?!?? I’m SO excited to be able to say that I’ve been working with @DCComics to introduce #Dreamer into the #dcuniverse with an 8-pager of her very own! This June!!!! #lgbtq #pride #DCPride.”

Fortunately, the exciting news arrived ahead of National Superhero Day on April 28 so fans could celebrate as Dreamer’s journey continues on in a new DC Comics called DC Pride, co-written by Nicole. It’s an “anthology comic featuring LGBTQIA+ characters from across the DC Universe,” and is set to publish on June 8, according to the DC Comics news release.

When asked how she feels about her iconic role coming to an end in front of the camera, Nicole said, “I’m sad that it’s going to end, I’m excited to be wrapping up these character stories and then to be getting to stick the landing on things. Of course, excited to see what’s next. But I’m sad, these people have become my family and the characters have become such a big part of my life and I’m very anxious to say goodbye to [Dreamer] and so I haven’t. I started writing comics because I’m not ready. We haven’t seen the last of me and we haven’t seen the last of Dreamer, she’s coming up in the comics so who knows where we’re going to see her next.”