LAST month, Marvel Comics announced that a Filipina superhero will be gracing its pages soon. Wave, Marvel’s newest heroine will appear for the first time in “War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas” in May.

Filipino artist Mico Suayan, one of the illustrators behind Wave, revealed that actress Nadine Lustre was the inspiration behind the “mysterious new Filipina heroine.”

“A little trivia. I based my rendition of Wave to Nadine Lustre,” Suayan said in a Facebook photo he posted showing Wave alongside the Filipina celebrity.

Morena-skinned Wave has a black, green, and gold costume and holds two swords as her weapons. Her weapons resemble Kampilan, the sword of ancient Filipino hero Lapu-Lapu.

The new Filipina heroine, similar to the ancient Lapu-Lapu, was designed to defend her realm against conquerors.

With the story set in Asia, Wave will join forces with Korean Americans Silk and Amadeus Cho, Chinese Shang-Chi, and SHIELD agent Jimmy Woo to fight dark elves terrorizing Earth.

The Filipino artist behind Wave acknowledged the other artists who helped conceptualize the new Filipina comic book character. Suayan credited Rain Beredo, who colored the cover, as well as co-creator and designer Leinil Yu, and Comic Odyssey honcho, Sandy Sansolis.