Marvel's First Trans Superhero Is 12-Year-Old Mighty Rebekah

A 12-year-old New Jersey resident is showing the world how much power a single voice can have.

Marvel's Hero Project is a new documentary series on Disney+ that highlights every-day kids doing the extraordinary and have accomplished the amazing. Episode six features Rebekah, a transgender kid from New Jersey whose powerful story is uplifting a generation of kids. 

But she's not just a positive light, Rebekah is helping change policies and impacting history.  

With the Trump administration rolling back protections on transgender kids in schools, Rebekah is dedicated to fighting for her rights and the rights of students like her. Earlier this year, Rebekah spoke at New Jersey legislature to lobby for Assembly Bill 1335, a bill that would require LGBTQ history be taught in schools. 

The bill was passed into law in February. 

"It was really cool to hear their support after I spoke," Rebekah told PRIDE. "They thought I was great and the work that I was doing was great and important, which is really great to hear from legislators."

Rebekah's story is a touching one. From an early age, she and her family realized she was deeply unhappy living as a boy.

"Who she was wasn't who she was being, and that needed to change," says her father, a pastor in their community. 

With an overwhelming amount of love and support from her religious family, together they began the journey of privately and publically transitioning with a love that has allowed Rebekah to happily be the inspiring person she is today. Once Rebekah began to be herself, they say the joy leaped out of her. 

This is the kind of support parents need to show their LGBTQ children. As her mother Jamie notes in the episode, 41% of trans kids will attempt suicide in their lives and support is the biggest mitigator in that. For Jamie, that instinct to love Rebekah unconditionally is "just part of parenting."

"I honestly don't understand parents who don't support their kids," she says. "For us especially seeing how deeply she struggled, by the time we got to the point where she was putting words to it and saying 'I'm trans,' and telling us who she was, there was a lot of relief. Because the joy she found just exploded. You want to see your kid happy. She was just doing so much better, so I think that compensated for the fear you have from the world."

For other parents of transgender children, Jamie has some advice. First and foremost, "I would say that your kid is going to be okay. I just want them to know, your kid is going to be okay, they're going to have a great life. There's not something wrong and you didn't break them."

Jamie also stresses the importance of community. "I think finding support is key for parents. This is a lot. It's not in the parenting book, no one prepares you for this. For a lot of people, this is their first exposure to LGBTQ identities, especially if they're coming from a religious background. Reaching out to other parents, organizations like PFLAG, there are great parent communities online. People reach out to me all the time and it's great because I think having that personal connection and talking to someone that's been there makes all the difference." 

With the love and support of her family, Rebekah is leading a new generation of LGBTQ youth—one that is ready to use their voices to stand up for what they believe in. 

"Rebekah's been able to own that being trans isn't something bad," notes Jamie in the episode. "It's not a secret to hide. This is a beautiful, amazing part of your identity and she's been able to share that and can do great things with it."

Being trans isn't what makes Rebekah a hero, it's just who she is. "I always say the least exciting thing about Rebekah is that she's transgender," Jamie points out. "It's one tiny piece of her. They really are just awesome young people just like any other."

Rebekah hopes her story can inspire kids everywhere, no matter who they are. "I hope it can help kids and show them that they can be themselves, whatever that is," she says. "There's nothing wrong with trans kids and that people are fighting for trans kids."  

And with Mighty Rebekah, trans kids everywhere finally have a hero they can look up to. 

Rebekah's episode of Marvel's Hero Project is streaming now on Disney+. Check out Rebekah's full comic here.