Indonesia is taking on Avengers' Captain America, Iron Man with its own superheros

Marvel's Avengers may bring in billions at the box office but Indonesia is taking on the likes of Captain America and Iron Man with its own superhero franchise.

The first movie of the series, "Gundala", which was directed by one of Indonesia's most prolific filmmakers Joko Anwar and released locally to critical and popular acclaim, is now set to play in cinemas across North America.

With a back catalogue of more than 500 Indonesian comics, the studio Screenplay Bumilangit is hoping to create its own Marvel-style "Cinematic Universe" with films featuring interconnected characters and settings.

"Gundala", based on a 1969 comic, tells the story of an impoverished factory worker's son who fights corruption and injustice after a lightning strike gives him superhuman powers.

"The story that people are going to see in our films is not about aliens attacking the earth because that's not our problem. Hollywood is going to deal with that," Anwar tells AFP.

"We're dealing with our country's oppressors and their superpowers will come from our mythology," adds the 44-year-old, explaining his twin passions growing up were films and Indonesian comic heroes.

The success of "Black Panther" and "Captain Marvel", which both grossed more than $1 billion worldwide as well as "Wonder Woman", which made more than $800 million, has pushed US studios to search for more diverse stories and characters to reflect audience demand.

The former featured a predominantly black cast, was directed by African-American Ryan Coogler and tackled the battle for a fictional African kingdom, while the latter two star female superheroes leads, which is rare.

Marvel is now making their first Chinese superhero movie, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" based on a character that first appeared in 1973.