When it comes to heroism, Nia Nal is an absolute dream. The heroine known as Dreamer has made the leap from television’s Supergirl to the pages of DC Comics, and her star is rising. She’s a human/alien hybrid, she’s brave, she’s resourceful, she’s a transgender icon, and she’s currently very annoyed with Amanda Waller. Dreamer has been drafted into Task Force X in the new limited series, Suicide Squad: Dream Team. This is Dreamer’s first limited series, and it’s written by her television actress Nicole Maines, so it’s a pretty big deal. And it’s not even the only Dreamer milestone we’re celebrating right now. Last Tuesday saw the release of the Maines-written Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story, a YA graphic novel telling Dreamer’s origin story for the very first time. So, as we celebrate Nia Nal’s biggest moment to date, let’s dive into her Task Force X dossier and see if we can unearth a few things that you may or may not know about Dreamer.

• Nia Nal made her first appearance in the Supergirl episode “American Alien,” which aired October 14, 2018. Dreamer is the first transgender superhero to appear on television.
   
• Dreamer was played on screen by Nicole Maines, a transgender actress and activist. Maines worked closely with the Supergirl writers room to ensure that Nia’s story felt authentic.
   
• Nia is a Human/Naltorian hybrid. She was born on Earth to a human father and Naltorian mother. Nia’s Naltorian physiology has given her precognitive powers, which are passed down to the women in her family. Nia gets flashes of the future, which become more focused when she sleeps. Nia also has the ability to shoot energy beams at her combatants. In addition, she can enter the Dream Realm and use it to travel between people’s dreams. This essentially allows her to teleport from one location to another, depending on where the sleeping person is.

• Dreamer’s first super-villain battle on Supergirl was against Menagerie, a villainess with snakelike powers. In the comics, the first villain we see Dreamer battle is an unnamed member of Henry Bendix’s mind-controlled Gamorra Corps. Once the mind-control wears off, Dreamer hugs her opponent. It’s kind of sweet that her first on-panel superhero battle ends with a hug (Superman: Son of Kal-El #14-15).
   
• What’s Dreamer’s first DC Comics appearance? There are three possible answers to that. Nia made her comic book debut in DC Pride 2021, in a story written by Maines. The story takes place in DC’s Arrowverse continuity, but DC Pride 2022 established that Dreamer also exists in the mainstream DC Universe. However, Dreamer’s DC Pride 2022 appearance was a background cameo. The character would make her true DC Universe debut in Superman: Son of Kal-El #13, written by Tom Taylor and Maines.

• Nia Nal isn’t the first DC Universe heroine to call herself Dreamer. Nura Nal is a 30^th century heroine who was introduced in 1964’s Adventure Comics #317. Nura joined the Legion of Super-Heroes under the name Dream Girl, but switched her name to Dreamer during the team’s post-Zero Hour era. Nura is a distant descendant of Nia, which technically means Nia came first timeline wise, even though Nura has existed as a character since the 1960s (time travel is complicated).
   
• The Dreamer mantle is passed down to the women in the Nal bloodline. Nura Nal regards Nia as the greatest Dreamer of the past century (Superman: Son of Kal-El #13), so it’s safe to say that she’s done an excellent job.
   
• The Arrowverse version of Nia is in a relationship with Brainiac 5, who she calls “Brainy.” When Nia is too busy to bring a captured crook to jail, she’ll occasionally bring them along on her dates with Brainy. This has happened on multiple occasions (DC Pride 2021).

• Nia grew up in a town called Parthas. The community is a safe haven for extraterrestrials and minorities, allowing them to live openly without fear of persecution. The true nature of the town is unknown to the rest of the world.
   
• Dreamer is a Swiftie! During the Supergirl episode “Strange Beside Me,” Nia revealed that she enjoys listening to Taylor Swift.
   
• Dreamer’s ability to project herself into other’s dreams isn’t limited to humans. During Superman: Son of Kal-El #13, Nia tried entering animal dreams, and was surprised to find that it worked. However, she found the experience unpleasant.

• Nia’s favorite song is “9 to 5.” She sings it during stressful times, and it makes her feel like she can do anything (Supergirl, “Prom Night!”).
   
• Nia begins most of her mornings with Queen-52, the hottest pepper known to science. According to Nia, spicy foods help precogs like her focus their gifts (Action Comics #1060).
   
• Nia’s phone number is 555-8010 (Supergirl, “Parasite Lost”), but don’t try calling it. I have a feeling you won’t get through.
   
• Dreamer was added as a Fortnite skin during the game’s “Rainbow Royale” event. She holds the distinction of being Fortnite’s first transgender character.

• Dreamer is currently a member of Amanda Waller’s Task Force X, and she would rather be anywhere else. Waller is blackmailing Nia, threatening to expose Parthas to the world if she doesn’t cooperate (Suicide Squad: Dream Team #1).
   
• Dreamer may be the first transgender superhero to appear on TV, but she’s not the first one to get a DC YA graphic novel. That distinction goes to Galaxy, who made her debut in Jadzia Axelrod and Jess Taylor’s Galaxy: The Prettiest Star. Galaxy appears in Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story, which makes the book DC’s first YA crossover!
   

It doesn’t take a precog to see that Nia Nal has a bright future in the DC Universe. She just has to untangle herself from Amanda Waller. If anyone can do it, Nia can.

Suicide Squad: Dream Team #1 by Nicole Maines, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira and Adriano Lucas and Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story by Nicole Maines, Rye Hickman and Bex Glendining are available now. Look for Suicide Squad: Dream Team #2 in stores this week!

Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, "Gotham Gazette." Follow him on Twitter at @TBUJosh.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.