A few weeks ago, NPR published an article about race and its role in comic books. They focused on the X-Men, a superhero team that often creates parallels between civil rights issues and the fictional superpowered group of people called mutants. As a diehard X-Men fan and a member of an ethnic minority, I feel the need to address the issues the article brought up.
One of the best and worst components of comic book characters is their longevity; most established characters have been around for at least 30, 40 years. This gives comic book characters a wealth of canon and history to draw from, and gives them this perception of immortality and timelessness that very few fictional characters can recreate. It gives fans a plethora of iconic moments and excellent work to enjoy and it gives comic book writers a ton of material and backstory to work with and exploit.
At the same time, most of these characters (and, by extension, most of the comic book universe) that are well-recognized were created during the 1940’s to the 1970’s, and America was steeped in racism and prejudice for most of this period. This longevity and timelessness also makes the comic book world resistant to change: attempts to cast minority actors as traditionally white comic book characters (such as Michael Jordan as the Human Torch in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot) have been met with outrage from fans. The established white characters like Batman, Superman, and their ilk are the most popular and are given the most representation in comic books on the market, leaving fewer titles and less space for minority characters to shine.
This attitude is due in no small part to the demographics of comic book writers; there aren’t many women or people in ethnic minorities writing mainstream comic books. There is a culture of prejudice and insensitivity in the industry; writers Mark Millar and Todd McFarlane suggested that superhero comics aren’t for women in a recent panel. John Byrne, one of the most important X-men writers of all time, took issue with Jessica Alba’s casting as the Invisible Woman because “Hispanic and Latino women with blond hair look like hookers to me.”
Jim Steranko, who writes for the Hollywood Reporter and wrote an acclaimed Nick Fury miniseries, wondered if “the avalanche of terminal touchy-feely” that he derided the television series Agents of SHIELD for was because the episode he was reviewing “was exec produced by a woman, scribed by a woman, and directed by a woman.” It saddens me and disgust me that sexist idiots like these aren’t chastised for their actions—instead, they’re put on a pedestal. This is true for “nerdy” culture in general; people can get away with the kind of sexist comments that people in other industries would be fired for.
Because of this, women are often oversexualized and will meet unfortunate ends in order to motivate the male protagonist. Famous examples include Gwen Stacy (Spider-Man’s first girlfriend who died during a battle) and Alexandra DeWitt (who was killed, dismembered, and stuffed into her superhero boyfriend’s refrigerator). Rape is used as a plot device to create a tragic backstory for female characters with little thought as to the psychological repercussions.
That’s not to say that you can’t find nuanced, well-written minority comic book characters –they’re just rare and underappreciated. All but one of the characters in Young Avengers are homosexual or bisexual, and they’re all excellent, lively characters who aren’t defined by their sexuality. Monet St. Croix of X-Factor is an amazing Muslim character. These aren’t the only strong minority characters—far from it. But they distinguish themselves from the others because they are not defined by their minority status. Being a member of a minority is a part of who they are, one of the many facets in their personality. I don’t have a problem with stereotypical superheroes or anything, but there is something wonderful about seeing someone who looks like you, who shares your age or your skin tone, kicking butt, taking names and doing good.
Every fan, no matter what they’re interested in, should be able to experience this feeling. Every child, no matter their ethnicity, religion, or sexuality, should have a fictional role model they can identify with and relate to but who don’t embody stereotypes, who are just as nuanced as every other traditional character on the market.
