Today's post continues a series that began with the comments by the Marvel comics VP that diversity hurt sales. We've focused on young female characters latterly; today, I want to look at race and ethnicity.
Over the half-dozen years, DC have introduced a number of super-heroes more representative of a modern United States. Omac was revived in the New 52 as an (ahem) "Hulk"ing creature whose alter-ego was Cambodian-American. Kevin Kho. The New 52 Ray had Korean ancestry; happy-go-lucky Lucien Gates became the fourth incarnation of Lou Fine's Golden age hero in a miniseries by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and Jamal Ingle. I felt he was visually very similar to Takion and didn't have enough exposure to catch on.
The most high-profile Asian superhero, written by American-born Gene Lueng Yang is the brash New Super-Man, debuting in last year's DC Rebirth initiative. A bit of a bully from a working class background, self-styled "alpha dog" Kenan King is more Flash Thompson than Peter Parker. The government project origin of his qi-based super-powers is a rehash of Captain America from WWII. It's the rather predictable inversion of superhero tropes that disappointed me most with this series. I was also reminded of Marvel's Spider-Man India project; why do other countries only deserve derivative heroes?
However, the stylised art, the humour and the futurist world of Shanghai made New Super- Man more appealing than his imitative beginnings might suggest.
Latino and Latina characters are very visible at DC: often associated with the Teen Titans, the Rebirth Blue Beetle is a Kirbyesque design , meshing insectile technology with the Calavera sugar-skulls of the Day of the Dead. His xenotech origins have been given a mystical spin, which irks me just as the retconning of Dr. Fate has irked me- but more on that another time.
Meanwhile, Jessica Cruz is one of two Green Lanterns in the main Justice League title. The phobic Cruz gained her powers from the Crime Syndicate's Power Ring but her insecurities and role as bystander-turned-rookie don't really empower her. I prefer her to the rather sinister-looking Simon Baz, however.
You'll note I spoke of the main JL title; just like Avengers, DC has multiple iterations of its premier super-team comic. The latest is Justice League of America- a Heroes for the Common Man series with a very 90s flavour. Despite the baffling presence of Lobo and TV's Killer Frost, it ticks a number of diversity boxes.
1) It revives TV's Vixen, the African heroine I once deliriously suggested should be the replacement for Wonder Woman in a 21st century "Trinity". Her role in the New 52 Justice League International - and indeed her whole superhero career- seems to have been retconned.
2) It revives the Ray: not the Lucien Gates version , but the Ray Terrill/light-allergic version from the 90s. He's also gay, now.
3) It revives the Ryan Choi Atom, created over a decade ago and murdered in an ugly Teen Titans spin-off. He has over-protective parents.
The eclectic make-up of the team, the out-of-character Batman and the weary procession of 80s Marvel villain parodies make me think this title is on borrowed time. A similar fate befell the JLA's attempt at a Canadian expansion team.
I mention 2014's Justice League United at this juncture not because of its mission to deliver an Alpha Flight revival at DC but for its new indigenous heroine, Equinox. First Nation characters are almost always mystical Noble Savages ( I see you, Red Wolf ) and although Miiyahbin Marten seemed cast in the mould of Kamala Khan, she was pretty much Snowbird.
Creator Jeff Lemire documented his research and interaction with kids in Ontario that led to the creation of Equinox. I imagine those kids might have been disappointed on how things worked out.
It took six issues for Equinox to participate fully in the Justice League storyline- hardly an auspicious start for the character. Her elemental powers were tied to the seasons and were undefined with a traditional "magick "explanation. Any traction she might have gained was quickly lost as JLU embarked on a very lengthy and ultimately unsuccessful relaunch of the 80s Legion of Super-Heroes. While Legionnaire Dawnstar sang her praises as an inspiration for "aboriginal women", we saw very little of Miiyahbin actually doing that- aside from a Future's End tie-in. Equinox was one of those writer's pet characters like Silverclaw or Mantis and when Jeff Lemire left the title, Equinox lost her very brief turn in the spotlight. She reminded me of the enigmatic and inconsequential Harmonia from the dying days of the New 52 LSH.
While DC have been proactive in their attempts to depict LGBTI heroes- Batwoman, The Question, Bunker, the E-2 Green Lantern- they unfortunately tend to be peripheral members of peripheral teams. First Nation characters fare even worse- and like Chief Man of Bats, tend to have little relevance to the modern world of their Causcasian counterparts.
Coming up, we'll compare the profiles of gay and ethnic Avengers over that last half-dozen year period and finish this series of posts with the success stories of diversity.
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