We live in a world where there is good and evil. Since time immemorial, stories told by humans have always had heroes and villains. Human culture has always been rife with tales of heroism, both real and fictional, wherein awe-inspiring individuals faced immense adversity only to overcome it and accomplish good in the end. In the last century, these stories have taken a new turn in introducing fictional characters that are superhuman. The heroes in such storylines who’re more commonly referred to as superheroes are capable of feats that, by any standard, far exceed human capabilities. It is evident that most superheroes in popular culture are white in ethnicity. This is an anomaly as the massive Asian populations of China and India mean that every third person in the world is Asian by origin. In order to properly represent the real world, popular culture needs more Asian superheroes that are mainstream and leading characters in the stories they appear in as they’re currently very few in number and are hardly popular.
Although the first superheroes may have been Japanese (Davisson, 2010) and created in storylines written by Japanese authors and thus Asian in origin, the first popular superhero with a global appeal was Superman who despite being an alien had an American background. He was the quintessential American white male and was raised in the heart of America by his adoptive white American parents. The success of Superman as a comic book superhero inadvertently set a template for what it took a comic book superhero to be popular and successful. It is true that the success of Superman may have had many different contributing factors, but because of the racial prejudice which was still very prevalent in the United States of America during those times till the turn of the 21st century, it meant that most superheroes that were created afterwards were white in ethnicity.
The comic book world and all the graphic novels, TV shows, animated and live-action movies based on these comic books are mostly dominated by two publishing houses viz., DC and Marvel. The prominent superheroes in the DC universe are Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, The Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern. Of these, only the last two have a history of having been depicted as non-white persons. The most popular and widely celebrated characters of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have all been depicted as Caucasian. Superman has been a metaphor of the ideal man, and is depicted as a tall, well-built white man with dark hair who is uncompromising on ideals and morals. Batman too has a similar physical depiction albeit with a darker persona, having been traumatized by witnessing the brutal murder of his parents on the street at the hands of a petty criminal. Wonder Woman is illustrated as a beautiful white woman with fair skin, dark hair and lovely blue eyes. Although the DC universe has many other powerful characters, their popularity is nowhere near the ones mentioned here. The Marvel universe has a much larger pool of popular characters than its DC counterpart. Some of the prominent superheroes from Marvel include The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, The Mighty Thor, The Fantastic Four, Ant-Man, Black Widow and the X-men which includes Professor Charles Xavier, Cyclops, Jean Grey, The Wolverine, Storm etc. All these popular superheroes from the Marvel universe with the exception of Storm, who is black, are all similar in the fact that they have been depicted as white people.
It is hardly debatable that Superman is without doubt not only the most famous DC character of all time but also the most popular and widely known superhero of all time. He has been depicted in numerous comic book storylines, graphic novels, TV shows, animated movies and live-action films. He is popular among kids and adults alike. Most kids who are familiar with comic books or TV shows and movies based on comic books have at-least once during their childhood wished they could be Superman and rise above all their problems and overcome them. In my opinion, the Superman character has been hugely popular because of a multitude of reasons. Firstly, Superman is an immensely powerful character who is also very good-looking. He is tall, well-built, white and gifted with a diverse set of powers such as super strength, super speed, super hearing, flight, extreme endurance, near invulnerability, heat vision, X-ray vision and freeze breath. These powers are truly enviable as they help Superman overcome any obstacle in his quest to help save lives, defeat enemies, tackle evil and make the world a better place to live in. With his incredible set of abilities, Superman also has utmost faith in truth, justice and the American way. He has a strong set of morals and good judgment due to the good parenting of his adoptive Kansas parents Jonathan and Martha Kent. He is steadfast and never compromises on ideals even if it means achieving his goals become harder and complicated. Superman is honest, straightforward, courageous and unafraid to face his enemies and adverse situations and never uses any other people as pawns on a chessboard to achieve his ends. All of these attributes made Superman for a remarkably likeable individual and a superhero for whom almost nothing is impossible. These traits contributed to him being adored by thousands of people idolizing him as their favorite superhero. Secondly, like it is today, in the early 20th century the English language was the lingua franca of the world. Although there were a few superhero stories published elsewhere in non-English speaking countries, they never quite gained traction in terms of global popularity as they were limited to their original audiences in their respective countries in the native language. Superman thus transcended the boundaries that restricted other early superheroes and became a cultural icon of not just America but of the whole world.
However, in recent times, Batman has become exceedingly popular to an extent where the live-action films with him as the lead character have outperformed those of Superman in terms of box office collections and critical reviews. Unlike Superman, Batman has a darker side and his stories involve a lot of grey areas. He is probably also the most famous superhero despite having no superpowers of any kind. He is an extremely wealthy individual with access to a lot of resources, influence and technology as he is the owner of fictional multi-billion dollar corporation known as Wayne Enterprises. He is also astonishingly clever with a genius level intellect while also possessing extraordinary detective skills. These traits combined with martial arts skills that are rivaled by none and phenomenal will power to fight evil makes Batman an awesome character. While Superman is a symbol of an ideal figure for following the rules, obeying the laws and putting faith in the government and the system, Batman works outside the law; bending it often if not breaking it and is always cynical about the system and its capability to function efficiently. Superman’s world view which is mostly black and white and idealistic was much adored in the early 20th century as it was simpler times back then. Batman’s cynical and realistic world view and his stories involving negative characters with a lot of depth, layers and complications have garnered new-found appeal amongst audiences towards the late 20th century and 21st century onwards as we now live in a much more complicated world with a lot of terrible ongoing conflicts around the world that make it difficult to have faith in simple idealism.
Even though her fame is not on the same level as Superman or Batman, Wonder Woman has indeed been the most renowned and prominent female superhero in comic book history. She is portrayed as a young-looking beautiful Caucasian maiden who has lived for centuries on an isolated island called Themyscira that is inhabited solely by women. She is blessed by the gods to have agelessness, super strength, flight, durability, advanced fighting skills and warrior-like knowledge of battle weapons. She also sports a pair of indestructible bracelets and wields the Lasso of Truth. Wonder Woman’s outfits like most other female comic book superheroes have often throughout history been skintight and revealing. This has drawn criticisms of being sexist in the modern feministic society of today. Nevertheless, Wonder Woman has been an icon of beauty combined with strength of character and power thus being a powerful ambassador for women empowerment.
On the other hand, in the Marvel universe there are a multitude of popular characters that are diverse in terms of both background and powers possessed. The Incredible Hulk is probably the most famous and widely known superhero character of all time. He is a regular white guy who is a scientific genius that transforms into a green rage monster when his buttons are pushed. This is because of an unfortunate accident involving gamma rays that changed his biological structure such that when angered he becomes stronger and stronger that corresponds directly to how angry he becomes and can become. He has a huge fan following because most people can relate to this character in times of frustration and anger. Who among us wouldn’t want to turn into an incredibly powerful being when angered and smash away their problems and everything else around with it! Another superhero, Iron man, has gained massive acclaim in recent years due to a spate of successful movies and is probably on par with the Hulk in terms of present day popularity. He is portrayed as a handsome white genius billionaire playboy philanthropist named Tony Stark who owns the fictional multi-billion dollar Stark Industries which specializes in manufacturing weapons. Due to a turn of events that lead him to be kidnapped by terrorists, he successfully executes his escape by building himself a crude but flight-capable armored suit. He later perfects his design and uses it to fight threats to society and humanity as Iron Man. Steve Rogers or Captain America is also a very popular Marvel superhero who has his origin story set during the Second World War. As a volunteer who failed multiple times to enlist in the United States Army due to his frail body, his resolution is noticed by a General who makes him participate in an experimental super soldier program. Rogers is transformed into a superhuman whose fitness levels are at the maximum achievable level a human being can ever reach. He uses these new powers to fight the Nazis and defeat them but is buried in ice for decades following an incident during the war. He recovers completely when revived from his long frozen state and is a very active member and often the leader of the superhero team known as The Avengers. In the present day, he fights against all threats domestic, foreign and alien. Captain America’s character is very similar to that of Superman in that he is the embodiment of virtues such as honesty, lawfulness, discipline, honor, courage, selflessness and sacrifice. He is also very polite and well-mannered as he is from a few generations ago and possesses the charm of the 1940’s. Captain America is much adored as he is a great idol for kids to be inspired towards patriotism, idealism and the American way.
Moreover, the superhero teams of Fantastic Four and X-Men are also immensely popular. The Fantastic Four too follows the Caucasian pattern with all its members being of white ethnicity. They gain their superpowers during a freak accident while in space. Reed Richards or Mr. Fantastic becomes elastic and can stretch any part of his body at will. Susan Storm or Invisible Woman can become invisible and project force fields. Johnny Storm or the Human torch gains the capability to fly while being engulfed in flames at a high temperature. Ben Grimm gets transformed into a rock like monster that is incredibly strong and durable and is nicknamed The Thing. Their adventures have been much enjoyed by fans and they have featured in quite a few live-action films. The X-Men are a much larger band of superheroes that possess abilities because of their mutant gene. Once again, the most prominent characters in the X-Men are all white. Professor Charles Xavier, their leader, is a powerful telepath. Cyclops can shoot powerful energy beams from his eyes and The Wolverine is a slow-aging, rapid healing mutant with bones and claws made of the fictional metal adamantium which is virtually indestructible. Jean Grey, like Prof. Xavier, is also a telepath who possesses telekinetic abilities as well; while Storm is the only important member with an African ethnicity and is capable of controlling the elemental forces of nature. However, there are quite a few other supporting superhero characters from different countries and backgrounds. It is still difficult to find an Asian superhero in their midst.
It is a known fact that the United States of America dominates the popular culture around the world to a great extent. American movies, TV shows, music, sports and even politics are avidly followed by people around the world more than any other country. If an actor, a musician, a sportsman or a political leader is popular in America, chances are very high that he/she is popular all over the globe. This is also true with comic book superheroes. In recent history there have been quite a few superheroes created in Asia outside of both DC and Marvel universes. These superheroes have enjoyed a certain extent of popularity among the people in the respective countries they originated from. But these superhero stories are usually not in English and are most often published or telecast only in the country where the superhero was created. Thus, it is appropriate to only discuss comic book superheroes with an Asian background who originated from America via DC and Marvel.
The image of China and Chinese Americans was greatly enhanced by the iconic figure of Bruce Lee in the 1970’s that in turn made martial arts incredibly popular. He was a larger than life figure who made Americans view Chinese fighting styles with awe and think of it as cool. His legend only grew after his early and untimely death. This was followed by a wave of Asian characters in the superhero storylines of both DC and Marvel universes. Some of them include Jubilee/Jubilation Lee, Doctor Light/Kimiyo Hoshi, Sunfire/Shiro Yoshida, Karate Kid/Val Amorr, Katana/Tatsu Yamashiro, Lady Shiva/Sandra Woosan, Batgirl/Cassandra Cain, Omega Sentinel/Karima Shapandar and Excalibur/Faiza Hussain (Solaris, 2015).
Jubilee is a popular character from Marvel created in the late 1980’s in the X-Men storyline where she is a sidekick to The Wolverine (Claremont, Silvestri, 1989). Her origin story is that she is born in California to wealthy Chinese immigrants who are later murdered by hitmen rendering her an orphan. She discovers her mutant power to create explosive blasts of energy that resemble fireworks and eventually becomes a part of the X-Men. Kimiyo Hoshi also known as Doctor light is a superhero created in the mid-1980’s by DC comics (Wolfman, Pérez, 1985). She is a Japanese national who is a brilliant scientist and employed as an astronomer in a Japanese observatory. She is imbued with superpowers of light manipulation and transformation along with flight by a powerful being called The Monitor which she uses to defend Earth against threats from the anti-matter universe. She does not speak English. Shiro Yoshida also known as Sunfire is a Marvel comics’ superhero created in the 1970’s who is a Japanese mutant and a former member of the X-Men (Thomas, Heck, 1970). He is somewhat volatile in nature and possesses the superpowers of flight and emitting plasma blasts. Created in the mid-1960’s, Val Amorr or Karate Kid is a superhero in the DC universe in the future (31st century). Val is Japanese and has mastered every form of martial art that has been developed up to his time. He is widely considered as a living weapon and the greatest martial artist of all time. Although he does not possess any superhuman abilities, his hand to hand combat skills are at a level where they could be mistakenly perceived to be super. He also has great mental discipline and is able to resist mind control. Katana is a Japanese superhero in the DC universe created in the early 1980’s (Barr, Aparo, 1983). Lady Shiva is a character appearing in DC comics often in storylines featuring Batman. She has been both an adversary as well as an ally to Batman over the course of many stories. She was created in the mid-1970’s and is of Japanese ethnicity (O'Neil, Estrada, 1975). She is considered to be on par with Batman as the greatest martial artist and fighter of her time. Cassandra Cain, who is one of several characters who has served as Batgirl, is Lady Shiva’s biological daughter and is thus half-Japanese (Puckett , Scott, Gorfinkel, 1999). Karima Shapandar also known as Omega Sentinel is an Indian-origin superhero in the Marvel universe and appears in the X-Men and Excalibur storylines. She was created in the year 2000 with an origin story that she was police officer in India who was transformed into an Omega Prime Sentinel (Claremont, Booth, 2000). Dr. Faiza Hussain is a London based Pakistani Muslim who is struck by a laser weapon of Skrull technology which gives her the superpower of possessing control over living organisms to an unknown extent (Cornell , Kirk, 2008). She was created as recently as in 2008 and is an interesting development in the portrayal of people from South Asia. A panel of Muslim women has aided her creator Paul Cornell in her character development. In her portrayals so far the writers have steered clear of typical religious clichés associated with Muslim individuals.
It is clearly evident that the portrayal of Asians and Asian Americans in superhero storylines as mainstream characters is far too few in number. There is clear disproportion in the number of superheroes that are white, when seen that the Caucasian population is far outnumbered by that of Asians around the world. However, one reasonable explanation for this anomaly is that the majority of America is still largely white and every country that produces superhero comics, novels, TV shows or movies tends to center the stories with situations specific to that country and characters with ethnicities local to that country. The situation in American popular culture has changed since the civil rights movement and people with African American ethnicity have taken centre stage in almost all fields including the arts. This change has slowly but surely crept into the comic book world as well with writers constantly creating characters of different ethnicities and backgrounds. With the changing socio-political climate of the world, along with the rise of China and India as superpowers, it will be inevitable that the storylines of the future will have a significant Asian orientation. In my opinion, Asian superheroes that are mainstream will definitely be inevitable in the future. The world has already become a global village and America has always been a melting pot for people from various nations, cultures and backgrounds. With increased interaction of Americans with all kinds of Asians, the stereotypes associated with them will erode with time. The erosion of stereotypes will mean that Asian and Asian American characters will have a lot of potential towards acceptance as a popular superhero character.
In conclusion, it is beyond the shadow of a doubt that we need more Asian superheroes. More importantly however, we need a few Asian superheroes that are well created and authentically Asian that will take centre stage in big comic book plots or major movie scripts. Comic book superheroes throughout history have inspired millions of kids to be good and work hard against problems they may face in adulthood. It is important for children to have a superhero they can relate to. The ethnicity of Asia includes a diverse set of nationalities including but not limited to Chinese, Indian, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Pakistani and the Middle Eastern countries. Kids need an iconic superhero they can relate to and who is widely considered to be awesome. The publishing houses of Marvel and DC which dominate the superhero universe need to adapt with the changing global scenario and craft good storylines with prominent Asian characters that inspire Asians, Asian-Americans, Americans and the rest of the world.
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