RIP J’onn J’onzz!
Well, lets assume that he is in fact dead and not coming back, here is my one word opinion on the 1st issue of ‘Final Crisis’….’meh’.
It was alright, nothing special and I am annoyed with the way that the Martian Manhunter’s death was presented as just a foot note to the issue. Basically the issue is just setting the scene but it didn’t leave me wanting more ( well I am going to get the next issue because I’m hoping it will get better and because I’m a sucker ). Why do they always kill characters off just because they have run out of things to do with them…remember Ted Kord?
Now granted I do actually like Ted Kord’s replacement ( well the issues up to number 25 before the writer jumped ship ) and can understand the need to make him a young Latino to attract readers so I’ve kind of changed my opinion on his death. but this leads me on to another question…where are all the ethnics in DC comics?
Lets look at JSA by Geoff Johns, which I think is a great comic, but, that team seems to be composed wholly of whites and blacks ( with one Japanese thrown in for good measure). The current line up of that team annoys me, as does the current line up of the Freedom Fighters. They have some legacy characters which are fine but then the new heroes that have been introduced and have taken the name of what are now ’second stringer’ legacy characters all happen to be mostly white or black. Can’t Geoff Johns mix it up a little bit and put an Asian American in there? Maybe a Latino or two? I mean according to wikipedia about 4% of all Americans are Asians. Granted we have the Judomaster but she’s Japanese i.e actually from Japan so that doesn’t count does it? In Freedom Fighters the new ‘Neon The Unknown’, for example is Ray’s dad..a white guy..could they not have made him of Korean, or Indian, or Arab origin, you know, the offspring of Immigrants? Another is Lance in JSA, the character is a bit week but why does he have to be white?
I think I’m just waiting for that first Indian-originated ( and by ‘Indian’ I mean having some relation to the sub-continent and not a Native American) superhero in a mainstream comic…. 
June 8, 2008 at 4:40 pm |
According to Wikipedia, though, the U.S. population’s racial distribution in 2006 was:
White alone: 73.9% or 221.3 million
Black or African American alone: 12.2% or 37.1 million
Asian alone: 4.4% or 13.1 million
American Indian or Alaska Native alone: 0.8% or 2.4 million
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander alone: 0.14% or 0.43 million
Some other race alone: 6.3% or 19.0 million
Two or more races: 2.0% or 6.1 million
So let’s look at JSA and split the team up according to ethnicity. Here’s a list a of the current (rather excessive) roster:
Amazing Man : Black or African American
Citizen Steel : White
Cyclone : White
Damage : White
Dr Mid Nite : White
Green Lantern : White
Hawkman : White
Hourman : White
Jakeem Thunder : Black or African American
Judomaster : Asian
Lance : White
Liberty Belle : White
Lightning : Black or African American
Ma Hunkel : White
Mr America : White
Mr Terrific : Black or African American
Obsidian : White
Power Girl : White
Sand : White
Stargirl : White
Starman : White
Superman : White
The Flash : White
Thunderbolt : Other
Wildcat 1 : White
Wildcat 2 : White
As Thunderbolt is a bright pink energy being/genie, I have classed him as Other. I included Ma Hunkel, even though it could be argued she’s not an actual member. Also, I’ve ignored Hawkman’s alien and Egyptian links and just classed him as White. Similarly, I’ve ignored the fact that Wildcat 2 is half cat and just classed hit as White, too.
The current roster in JSA, then, can be broken down as follows:
White alone: 76.92% or 20 members
Black or Afrian American: 15.38% or 4 members
Asian: 3.85% or 1 member
Other: 3.85% or 1 member
That seems pretty close to demographics, so I don’t think you have anything to complain about!
Lance has to be white because he is Theodore Roosevelt’s grandson. He’s a link to the old All-Star comics. You know that.
And if you want an Indian superhero in a mainstream comic, there are a few to pick from. Apart from Captain Nemo in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, whom you are conveniently forgetting,, you could try Maya in Justice League (you can’t get more mainstream than the Justice League).
There are also titles like Bombaby and Grant Morrison’s Vimanarama, which whilst admittedly not mainstream, have very Indian central characters.
June 10, 2008 at 4:36 pm |
“And if you want an Indian superhero in a mainstream comic, there are a few to pick from. Apart from Captain Nemo in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, whom you are conveniently forgetting,, you could try Maya in Justice League (you can’t get more mainstream than the Justice League).”
Nemo? Don’t make me laugh he is not a ’superhero’ he is a literary character that Moore made use of he doesn’t count ( I’m sorry but the jury is out on whether Moore’s work is part of the superhero canon, I would say no, but I know people will argue that they are. They are first and foremost literary creations and to my knowledge they don’t walk around wearing spandex ) ….and Maya, who the f**k is Maya? So your one attempt at giving an example of an Indian superhero was Maya! I know my Indian superheroes better then you….if I was going to site an example of an Indian superhero character I would have chosen one that lasted a lot longer then Maya…are you forgetting Celsius from Doom Patrol? Debut in 1977?
June 10, 2008 at 6:00 pm |
Nemo is a superhero. If we were just talking about Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea then it would be a different matter. However, if we’re talking about Moore’s Nemo, which we are, then uh, yes, he’s a superhero. Not every superhero wears spandex, and lots of literary figures are turned into superheroes in comic books.
And Maya is an Indian superhero in a mainstream title (Justice League). That’s what you asked for, isn’t it? If you’re going to start citing other Indian superheroes that came before, then you’re just answering your own criticisms and showing that clearly you don’t have to wait for that “first” Indian superhero.