Character Taboos: Breaking Through Barriers within the Page

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Character Taboos: Breaking Through Barriers within the Page
By William Hillman
August 6, 2013 - 07:41

One of the main attractions of comic books is that it empowers us, even if only in our minds. The first readers were children. They were powerless in their daily lives but once they slipped in to the world of comics they became demigods who defeated their enemies with force and strength. The little boy who was picked on at school could be mild mannered Clack Kent who could go in to a broom closet and come out as Superman to bring justice to the bully.

Through these fantasies superheroes came to represent us all. The person in the mask and the cape crashing through walls, apprehending bad guys, and getting the girl or guy was us. As we got older and had to deal with problems with work, relationships, the world, or just life, stepping in to this fantasy world continued to bring us joy. Unfortunately, at first the characters, those who were suppose to represent us, were limited in diversity but that changed over time. Different types of people were shown on the pages allowing men and women from different walks of life to more easily imagine themselves as suiting up and saving the world. Here are some characters who walked new ground, breaking barriers while still remaining in the panels.

Sheena the Jungle Queen was the first woman to have her own comic title, beating out Wonder Woman by several months. Her first appearance though, was in the British tabloid; Wags # 1 in 1937, 4 years before then. While her series only lasted for 18 issues she lived on in additional appearances, movies, TV shows, and a host of imitators like Tiger Girl and Camilla. She would swing through the jungle in a revealing outfit made out of the flesh of a leopard that she killed herself. She had no superpowers but strength and skill which she used to deal out harsh jungle justice to evildoers; women and men alike. Even though her sexuality was a major selling point for the character she also had the ability to go head to head with even the wickedest of villains.

Kitty Pryde has been known as Shadowcat and Sprite but overall people in and outside of comics just call her by her real name. Introduced in 1980 by Marvel Comics’ Chris Claremont and John Byrne she had the power to become intangible, or as they called it in the comics, phasing. As a mutant she was a member of the X-Men. She was also Jewish. This was not just hinted at. She wore a Star of David, performed Jewish rituals such as Yartzeit when mourning her teammate; Colossus, and hailed from Deerfield; a suburb of Chicago; a city which boast one of the largest Jewish populations in the world. Kitty was created during a time when American Jews were becoming more comfortable expressing themselves. They were returning to old Hebrew names and wearing their own Stars of David. The stigma that used to surround being Jewish was falling away. Leading the charge was a young girl who was the daughter of Holocaust survivors and fought evil in their memory. She had powers and looks that weren’t so flashy which made her more attainable to the young people reading her stories. She became, herself, a point of pride.

In 1964, Stan Lee created Daredevil and while he created many other characters this one was different by the fact that he was blind. As a youth Matt Murdock was blinded by an accident involving toxic waste which also granted him super senses including a sort of sonar. After his father, a boxer, was murdered for not throwing a fight he would become a lawyer by day and a costumed crime fighter by night. It has been argued that his super senses compensates so much for his loss of sight it’s like he never lost it but there have been moments where readers are reminded of his condition. Aside from story arc titles like Blind Spots and Blind Man’s Bluff there was also a moment in Daredevil # 191 when he is talking to his enemy Bullseye stating that his secret identity is a relief because he doesn’t have to pretend to not be blind. While these moments seem to be few and far in between Daredevil is still a character who was not only blind but wasn’t define by it in an era where the blind weren’t really discussed.

Another character made famous by what they couldn’t do was Barbara Gordon also known as Oracle. Originality Barbara was Batgirl who was created so the 1960s Batman TV show could add a female character. In the storyline; the Killing Joke, the Joker shot Barbara paralyzing her from the waist down. She, like Daredevil, adapted but not with the aid of super senses but with her skill with computers. She became Oracle; an information broker and hacker for superheroes. Many saw Barbara’s rise over adversity inspiring especially the handicapped community who took her as a role model. Recently, with the 52 reboot, her ability to walk was restored returning her to the role as Batgirl leading to a backlash from fans who felt that it took away such a needed example for the disabled. No matter what future issues bring the image of her as a young woman in a wheelchair in front of a computer will always hold a special place in some fans’ hearts.

In recent years, with terrorist attacks and radicals making messages of hate, there has been some friction between the Western and Islamic worlds. Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, CEO of Teshkeel Media Group wanted to change that so he created a comic book team of Islamic superheroes called The 99. There would be 99 of them, each with a gemstone that granted them a power based on attributes the Quran gives to Allah, including strength, wisdom, and mercy. Despite hesitation in Saudi Arabia and the U.S. to accept it the series has gain ground and an animated adaptation has been made which has been shown in 70 counties. In 2010 there was a six issue crossover event between the 99 and the Justice League, a symbolic crossing of worlds that Dr. Al-Mutawa is trying to make happen in real life.

The representation of blacks in comics is a complex subject for there were many firsts. Lobo; the first black character to get his own title was featured in western stories published by Dell comics. The first African superhero in mainstream comics was the Black Panther. Introduced in Fantastic Four # 52 the Black Panther was the ruler of a technologically super advance African nation. He took on some of the most powerful characters in the Marvel comics universe; the Fantastic Four, in order to ready himself to face Kang; the super villain who murdered his father. In 1969 Marvel Comics introduced the Falcon; the first African American superhero. He had the ability to fly, to telepathically communicate with his falcon; Redwing, and was the partner of Captain America. As well as saving the world he, like Luke Cage; the first African American superhero to have his own title, were committed to helping the intercity neighborhoods from where they came from. They tackled real world problems like drugs and disenfranchised youths. Each one of these characters made their own kind of mark on pop culture. Together they form a story on how blacks at first played a minor role but that role grew until they were some of the top contenders in society just like in real life.

In the 1950s a lot of concern was raised on how comics might corrupt young people. One of these concerns was that Batman and Robin; two young men that lived together, was a metaphor for a gay couple. To answer this, DC comics created a duo of potential girlfriends for the characters. They were Batwoman and Firebird. After a while the characters were dropped but decades later Batwoman was reintroduced in 2006. Ironically Batwoman was now a lesbian. In 2011 she received her own title making her; “the first LGBT character to star in an eponymous series published by either of America’s Big Two comic book publishers.” According to J.H. Williams III, the comic’s award-winning artist and co-writer. These developments show Batwoman going full circle from an assurance that Batman wasn’t gay to a statement that it was alright to be so.

In the Golden Age of comics there was introduced a character called Shining Knight. He was a medieval knight who rescued the wizard Merlin who in return magically enhanced his armor and gave his horse wings. After fighting a monster he was frozen in ice and later was awaken in the modern world. In 2005 the character was brought back in the Seven Soldiers of Victory miniseries as a young woman who posed as a man to become a knight of Camelot. In 2011, Shining Knight was reintroduced in the series Demon Knights set in medieval times. While feminine looking his/her gender was never revealed leading to a running joke of the other characters puzzling at it. In Demon Knights # 14 when a female character expresses romantic interest in him/her Shining Knight replies "I think you like one... aspect of who I am. But I'm the other too. I was born this way. I've kept saying, whenever anyone asks. I'm not just a man or a woman. I'm both." This had led to speculation that Shining Knight is either a hermaphrodite or intersex. The series writer; Paul Cornell stated; "I think that's down to what each individual reader wants from that exchange, or most identifies with. Why shut down any of the possibilities?" Later he stated on Twitter that the character was transgender ending the mystery, however isn’t the character’s most important trait is that Shining Knight’s a hero?

One of the key parts of comic books is that they allow us the fantasy of putting on a mask and fighting the wrongs of the world. Injustice and tyranny seem a lot less bigger when we imagine ourselves flying to the rescue and bringing two fisted justice to the bad guys. For the fantasy to work best it helps if the characters behind the masks are people we can relate to. For some that wasn’t the case but as society changes overtime to become more inclusive it is reflected in the characters featured on the pages. This allows more and more people to easily imagine themselves as the champions fighting evil in comics and maybe be inspired to be heroes in their own lives.

Sources;

Sheena the She Devil
http://webcomicoverlook.com/2011/07/20/know-thy-history-sheena-queen-of-the-jungle/

http://publish.uwo.ca/~dmann/Sheena/Sheena%20Rehabilitated.htm

Kitty Pride
http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/Shadowcat.html

http://forward.com/articles/1041/our-own-superhero-a-matter-of-pryde/

Daredevil
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=101134

http://www.theothermurdockpapers.com/2008/05/blind-superhero/

Oracle
http://www.zimbio.com/Barbara+Gordon/articles/rhRnjg8Cfkc/DC+Batgirl+Reboot+Means+Disabled+Oracle+Disappears

http://sequart.org/magazine/1236/fixing-barbara-gordons-legs-the-politics-of-retconning-a-disability/

The 99
http://post.jagran.com/the-99-comic-series-based-on-99-virtues-of-allah-gains-global-popularity-1371548699

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/12/the-99-naif-al-mutawa-comic-book_n_1006660.html

Black Superheroes
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/14/134532769/Americas-Original-Black-Comic-Superhero-Panther-Returns

http://www.theroot.com/multimedia/beyond-jackie-robinson-15-black-firsts

Batwoman
http://www.today.com/id/44577649/ns/today-today_books/t/gay-characters-take-center-stage-comic-books/#.Ue8Vzi3D_IU

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/02/batwoman-comics-gay

Shinning Knight
http://www.newsarama.com/10520-shining-knight-outed-as-dc-s-first-intersex-hero-ine.html

http://www.glaad.org/news/dcs-shining-knight-may-be-comicdoms-first-intersex-superhero