Superheroes and Judaism, Pt. 3

When you take a look behind the curtain, Jewish writers and artists litter the comic book landscape. And my goodness, am I proud of my people.  Stan Lee is Jewish.  Jack Kirby was Jewish.   Neil Gaiman is Jewish.  Batman’s creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger were both Jewish.  Superman’s creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were also both Jewish.  I’m just saying it’s hard to be anti-Semitic and love superheroes at the same time.

We finish off today with Sabra, the Israeli superhero that’s drenched in Jewish paraphernalia, and Thing, that wonderful orange rock monster from the Fantastic Four.

Let’s talk about Sabra.  No one’s arguing about her religious affiliation, right from her first appearance:

Real name Ruth Bat-Seraph, she developed mutant powers that gave her all those standard superhuman traits plus she can transfer life energy into another person or something.  I guess like a temporary healing/enhancing power.  And as you noticed from the issue cover above, she uses all that cool Israeli technology as well.

I want to explore a few scenes from New Warriors #58-59, written by Evan Skolnick and drawn by Patrick Zircher.  An Arab superhero tries to assassinate the Israeli prime minister.  You can imagine how that turns out.

What begins involves a whole Israel-Palestinian argument between the two enemies.  The poor New Warriors just want to bash in bad guys, but now that have to deal with a problem never discussed in superhero training camp: politics.  I believe the purpose of this story actually serves to further the character development of the telekinetic superhero Justice, who also happens to be Jewish.  Sabra’s not in the New Warriors, after all.

By the way, notice the answer Justice’s teacher gave?  That’s the exact same answer Moon Knight’s rabbi father told him.  And truthfully, the Jews tended to be a fairly passive people until the Israelis came along anyway.  Now the Jews have a whole country full of Sabras.  So as the peace conference between Israel and Palestine goes inevitably bad, Sabra gets brainwashed.  Only Justice can snap her out of it, in what may be one of the most powerful moments for me in comics.

As a Jew, my heart melts.

Politics aside, Sabra still shows up whenever an Israeli superhero is needed.  Recently (and in her modern costume), she served on Spider-Man’s ragtag team of superheroes to take down Doctor Octopus’ world-dominating plan.  Yes, Peter Parker would have used the Avengers and his A-list friends, but brainwashing gets used as a writing tool far more often than you think.  Here’s Sabra’s brief moment from the Amazing Spider-Man: Ends of the Earth one-shot, written by Rob Williams & Brian Clevinger and drawn by Thony Silas.

You know what makes a comic exciting?  Not knowing if these minor superheroes will survive the issue or not, especially since Marvel teased that to help the sell the issue.  And boy, heartbreak ensued.  Kangaroo: massacred.  Titanium Man: crushed.  Sadly, poor Sabra also drew a bad hand.:

She’s not dead.  I say again, she totally survived.  How?  I don’t know, but a few months later in X-Men #31, written by Brian Wood and drawn by David Lopez, she shows up unharmed and ready for action.

Still, even if Crossbones had splattered her brains all over the desert, the Hand or somebody would have brought her back to life a year or two later.  No one stays dead forever, except Spider-Man’s dear Uncle Ben.

One more superhero to go, and the Thing‘s totally my favorite Jewish superhero.  Even with the simplest superpower in the Fantastic Four, everything about him oozes a thin layer of tragedy.  He’s a rock monster, for goodness sake.  People treat him differently.  He can’t assimilate in normal society. And even the ladies who see past his exterior are always in danger from his enemies.  Yet he soldiers on, because that’s what superheroes do, gosh darn it.

In Fantastic Four #485, written by Karl Kessel and drawn by Stuart Immonen, his Jewish roots shape an entire story.  Back in one of my earliest articles, I covered the Thing’s bar mitzvah, but that’s a much later issue.  So in his youth, Ben Grimm became quite a street thug before going on that fateful space ship ride.

With some brief rest before jumping back into the microverse or hurtling across time, the Thing figures he should check up on his roots and make some amends.

As you know, any down time in the superhero world must be interrupted by a fistfight.  The Thing has his a few pages in.

Maybe I’m just a sucker for superheroes reciting Jewish prayers, but I like to think that even with decades of ignoring his Jewish heritage, it’s always there for the moments he needs it.  A religious security blanket.  Plus, the Thing hears a sermon that’s desperately overdue:

I adore the golem reference.  The original Jewish monster, the golem (a hideous creature made from mud) protected the Jewish people from those who wished them harm.  And Grimm, now with his rocky armor, gets to be the golem of Yancy Street.  For a man stuffed with self-loathing, this revelation has to be a small salve in healing the Thing’s deeply ingrained frustration over his appearance.  Or maybe I just like Jews who can lift small buildings.

As we end with Marvel Holiday Magazine 2011 #4, written by Jamie S. Rich and drawn by Paco Diaz, the religion of these characters is not a hindering, but a significant part of both identity and character development.  Who are your religious (or atheist) superheroes?  Tell me you don’t like them just a little bit more because they share your beliefs.  Don’t deny it.  You can’t fool me.

Superheroes and Judaism, Pt. 1

I was reading All-New X-Men #13, written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Stuart Immonen, and they were commenting on Havok’s controversial speech from Uncanny Avengers #5 a few months back.  Remember this speech?

When that happened, Anthony Jocko asked my opinion about it.  I answered:

“I read the issue and I read the outcry, and if I’m right, basically people are mad that Havok rejects his identity as a minority?  Fans are mad because the X-Men are supposed to represent the ‘minority’ — whether that’s by religion, race, sexual orientation, interest, etc. — and Havok states that we should assimilate instead of celebrate diversity?  Y’know, I didn’t actually think about this until now, but I think the outrage’s overblown.

I get how comic book fans might be bullied or ridiculed, and the X-Men are that fantasy of staying true to the fans’ passions just with laser eyes or wings or whatever to defend themselves.  I mean, I’m Jewish, and we have a whole history of being hated on as the minority scapegoat, but I’d rather see the X-Men defeat bad guys than rise up as a minority power.  As in, aren’t they superheroes first and mutants second?

Especially after AvX, the X-Men are seen as villains.  So, Havok merely stated that the mutant community should be seen as working with the other heroes instead of against them.  Superheroes first, mutants second — and simply that by calling them mutants, their heroism and good intentions are being sidelined by a pre-judged ‘label.’  I agree with [writer Rick] Remender, but I also tend to be a suck up.”

And I stick with my argument.  Until All-New X-Men #13 came out this week and I read these pages:

Kitty’s right.  Bendis is right.  Now, I did just spend two weeks in Israel, so understand where my bias lays right now.  Havok should embrace both his title as a mutant and a superhero, because while we can’t choose our nationality or superpowers, we sure as hell can be proud of our special identity. That’s the basis for a community and a people.  C’mon, “I am a mutant, and what are you going to do about it?”

So Kitty’s speech had me thinking — who are the other Jewish superheroes?  And more importantly, I should celebrate them!  Fictional sure, but they’re still part of Judaism’s culture and history.  I’m going to share some of them with you over the next few days.

I highly encourage you to look into the superheroes and supervillains of your own religion, whether that be Catholic (Daredevil, Nightcrawler), Muslim (Janissary, Dust), Atheist (Hank Pym, Mr. Terrific), etc. But since I’m Jewish — well, that’s what my focus’ll be on.

We’ve already mentioned her, so let’s start with Kitty Pryde.

She premiered in 1980 as a child.  Like the day after puberty kicked in.  So with the shifting timeline of the Marvel Universe, she’s probably in her mid-20s right now, and one could argue that she may be the biggest success of Professor X’s school.  And I’ve always admired her unabashedly shameless about her religion.  Like as in Ultimate Spider-Man #106, written by Bendis and drawn by Mark Bagley:

Before you dismiss that giant Star of David necklace as a mere accessory, know that it saved her life on more than one occasion.  Such as when she fought Dracula in Uncanny X-Men #159, written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz.

Let’s talk about Dracula for a second.  Of course a fictional universe filled with kids who fly and shoot fire from their hands would also be populated by other wacky fictional monsters.  Vampires, mummies, werewolves, etc. remain a big part of both DC and Marvel.  Frankenstein even received his own solo series for a while.  And why not?  Frankly, that doesn’t take away from the religious impact of some of these superheroes simply because they live in a sometimes silly world filled with weirdos.

Yes, the comic book world has Aztec zombie resurrections.  Occult magic spread throughout thousands of dimensions.  Space aliens with armadas that span solar systems.  Toxic waste that grants amazing superpowers.  So why not religion too?  If Dracula can pummel the X-Men, is Kitty being devoutly Jewish really that much more of a stretch?  Do we really have to suspend our disbelief about Nightcrawler being a Catholic priest when he’s also blue, furry, and can teleport?

Though no superhero has been more defined by Judaism than Magneto (maybe Sabra, but more on that later).  I’d like to be proud of him, but he does do a whole bunch of mass murdering.  Sadly, it took fifteen years before Magneto admitted his Holocaust roots, which now make up a major aspect of his character and personality.  In Uncanny X-Men #150, written by Claremont and drawn by Dave Cockrum, Josef Rubinstein, & Bob Wiacek, Magneto reveals the single most important detail of his youth:

And when he accidentally hurts Kitty a few pages later:

Kitty survives, of course, and the two become unlikely allies.  Bonded by their Judaism commonality and Magneto’s tendency to switch his morality every fifty issues or so, Kitty and Magneto attend a Holocaust memorial in Uncanny X-Men #199, written by Claremont and drawn by John Romita Jr. & Dan Green.  This remains one of the most significant comics regarding Magneto’s Jewish roots, and you can easily tell why:

Mystique attacks because superhero comics still require a punching quota, but it’s Magneto’s speech that does more for his character development than decades of battling the X-Men.

Magneto’s desire to see his own minority people (mutants) rule the world so they can no longer be persecuted or attacked makes a lot more sense when you realize he saw his own Jewish people massacred during his childhood.  Though his methods have seemed a bit like the Nazis at times, that’s a very different argument.

Nowadays, Magneto’s a bonafide superhero and I catalogued his redemption (which also involved Kitty) here and here.  Greg Pak wrote a spectacular miniseries titled X-Men: Magneto Testament which chronicles Magneto’s childhood in the Holocaust.  I’d write an article about it, but it’s not really a superhero comic.  Yes, Magneto’s the star, but not once does he wrap Nazis up in their own metal guns or lift Auschwitz off the earth and flip it over.  Still, as far as Holocaust comics go, it’s on par with Maus.

While I have about forty pictures and five superheroes left, I’m already kicking about a thousand words today.  Let’s do part two tomorrow and finish with part three on Wednesday.  You’re totally worth it.

Ms. Marvel’s magical catfight

[Ed. Note: This will be the last article for two weeks while I go on my first vacation since this blog started.  I love you all and thanks for the unrelenting support!  See you soon!]

Ms. Marvel is totally Marvel’s equivalent of DC’s Power Girl.  Both possess similar powers, blond hair, senses of humor, frustratingly B-list status, and to be fair to my more pervy readers — an above average bosom size.  At least Ms. Marvel (real name Carol Danvers) doesn’t have that dreaded boob window, and in the past year or so since she received her promotion to Captain Marvel, she’s actually covering up a lot more than the costume we’ll see today.

In 2006, Ms. Marvel received a solo series.  And it’s very good.  Go read it.  The first arc deals with a simple idea: Ms. Marvel’s an Avenger, SHIELD agent, space adventurer, and has an arsenal of superpowers that rivals Thor.  So why does she sink into the depths of the unknown?  She should be up there with Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the other superheroes who get their own movies.  Well, one step at a time.  In Ms. Marvel #3-5, written by Brian Reed and drawn by Roberto De La Torre, Carol hires a publicist.

Unfortunately, before the television show airs, she intercepts an alien over Georgia.  The fight lasts about two issues, all of which I’m skipping.  But here’s the gist of it:

Cool, right?  If you want to see our superheroine battle some sort of squid Mewtwo, pick up the first three issues of her series.  Anyway, battered, bruised, and very tired, Ms. Marvel heads back to her apartment for some much needed recovery time.  After all, saving the world takes a lot out of you (I would assume).

Of course superheroes would be treated as celebrities.  They wear bright clothing, appear nonstop on television, and occasionally prevent the destruction of all humanity.  Sadly, the “new” Ms. Marvel gets interrupted Harry Potter-style.

Understand that while some superheroes get their powers from magic (Captain Britain, Magik, Brother Voodoo, Scarlet Witch, etc.), Ms. Marvel’s power are rooted very heavily in science.  Like DNA overwritten with a Kree wishing machine science.  Still, magic can still be beaten with a good ol’ fashioned fistfight.  Some of the time.

Notice anything odd in the dialogue?  The whole Ms. Marvel using a cat as a weapon against a crazy powerful wizard?  That totally happened.  Let’s take a flashback to Giant-Size Ms. Marvel #1, written by Reed and drawn by De La Torre, to Ms. Marvel and Sir Warren Traveler’s first fight:

Reed’s writing sets up that Sir Warren Traveler has a long established history of battling Ms. Marvel, but that’s not true.  He’s only appeared in that issue and the two I’m showing you now.  The familiarity between the two comes from the Marvel event House of M fiasco that I’m a bit hazy on myself.  But like all great writers, Reed knows a solo series has to establish the character’s own support team and rogue gallery.  Plus, Ms. Marvel’s arch-nemesis Mystique totally cheats on her with, like, every superhero in the Marvel world.

Back to our story, she takes the unconscious sorcerer to Dr. Strange, who’s rocking facial hair that perfectly matches the flamboyancy of his outfit.

I agree, magic’s way more complicated than I thought too.  Because comics work on a slippery spe of horrible events, everything goes badly as soon as Ms. Marvel shuts Dr. Strange’s door.  Also, this magic goes far beyond pulling rabbits out of top hats.

You enjoy alternative dimensions?  You should, at least for the next four or five pages.  Since Sir Warren Traveler’s magic plays the dimensional angle, our poor protagonist gets sucked into any number of weird possible realities.  Like a post-apocalyptic one where alien insects ate everyone.

Skimpy costumes aside, I think non-comic book readers underestimate the amount of positive female role models in comics.  If we ignore superpowers and just talk about superheroines who are independent, strong-minded, and possess a strong moral compass, we’d have dozens to pick from. Marvel’s Storm, Kitty Pryde, Invisible Woman, Black Widow, etc.  DC’s Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Black Canary, Supergirl, etc.  Though Supergirl did once date her horse.  Back to our story, Sir Warren Traveler continues his mind games, which Ms. Marvel tends to respond to with violence.

If Wednesday’s magic fight didn’t satiate your cravings, the big finale coming up certainly should.  Dr. Strange and Ms. Marvel versus Sir Warren Traveler.  It’s colorful, intense, and surprisingly intimate.

No matter how little PR she receives, Ms. Marvel at least has the respect of her peers.  Who needs crowds of adoring fans when you have the love of fellow superheroes?  I mean, besides Johnny Storm.

The exorcism of Red Hulk

More Red Hulk!  Could you ever get enough?  Unfortunately for our protagonist today, this’ll be a fight he can’t punch his way out of, so watching General “Thunderbolt” Ross get out of a situation that makes his main superpower (super strength) totally useless.  Plus, vampires!

I greatly enjoyed the Hulk series, if just because while Bruce Banner gets angry, Ross just gets cranky.  That happens with a 60 plus year-old dude, though he is one of the few superheroes with a thick, gorgeous mustache.  Today in Hulk #50-52, written by Jeff Parker and drawn by Carlo Pagulayan, Red Hulk has a serious ghost problem.

His sleeping bag companion?  That’s his Life Model Decoy companion (basically a fancy robot) Annie. No romantic feelings arisen here, as she’s an AI and he’s an old Hulk.  Later, as they tour their tech facilities or whatever, the group gets attacked:

Ever heard of the robot Machine Man?  An established superhero in his own right, Machine Man’s been around since the 1970s.  Now, he joined up with Red Hulk’s supporting cast.  Red Hulk totally has his very own set of buddies and baddies.  Three years of comics can build up quite a list of cool characters.

Ross realizing that he may be dealing with forces of a non-punch variety, he heads to the expert.

You figure fellow mustache-wearers could trust each other, but Strange ends up as a jerk here. Though you must admire Ross’ inability to distinguish between magic and bohemianism.  So the memory Strange chooses?

Strange deserves a broken skylight.  Fortunately, when more visions/zombies/ghosts/whatever attack poor Red Hulk, Strange redeems himself — in a way only Dr. Strange can.

I’m not saying Dr. Strange is Marvel’s version of Jesus, but that is how Jesus would show up in a comic.  With a vague idea of what’s affecting Red Hulk, that means adventure!  Ross gets to travel the world complaining about magic lakes and artifacts!  Along the way, he gets attacked by vampires, because that’s how comics work.

Eventually, the solution to the ghost problem presents itself.  A group of people can exorcise this shadowy figure with relatively little trouble.  Well, I mean I wouldn’t call them people.

In the Marvel universe, anything below ground guarantees a swift death.  The Morlocks live down there, mutated creatures live down there,  and probably the Lizard as well.  Also, that’s where poop goes. Luckily, a small group called the Legion of Monsters, led by the Living Vampire Morbius, fight the good fight — like when Red Hulk gets attacked by thousands of their brethren.

Of course, things immediately get worse.  Building suspense and whatnot.

Apparently mummies can absorb ghost particles.  Seems fine to me, but I’m not a scientist.

Time to wrap this riddle up.  Gamma radiation means a Hulk-like being and only one gamma dude died in Hulk comics recently.  Process of elimination leads to our exciting conclusion!

The Legion of Monsters possesses a Ghostbusters machine.  Poor Doc Samson, the psychologist to the superheroes, hasn’t showed up since this moment a year or two ago.  Even Chaos War didn’t fully bring him back to life.  Oh well, at least his friends can still honor his memory, which I guess’ll be the best consolation prize a ripped apart evil spirit can hope for.

Note, Friday will be my last article for two weeks while I go on my first vacation since this blog started. While I won’t have my comics, Wolverine, Spider-Man, and the others will always be carried with me in my heart — something the airline doesn’t charge extra.