Spider-Man can swing from skyscrapers and spot problems with his trademark Spidey-sense. Superman, the Man of Steel, hails from the planet Krypton, can fly at supersonic speeds, and is powerful at lifting the planet.
But for Hispanic and Latino superheroes in mainstream comic book universes, their powers are usually vague at best — and their origin stories? Often filled with stereotypes, lack of nuance and misinterpreted motivations, said J. Gonzo, a comic book artist and author.
That’s part of why Gonzo wasn’t too surprised to see recent DC Comics covers “honoring” Hispanic Heritage Month with superheroes carrying tamales, tacos and a flag with bad Spanish grammar.
At this point, expecting accurate or thoughtful portrayals from these comic book publishers, he said, is like “going to the hardware store for milk” or “to McDonald’s for a salad.”
“It’s yet another example of a kind of whiteness that erases our histories and important presence in shaping the cultural fabric of the United States,” said Frederick Luis Aldama, a humanities professor at the University of Texas and author of “Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics.
That’s especially important to address in an increasingly diverse country, with a Latino population that’s one of the fastest-growing groups in the U.S., said Alex Grand, founder of Comic Book Historians. “To reflect the changing demographics of the United States, if 40 percent of the country is Caucasian, maybe we shouldn’t continue to make 90 percent Caucasian superheroes.”
“One step forward, two steps back” representation in American comic books is common, Aldama said, hurting Hispanic and Latino characters, artists and readers. With great power comes great responsibility – and big time publishers have repeatedly failed to hold up their end of the bargain.
Ambiguous powers have long been common for Hispanic and Latino superheroes in mainstream comics
There’s a tendency, Gonzo said, for Latino superheroes to often have obscure superpowers in DC and Marvel comics.
“I never think they have a power set, as much as they can do a bunch of things,” he said. “They all have these generic powers, like energy powers, skin powers, which doesn’t make me feel good about Latino superheroes.”
America Chavez, a Marvel character introduced in 2011, for example, travels across the multiverse by creating portals with vaguely defined energy blasts. When Marvel’s Miles Morales, one of Spider-Man’s newest and most popular alter-egos, was created in 2011, he was given—unlike the Peter Parkers who preceded him—the ability to blast electro-venom. El Dorado, a Mexican superhero who appeared on Hanna-Barbera’s Super Friends TV show in the 1980s, had particularly obscure powers, among which, Gonzo said, was a “weird energy thing.”
The mostly white, male heroes created in the 1950s and 1960s got “all the good stuff,” Gonzo said — super genius, flight, agility, shape-shifting, etc., that became intrinsically tied to their personalities — of such that when younger Latino or Hispanic characters are created, or take on the mantle of an older identity, there is a sense of hidden unoriginality.
Stereotyped settings and misunderstood motivations
Marvel’s first Hispanic superhero, introduced in 1975, was White Tiger, aka Puerto Rican Hector Ayala.
The introduction of White Tiger was significant as one of the first deeply complex Hispanic characters, Aldama said. But as his adventure as the first Latin American hero in American comics continued, he became an example of how these heroes would become “slippery, not mainstream,” Aldama said — relegated to one-off appearances and owned only a single six-figure title. directed comics (“White Tiger” 2006-2007).
Gonzo said that one main line of almost all Hispanic, Latino and/or Chicano superheroes in American comics, which is often misunderstood, is the motivation of the characters. DC’s Batman, for example, is driven relentlessly by seeking revenge for the murder of his parents. Marvel’s Hulk is driven only by uncontrollable rage.
Gonzo, who is Chicano, said that characters’ motivations driven by an aspect of cultural heritage should be treated with respect.
“Our culture is mainly mestizo – we are a mixture of Spanish and indigenous peoples. And so a lot of the heroes that we have don’t rely on some sort of inherent ego-based identity.”
This is different from many popular Western archetypes. King Arthur, as “the chosen one,” drew the sword from the stone. Thor, a god, is (mostly) the only one who can lift his hammer, because only he is worthy. “It’s about who they are,” Gonzo said. “Not necessarily for what they do.”
According to Gonzo, Chicano culture celebrates those who “fight and win” and take physical action – “machismo.” But the community is also a community of resistance and movement, and has experienced disenfranchisement, particularly in the United States.
Superheroes representing these communities must contain this complex balance, Gonzo said, between identities such as “conqueror and conquered, victim and victimizer.” But this fine line is almost never explored among heroes in American comic books. Instead, Hispanic and Latino heroes, like everyone else, are praised for having a brand of thuggery or machismo that lacks tact or inner nuance.
And, in the world of comics, where the universe of a multitude of characters are, by default, divided into different categories – those who travel through space, those with mystical and magical abilities, and those who operate at the “street level” (in the world daily) – Hispanic and Latino characters, in DC and Marvel, are almost always in the latter category.
By existing in this street-level identity, Gonzo said, it’s easy to get tied up in stories or contexts that, while representing important aspects of the culture—family, food—are overblown, lack depth, and quickly become stereotypes.
“Multi-generations all living together, a little poorer, trying to start a family. many [Latino] heroes will eschew any sort of inherent identity to then take on an action role,” he said.
Another pattern: characters of Latino heritage who were the “brown version” of an established character, Gonzo said. Morales as Spider-Man; Robbie Reyes as Marvel’s Ghost Rider; Jaime Reyes as DC’s Blue Beetle; Kyle Rayner as DC’s Green Lantern; the White Tiger avatar that is taken by Hector’s younger sister, Ava Ayala.
And even when backstories and origin stories are hidden, they tend to be resolved or hidden—especially in cinema.
Aldama mentioned El Diablo, a DC character with pyrokinetic powers who first appeared in the 1970s. American West and Mexico. But when adapted for the 2016 film Suicide Squad, El Diablo was portrayed on screen as irreconcilably angry and unable to control his powers, which led him to kill his family — a plot point that does not appear in the comics.
According to Aldama, this erasure of character and culture is more prevalent on the big screen — a contradiction, he said, because Latinos make up the majority of moviegoers in the United States.
“As we see with Hollywood, the more money involved in producing a story, the more fear intrudes into that space,” Aldama said. “And the tighter and tighter the result. It’s still a very deep prejudice that works at the core of those in power.”
The most authentic portrayals of Hispanic and Latino cultures live in independent comics
What’s frustrating for Aldama and Gonzo is that both DC and Marvel have the resources and exposure to comic book authors and artists to produce true, authentic Hispanic and Latino stories.
“Off the top of my head, I can name at least 100 to 150 Latino creators out there who have and continue to create really compelling superheroes and stories,” Aldama said. “And I don’t see any of them being asked to come to [mainstream comic book] table.”
Instead, the independent comics scene—those titles created, self-financed, or produced in small quantities—is where the truest cultural stories thrive. Some qualities of these titles, Gonzo said, include print editions in English and Spanish and are made up of creative teams that are entirely Hispanic and/or Latino: “Love and Rockets” by the Hernandez brothers, “Sonambulo” by Rafael Navarro and “El Peso “. Hero” by Hector Rodriguez, among many others.
When you have comics written in Latin, the results are comic worlds with “a sensibility and ethos that is Latin” with the necessary nuances that all cultures deserve, Gonzo said.
Thanks to Lillian Barkley for copy editing this article.
