We Can Be Heroes

As society changes, so does its heroes. Substantial political and social change - civil rights, disability rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and women’s rights to name a few - has led to increased efforts to reflect such diversity in comics. With weekly publication releases, comic book titles have their fingers on the pulse of what’s happening in our world now, and can both reflect our culture and help shape it.

Late Bronze Age and many Modern Age superhero comics (1985-present) became more political. In 1963, Marvel launched the X-Men. Humans feared and hated mutants because they were different, which served as a metaphor for what was happening with the Civil Rights Movement at that time. By 1984, on the cusp of the Modern Age of comics, mutants’ civil rights are threatened when they are required to register with the government in the controversial Mutant Affairs Control Act, introduced in Uncanny X-Men (Marvel Comics, Vol. 1, No. 181, 1984).

Disability rights advocacy rose in the 1970s, leading to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, and mainstream superhero comics have reflected the differentially-abled in varied and sometimes controversial ways. Some stories portray heroes who become disabled and fight their way back to “normalcy,” which critics warn sends a message that the disabled are not normal. The term “supercrip” was coined to define capable disabled heroes who are not seen as helpless or pitiable. On the one hand, “supercrips” are viewed as inspirational. However, critics caution that celebrating successes in spite of disabilities is patronizing and sends the wrong message. Other titles have embraced the inclusion of more legitimate disabled experiences.

Sometimes, disabilities in comics are understated and often overlooked as representative examples. Aquaman loses his hand and replaces it with a retractable harpoon, a prosthetic hand, and later with a mystical hand made of water. Marvel’s Hawkeye uses hearing aids after losing 80% of his hearing. Iron Man uses a heart implant to keep shrapnel from killing him.

Representation of LGBTQ+ characters has been on the rise by both independent and mainstream comics publishers.

In 2017, Aftershock Comics introduced the first transgender superhero, Chalice, to appear in a starring role in Alters.

The representation of women in comics has a long and sometimes contentious past. Female superheroes, however, have tackled issues of positive body image, sexual assault, fair wages, religion and even pregnancy.

The last two to three years have seen an increase in comics that place women at the forefront. Many of Marvel’s Avengers and “X-Man,” Wolverine, are women!

Unfortunately, this change has not been without controversy. Variant cover art for Invincible Iron Man depicting a highly sexualized and lighter-skinned 15-year-old Riri caused a racist and sexist backlash on social media. The tagline on Hawkeye’s seminal cover, reading “The adorable archer takes aim--On Danger!” raised feminist eyebrows with the question - would a male superhero be diminutively described as adorable?

Cultures across the globe have created heroes that better represent diversity.