eBook

Mixed-Race Superheroes

Collins, Corrine Esther, Koenig-Woodyard, Chris, Berlatsky, Eric L, Tembo, Kwasu David, Miller, Nicholas E, Carter, Gregory T, Dagbovie-Mullins, Sika A, Gavaler, Chris, Molina-Guzman, Isabel, Santos, Jorge J

2021

Overview

American culture has long represented mixed-race identity in paradoxical terms. On the one hand, it has been associated with weakness, abnormality, impurity, transgression, shame, and various pathologies; however, it can also connote genetic superiority, exceptional beauty, and special potentiality. This ambivalence has found its way into superhero media, which runs the gamut from Ant-Man and the Wasp’s tragic mulatta villain Ghost to the cinematic depiction of Aquaman as a heroic “half-breed.” The essays in this collection contend with the multitude of ways that racial mixedness has been presented in superhero comics, films, television, and literature. They explore how superhero media positions mixed-race characters within a genre that has historically privileged racial purity and propagated images of white supremacy. The book considers such iconic heroes as Superman, Spider-Man, and The Hulk, alongside such lesser-studied characters as Valkyrie, Dr. Fate, and Steven Universe. Examining both literal and symbolic representations of racial mixing, this study interrogates how we might challenge and rewrite stereotypical narratives about mixed-race identity, both in superhero media and beyond.

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Subject: african american studies / Afro-Rican / Afro-Rican Visibility / american studies / ancient egypt / ancient egyptian / Ant-Man and the Wasp / Anti-Utopian / Aquaman / biracial studies / cast / casting / Comic books, strips, etc / comics / comics studies / communications / comparative literature / cultural studies / Decolonial Hybridity / Doctor Fate / Double Consciousness of Miles Morales / Dr. Fate / Egypt / ethnic studies / Flash / Gary Jackson / graphic novels / heroes / History and criticism / incest / Into to the Spider-Verse / Jasmine Mitchell / Legion / lgbt / literary criticism / LITERARY CRITICISM / Comics & Graphic Novels / LITERARY CRITICISM / General / Literature / Marvel / Marvel comics / media studies / Miles Morales / Miscegenation / mixed-race / mixed-race identities / Mixed-Race Intersections / Monstress / mulatta / Multi-Ethnic Mixedness / multiracial studies / Mutants / Mutations / Passing (Identity) in literature / pop culture / popular culture / race / race studies / racial mixedness / racial mixing / racial purity / Racially mixed people / Racially mixed people in literature / Ragnarok / Sika A. Dagbovie-Mullins / social science / SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture / SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General / Spider-Man / Spider-Verse / Steven Universe / superhero / superheroes / Superheroes in literature / Superman / Tessa Thompson / The Flash / The Hulk / Thor / Valkyrie / Venom / White Supremacy
• ISBN: 1978814631, 9781978814639, 1978814607, 9781978814608