投稿類別：英文寫作類

Are the Too White? An Analysis on Racism and the Characterization of Marvel’s Avengers

作者： 林育葳 國立新竹女子高級中學 二年一班

指導老師： 康雅蘭老師

Are the Avengers Too White? An Analysis on Racism and the Characterization of Marvel’s Avengers

I. Introduction

1. Motivation and Purpose

It has been 10 years since Marvel Studios released its first movie, . From Iron Man to the latest movie Black Panther, all the Marvel solo movies are arranged for its most famous series, Avengers, which makes the Avengers series highly-anticipated. The Avengers was the first Marvel movie that hit more than 1 billion at the box office, and its sequel, Avengers: Age of , was also exalted by fans all around the world. In addition, The Avengers also influences the way movies are made. Before the launch of Iron Man, most movies only told one story that was not related to any other movie. On the contrary, after the Marvel Studios announced the release dates of Avengers movie series and its related solo movies, the concept of “Universe” was formed, which means plots of movies in the same “Universe” are associated with one another.

One of the reasons that makes Avengers fascinating and successful is its characters. Avengers consists of several well-known superheroes with different abilities and personalities. Not only the interaction of the characters but the growth of each of them contributes to the attractiveness of the movie. After watching the movie, I was also enchanted by these characters. However, it is also noticeable that the members of Avengers are all White, which arouses my curiosity: Why are these characters all White? Does the character’s ethnic have anything to do with the society’s atmosphere in the era he/she was created?

2. Method

I propose to choose the characters from the movie The Avengers and analyze their abilities and personalities. Then, research on the times they are created and on the reasons they were created. After knowing their characterization, look into the remarkable events in history that may affect the characters’ features at the times when they were created. Therefore, we can know if there is a relation between the characterization and its social background.

3. Limitation

There are thousands of characters in , but the characters I choose are limited to the movie The Avengers, which are only the tip of the iceberg of Marvel’s characters. Another obstacle is that the information I found to know how these characters are created is mostly from interviews, so they may not answer my questions directly. Besides, the characterization of the characters is assumed to be affected by only the significant events and society’s atmosphere when they were created.

II. Thesis

1 Are the Avengers Too White? An Analysis on Racism and the Characterization of Marvel’s Avengers

1. Background Information

1.1 Definition of Term

1.1.1 Marvel

Marvel is the general term including Marvel Entertainment Inc., and Marvel Studios. Marvel Entertainment Inc. is a character-based entertainment company affiliated to The Walt Disney Company and possesses more than 8,000 franchises of the characters; Marvel Studios is in charge of producing movies for Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which is a “Universe” made up of 18 films, several Television series, few Website series, and the huge amount of comics, that associates with each other.

1.2 Marvel Characters

1.2.1Captain America

Captain America's real name is Steve Rogers. He was born in Brooklyn, and suffered from several health problems. Since he was too skinny and weak, he was rejected by the military during the Second World War. However, being patriotic, he had a strong intention to fight for the United States. Therefore, he joined the secret superhero program and was turned into a muscular superhero by injecting the Super-Soldier Formula. Crashed into the Arctic during his final mission, he had been encased in ice for nearly 70 years and was found by S.H.E.L.D., which is a fictional intelligence agency in the 20th century.

Captain America is the symbol of the peak of human physical perfection. The Super-Soldier Formula he was metabolized endowed him with high intelligence, agility, strength, speed, endurance, and quick reaction time, which made him become superior to any other person. He is “the epitome of American values and identity” (Peitz, 2013, p.1). He is valiant and willing to sacrifice, and dedicates himself to his country.

Captain America was first seen in Captain America #1 in March 1941. He was created by and in 1938 when they were 24 and 22 respectively. Jack Kirby lived in Low East Side of the United States, where the living condition was similar to Brooklyn, the hometown of Captain America. Captain America was like someone who he lived with and protected him. Moreover, Joe Simon once asserted that Captain America was the response to Hitler's rise and referred to Captain America as “a hero” that American people needed to “lead” them in interviews in 2012 and 2014. Jack Kirby also stated that Captain America is the symbol of the times when people were very scary, but everybody was patriotic in the interview in 1998. Therefore, with the features mentioned above,

2 Are the Avengers Too White? An Analysis on Racism and the Characterization of Marvel’s Avengers they both thought Captain America was apparently an idea that would be universally accepted.

1.2.2 The

The Hulk is also known as Bruce Banner, the foremost atomic scientist in the United States. During the first test of the G-Bomb, Banner was saturated by Gamma Rays since he wanted to save a teenage kid to keep him from the testing area. Bathed in the full of the Gamma Rays, Banner found that he transforms into a green giant monster, which is called “the Hulk,” when he is intensely excited.

The Hulk is possessed of an incredible level of superhuman physical ability. His capacity for physical strength is potentially boundless since his power of strength changes depending on his level of great emotional stress, anger in particular. Bruce Banner's and the Hulk's personalities are totally different, or rather, opposite. Banner is an introvert and emaciated scientist. To avoid turning into the Hulk, he has to suppress his emotions. He represents anger and agonies that are controlled chronically. On the contrary, the Hulk, who is brutal and mighty, is the representative of a relief of anger and agonies.

The Hulk was created by and first appeared in Incredible Hulk #1 in May 1962. He said his original idea was to create a lovable monster and that he was inspired by Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the interview in 2010. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1994) and first published in 1886. The book narrates the story between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, who is the second character splitting from him after he drank a chemical. Being inspired by the story, Stan Lee decided to make the Hulk a normal person as well as a monster that he would turn into for some reason. To make readers think the storyline is reasonable, he made the Hulk imbued by Gamma ray, which is the scientific word that he didn’t know what exactly it was.

1.2.3

Thor is the God of Thunder and the son of and Gaea. Due to his irresponsible behavior that threatened his homeland, , he was stripped of his power along with memories and banished to Earth as Dr. Donald Blake by his father Odin. During the vacation in Norway, Dr. Donald Blake was chased by the aliens for he witnessed them. To escape, he ran into the cave and found a gnarled wooden stick. The moment he held the stick, the stick turned out to be a hammer and he became back to Thor.

Being the son of Odin and Gaea, Thor's strength, endurance, and resistance to injury are greater than any other of his superhuman race. His hammer, , can only be held by those who are worth it. Before he was deported from Asgard, he was reckless and haughty, and thought everything could

3 Are the Avengers Too White? An Analysis on Racism and the Characterization of Marvel’s Avengers be solved by power. But after becoming a lame human he flouted, he turned out to be a sympathetic and humble man. Eventually, he decided to protect the Earth and joined Avengers.

In August 1962, Thor appeared in #83, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Stan Lee said that he wanted to create “someone stronger than the strongest person” in an interview, so he made him a God. Greece and Roman mythology were both commonly known; as a result, he chose Thor, the God of Thunder in Norse mythology.

1.2.4 Iron Man

Iron Man, also known as Tony Stark, was a handsome and intelligent billionaire owning a multinational industrial company called Stark Industries. When Stark went to Vietnam to test his invention, he triggered a booby-trap accidentally and was captured by the Red Guerrilla tyrant, - Chu. Though Stark was severely wounded and there was a shrapnel approaching his heart, Wong-Chu forced him to develop high-tech inventions for him. Given access to huge amount of scarp and tools, Stark decided to make an iron armor for himself to keep the shrapnel from penetrating his heart and to escape from Wong-Chu’s headquarters. Therefore, Iron Man was born.

Tony Stark is egocentric, and he is the emblem of egotism. Before he was detained and asked to invent for Wong-Chu, he thought himself unrivaled: he graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology at a young age of nineteen and inherited Stark Industries from his father. He was gorgeous and there were always beautiful and adoring women surrounding him. However, after he was deprived of his freedom of invention and nearly died, he realized that he was not supreme but actually vulnerable. Thus, Iron Armor is representative of protection for him after finding out himself fragile.

Iron Man showed his debut in #39 in March 1963 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It was “the height of the Cold War” when Stan Lee created the character according to him. Stan Lee said what young readers abominated the most were military-industrial complex, businessmen, and everything related to war. He intended to give himself a dare, so he created Tony Stark, Iron Man. “I thought it would be fun to take the kind of character that nobody would like, none of our readers would like, and shove him down their throats and make them like him,” said Stan Lee in the interview for the first Iron Man movie in 2008. Nevertheless, what he didn’t expect is that the character was extremely popular.

1.2.5 Black Widow

Natasha Romanoff, whose real name is Natalia Alianovna Romanova, is also known as Black Widow. Natasha was an orphan and was sent to be trained in Red Room Academy by the KGB, which is the Soviet agency for foreign intelligence. She was a Soviet agent and an enemy of Avengers but later joined Avengers with her lover, .

4 Are the Avengers Too White? An Analysis on Racism and the Characterization of Marvel’s Avengers

Black Widow was created by Stan Lee and and introduced in April 1964. She is known for her beauty. In Tales of Suspense #52, which is the issue that she was first seen, she used her gorgeous appearance to seduce Iron Man into leaving his lab to help her partner occupy the place. Besides, owing to the training program she took, she has every ability that an agent should possess and is even better than an ordinary agent.

1.2.6 Hawkeye

Because of the brilliant arch skill and keen eyesight, Clinton Francis Barton, who is always called Clint in Avengers, has another renowned name, Hawkeye. After Hawkeye’s father died in the car accident, he and his brother were adopted. However, having a vicious stepfather made them escape to the circus and became one of the members of it. Hence, Hawkeye turned to be a marksman.

Hawkeye was first seen in Tales of Suspense #57, which was published in September 1964. In the issue, he witnessed how Iron Man saved people and seized their attention, so he decided to be the hero like Iron Man.

1.3 Literature Review

1.3.1 American Society: How it really works?

At the beginning of Chapter 14: Racial Inequality of American Society: How It Really Works (Erik & Joel, 2011), it defines the word “race” as a social category but not a biological one that is always misunderstood and “racism” as “intersection of racial classification with oppression.” (p.1)

The article reports the brief history of racial oppression since European settlers landed on North America. Displacement and genocide were the major ways for the invaders to solve the conflicts between them and the indigenous, when the settlers entered North America. They justified their behavior, claiming that aboriginal people were “savage” and did not really “own” the land (p.4). As time went by, Africans were imported into America and became the slave of white Americans. Though slavery ended with the in 1865, its impact continued lastingly. It was slavery that contributed to a form of racist belief that the black is intellectually and morally inferior to the white. Despite of the fact that such beliefs have been increasingly challenged, the relationship between races still has been affected to the present. After the slavery ended, African Americans were given another identity called the Second-Class citizenship, which refers to “a situation in which some categories of citizens have fewer rights than others.” (p.7) They were still treated unfairly; for example, there were some harsh laws enacted to prevent blacks from seeking better employment.

The situation continued until the Second World War. As a nation fighting against Nazi due to its

5 Are the Avengers Too White? An Analysis on Racism and the Characterization of Marvel’s Avengers extreme racist, the United States was aware that the racism in the country made itself discredited. Not only the Second World War but the Cold War made the United States give considerably greater national support to the civil rights movement as “ of the free world” (p.10). By the late 1950s and early 1960s, the government began to subsidize these efforts, contributing to the landmark of civil rights legislation in the middle of 1960s. Nevertheless, there were still some repercussions of the legal forms of second class citizenship.

The article also roughly mentions the situations of other non-White in the United States. There were severe restrictions on immigration enacted in 1924, which prohibited legal immigration from Asia, Africa and Latin America. As a result, the United States was “almost entirely white to legal immigration” from 1924 to 1965 (Erik & Rogers, 2011, p.11).

2. Creation of the characters

2.1 Captain America

In 1938, Orson Welles triggered a nationwide panic by his broadcast “War of the Worlds,” which is a realistic radio drama reporting that mysterious creatures are invading New York City. Additionally, during 1929 to 1941, the world economy was engulfed by the Great Depression. The Great Depression contributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany (Sutton, 1976); however, the United States lacked a leader like Hitler to boost its citizens’ confidence despite the efforts put by President Herbert Hoover and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Therefore, Captain America, the hero who American people needed, materialized in 1941, when it was referred to as a “scary time” by his creator, Jack Kirby in the interview in 1998.

To be a patriotic hero protecting the United States, Captain America was characterized as a powerful soldier. Yet, being strong is not enough. In the story, before becoming muscular Captain America, Steve was infirm and could not join the army. The plot indicated that the United States could be refreshed and be more flourished after undergoing the Great Depression. It was Captain America that reflected the burning desire of American people and made them have faith in their government in that “scary time.”

As a symbol of the United States, Captain America was portrayed as a white person, which is the ethnic group that the majority of American citizens belong to. According to the report of American Census Bureau in 1975, almost 90% of the American people were white during 1930s-1940s. Besides, in the era when Captain America was created, African Americans were seen intellectually and morally inferior to white Americans. People from Asia, Africa and Latin America were even banned to immigrate to the United States. As a consequence, there is no surprise that Joe Simon and Jack Kirby chose a white to represent American.

6 Are the Avengers Too White? An Analysis on Racism and the Characterization of Marvel’s Avengers

2.2 The Hulk

At the moment the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Japan in 1945 for the quest of peace, the whole world saw the potentiality of nuclear weapons and began to fear the power of it, while the bomb was widely agreed as a necessary means to end the war. At the same time, either the United States or the Soviet Unions started to develop nuclear weapons aggressively, and the numbers of their nuclear stockpiles began to soar from 1955 (Holloway, 2010). The Hulk was first introduced in 1962 when the whole world was inundated in “nuclear anxiety.” Interestingly, the reason why Hulk was created is that Stan Lee wanted to create a “lovable monster.”

In the era when the Hulk, also known as the atomic scientist, Bruce Banner, was created, scientists were the only ones who knew the nuclear power the most and used it most regularly. Enrico Fermi was regarded as the most distinguishing scientists in 1950s. He discovered induced radiation from slow neutrons, and it was the initiation of the further research of nuclear fission. Fermi was an Italian American. Besides, the other significant atomic scientists including J. Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and James Chadwick, were all white, since most of the people who could receive higher education in the countries invested on nuclear weapons and energy were white people. For instance, it was until October 1963 that the first black student was enrolled in the University of Mississippi. Furthermore, immigrants from Asia, Africa, and Latin America were even considered to be illegitimate until 1965. As a result, it was scarce to see any non-white scholars in the atomic science field when the Hulk was created.

2.3 Thor

The reason why Stan Lee created Thor is that he wished to create a hero stronger than the strongest person. Though Captain America had boosted people’s confidence during the Great Depression, with the emergence of new technology, Americans needed a new hero who was stronger than any other people to protect them. This was because in the 1960s, the tension between the United States and the Soviet Union gradually escalated to the height. In May 1960, the Soviet Union shot a United States U-2 reconnaissance plane down and captured the pilot on it as a hostage to exchange for a Soviet spy captured by the United States government and started to build a wall in Berlin in the following year.

Stan Lee chose Thor, the God in the Norse Mythology to be in the comics for he thought the Roman and the Greece Mythology were too common. Therefore, as a North Germanic God, Thor was portrayed as a white. Another reason why these Mythologies in Europe could be the options for Stan Lee was that it was hard for him to be familiar with the Asian, Latin American and African Mythologies since immigrants from those areas were banned and couldn’t share their cultures with American people. What’s more, the people in Europe had the similar lifestyle to that of the American people, which led to the similarities of their Mythologies, and there is no doubt that correspondences

7 Are the Avengers Too White? An Analysis on Racism and the Characterization of Marvel’s Avengers could resonate with the public.

2.4 Iron Man

In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crises began, and the tension between the United States and the Soviet Union peaked to the height. During that time, what people hated the most was everything related to war, to say, military industrial complex and businessmen. So, Stan Lee created Iron Man, a businessman possessing an industrial company, since he said he wanted to challenge himself and compel the readers to accept the character they wouldn’t like. To his surprise, the readers not only accepted him but were enchanted by him.

In the 1950s to 1960s, 99.5% of the American population was made up of the white and the black or African American (Census Bureau, 2002); nevertheless, at that time, most of the black-owned businesses were small mom-and-pop operations (Boston, 2001). In other words, the majority of the entrepreneurs were white. Hence, as a businessman in a multinational industrial company, it’s reasonable for Tony Stark to be characterized as a white.

2.5 Black Widow

In 1963, the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom ratified a limited nuclear test-ban treaty, barring all nuclear testing above the ground, which could be considered a reconciliation of the Cold War. However, there were still some actions taken by either side in secret. More and more proxy wars took place; for example, the Vietnam War. Black Widow could be the symbol of this kind of war. She didn’t attack her enemies directly but seduced them or others to do so. Same as Black Widow, the United States and the Soviet Union instigated other countries to fight rather than declared the war on each other.

Besides, the plot that Black Widow joined Avengers also expressed Americans’ hope for the Soviet Union to cave in, which indicated the nationalism of American people. Black Widow was convinced to become the member of Avengers by Hawkeye; to some extent, it implied the United States could make all its opponents or enemies become its ally.

2.6 Hawkeye

People’s opinions differ when it comes to the reason why Stan Lee introduced Hawkeye to Marvel comic. Some assume that it might be because Stan Lee wanted to create a character like Green Arrow, who is the character that is also a marksman in DC Comics. Others claim that he was created because the writer of Avengers, , liked to make minor characters become a major one and planned to do so for Hawkeye.

8 Are the Avengers Too White? An Analysis on Racism and the Characterization of Marvel’s Avengers

However, the two opinions both are not related to his race. Back to the era when he was first introduced, there were no significant events that may affect his race and even his characterization.

III. Conclusion

Stan Lee, who was the former editor, writer, and publisher of Marvel, once said: Marvel has always been and always will be a reflection of the world right outside our window. That world may change and evolve but the one thing that will never change is the way we tell our stories of heroism. (2017)

Indeed, Marvel doesn’t only reflect the world’s situation but also show the racial inequality in the American Society. At the same time, readers can see the civil rights in the United States are progressing from the change of the characterization of Captain America, who was created before the Second War World and the other fellow characters, who were created after the Second World War.

Before the Second World War, when Captain America was created, racism was still a rampant problem. Non-White people were treated unfairly, and they didn’t have the right to stand on the street to make the whole nation hear their voice. Captain America was representative of the American value and identity. Moreover, he was created to lead the United States. Captain America could be viewed as an extreme racist within the characters of Avengers, and it reflects the social atmosphere of the era when he was created.

After the Second World War, the United States entered a new phase in the Cold War. Due to its policy, the government started to alleviate the domestic racist problem, which led to the characters created in the period were not created with intensive racism like Captain America. Racism still existed in the United States, though. Therefore, the readers could still find the white characters like the Hulk, who was originally a scientist, and Iron Man, who was a billionaire owning an industrial company belonging to the high socioeconomic status, which refers to those who can get higher education and higher income than others. Besides, racist problems also contributed to the unfamiliarity towards non- White culture. As a consequence, Stan Lee chose Thor in the Norse Mythology to be drawn in his comic. As for Black Widow, a Soviet agent, she was portrayed as a villain in her debut. The Soviet Unions was also regarded as “villain” for America people. Besides, her advent also indicated the phenomenon that the United States and the Soviet Unions didn’t declare a war on each other directly, which was the proxy war and expressed the American people’s hope to make the Soviet Union surrender.

Although most of the characters in Avengers reflect the American society and the world situation at the time when they were created, Hawkeye was an exception that he was a minor character who was not necessary to be portrayed as a white. Nevertheless, he is still a vividly illustrated character loved by readers in the four corners of the world. Therefore, future research could be suggested to dig

9 Are the Avengers Too White? An Analysis on Racism and the Characterization of Marvel’s Avengers into the reason why the characters were portrayed as a white if their characterization were not affected by the significant events and the society’s atmosphere when they were created. Another suggestion is that the scope of research could be expanded to other characters that are not in Avengers, like the Black Panther.

IV. Reference

1. Bhopal, R., & Donaldson, L. (1998). White, European, Western, White, or what? Inappropriate labeling in research on race, ethnicity, and health. American Journal of Public Health, 88(9), 1303–1307. 2. Boston, T. D. (2011). Chapter 9: Trends in Minority-Owned Businesses. In America Becoming Racial Trends and Their Consequences, Volume II. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 3. Gibson, C., & Jung, K. (2002). Historical census statistics on population totals by race, 1790 to 1990, and by Hispanic origin, 1970 to 1990, for the United States, regions, divisions, and states (Working paper No. 56). Census Bureau. 4. Holloway, D. (2010). Nuclear weapons and the escalation of the Cold War, 1945–1962. In M. Leffler & O. Westad (Eds.), The Cambridge History of the Cold War (The Cambridge History of the Cold War, pp. 376-397). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 5. Sutton, A. C. (1976). Wall Street and the rise of Hitler (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). 6. William, P. (2013). Captain America: The epitome of American values and identity (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Arcadia University. 7. Wright, E. O., & Rogers, J. (n.d.). Chapter 14: Racial Inequality. In American Society: How it really works. New York: W. W. Norton

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