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        • Return to British Rule
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        • Planning of Japan invasion to USSR
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        • Establishing Manchukuo
        • The Development of Unit 731
        • Plan Kantokuen and Bacteriological Warfare
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        • Three Stages of Interrogations
        • Lasting Impacts
      • Marutas of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • How did Ishii Shiro start unit 731?
        • A Beta Testing Site
        • Establishing Pingfan
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Racialized “Superheroes” and Villains in DC Comics During WWII

7/12/2019

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by Yesenia Olmos
Picture
A superhero defeats evil supervillains in the name of justice, or do they? Superheroes offer us the perfect revenge and fantasy without the constraints of the law. American pop culture, for example, is obsessed with this idea of superheroes, this the U.S. government knew.
(continued) The U.S. funded a government agency accordingly and named it ‘War Writers Board’ (WWB) in (1941) that introduced western “history” into comics to entertain, shape and sway Americans' opinions during wartime. Along with (WWB), Detective Comics (DC) writers and cartoonists brought to life war stories that would captivate an audience that had just suffered the post-traumatic stress of WWI and the beginning of the Great Depression. Comic books were geared towards all ages, that is what made them so popular and alarming. Acknowledging the time these comics were printed, there was sure to be wartime hysteria, (yellow peril) especially directed towards their enemies the Axis powers.  It will be hard to say by the end of this blog if the previous statement is true or only a prospector's reality. 

The beginning of the twentieth century would be known as the “Golden Age” of “innocence”. This was a time used metaphorically to describe the “innocence” of America or as an ironic description of the horrors of war. The period of the “Golden Age” of comic books would begin in (1938-1946) with the “first” American superhero, Superman. Accordingly, there had to be supervillains, America's wartime enemies, such as the “Japs”. The Japanese were often shown in comics as villains with yellow-tinted skin, pointed devil ears, long jaws, buck teeth, and sometimes fangs. By the 19th century, Americans had stereotyped the Asian population with the racist color-metaphor “yellow peril”. The term is integral to the xenophobic aspect of colonialism, saying the peoples of East Asia were an existential danger to the Western World. Paradoxically, they also tried to emphasize racial tolerance systematically to seem inclusive as opposed to their enemies abroad. 
Picture“The Claw Returns” Asian villain aka “God of Hate” Silver Streak Comics (DC) (1939)
The Claw was a superhuman monster obsessed with America's complete destruction. The Claw orders a wave of “slaves” aka (Asian immigrants) to invade the U.S. The Claw was purposefully colored yellow, to represent the Yellow Peril a racist term that originated in the 19th century after Chinese immigrants moved to the West. This racist color-metaphor related to the people of East Asia as an existential danger to the Western World. 

PictureLeader of the Black Dragon Society, the main villain of All-Star Comics (DC) #12 (1942)
​Black Dragon Society was created with the goal of driving the Russian Empire out of East Asia. The Black Dragon Society was a nationalistic right-wing military group in Japan, in the late 20s and 30s. During WWII Americans invoked wartime hysteria to sway the youth to think of the enemy as less than and incomparable to the American “intelligence”. Again, we see an illusion of how the American people saw their enemy.

PictureSuperhero The Atom, going “undercover” in All-Star Comics (DC) #12 (1942)
The Atom disguised as Japanese miner. This was a way in which (WWB) along with DC cartoonists vilified wartime enemies. This picture is very racialized, with Atom slanting his eyes to exemplify wartime hysteria. 

Beginning in 1938, the term nomos would come into context. Robert Cover, a law professor at Yale himself said, “nomos is a normative universe where we constantly create and maintain a world of right and wrong, of lawful and unlawful, of valid and void.” The introduction of superheroes created nomos. Unfortunately, some of the American population could not assimilate fact from fiction. The purpose of the (WWB) was to create hyper-nationalism amongst the American population while promoting inaccurate stereotypes of the enemy. 

Starting December 7, 1941, the U.S. joined the war after a naval attack on Pearl Harbor, HI was bombed by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Comic books then began to emphasize the importance of going to war to defeat the “evil” that was abrupting the peace and justice of America. Comic books essentially became political media for all ages. It is important to realize that these comic books were being read by children who would grow up to be voters, soldiers, and officials of society for the next future generation. 

Law is very different from justice. Law is associated with the dominant. While justice is associated with the person who escaped the bonds of the dominant. Greek philosopher, Plato himself said, “justice may be something apart from the law”. Therefore, superheroes became providers of justice. What I am trying to get at is, children, adults, soldiers reading these comics believed that America was the purveyors of justice, trying to defeat communism and fascism abroad. Comic books written during the “Golden Age” helped shape the modern American culture. It is important not to underestimate the impact of propaganda absorbed by the youth.
​
Many associate the end of the “Golden Age” with the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since then, comic book creators began to create more inclusive superheroes, such as the ones below: 
PictureCassandra Cain aka “Batgirl” (Chinese-American)
Cassandra Cain was born for experimental purposes, she became a trained assassin. She was given up by her mother (Lady Shiva) to her father (David Cain) who was part of the League of Assassins and trained her. She is Chinese-American and stands at 5’5, she is currently 19 years old. A vigilante, Cassandra decides to fight for what she believes in. She is later introduced to the Bat-Family and taken in as an adoptive daughter to Bruce Wayne, where she becomes “Batgirl”. 

Picture
Kai-Ro, also known as Green Lantern, was a Tibetan-American. The ring chose him after he showed remarkable maturity and wisdom. He fought alongside the Justice League, where he advocated for more peaceful resolutions. Although Kai-Ro’s age is not known, it is assumed he is very young and a pariah for his insightful thinking. 

Picture
Tatsu Yamashiro was trained at a young age to become an expert in martial arts and a samurai master. The sword that she carries is trapped with the soul of her dead husband and thousands of souls, whom she seeks to help. Katana is most known as a ‘vigilante’ in her role in the ‘Suicide Squad’.  ​

Picture
“I have been called OMAC (One-Machine Attack Construct), but my name is Kevin Kho. I was transformed, without my knowledge and against my will into this monstrous form. And I have no way to change back.” In his civilian identity, however, Kevin is a Cambodian-American scientist working on genetic research. 


Youth will always be targeted as the “weak” link to society. With undeveloped ideas and political views, the youth is always easily swayed. However, this can be changed. The only thing that might have the power to awaken the youth is to study history. History allows one to become a critical thinker, it allows you to decipher your own opinions based on facts. If the youth of today learned inclusive world history there could be a chance of understanding the world without inaccurate stereotypes. Superheroes may fight for justice, but the creators are the ones who form the conscience of what is right and wrong. So, then do superheroes truly fight for justice? Or only in what they believe is justice. Wars do not start on the battlefield, they begin at the home front. I would like to end this with a quote many Batman fans would recognize. 

“Why do we fall? So that we can learn to pick ourselves back up.” – Batman  

References
  1. Bainbridge, J. (2015). “The Call to do Justice”: Superheroes, Sovereigns and the State During Wartime.”  International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue Internationale de Sémiotique Juridique, 745–763.
  2. David Dellecese. (2018). “Comic Books As American Propaganda During World War II”, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, 2018.
  3. Hirsch, P. (2014). “This Is Our Enemy”: The Writers’ War Board and Representations of Race in Comic Books, 1942–1945.” Pacific Historical Review, 448–486. 
  4. Siegel, Jerry, Joe Shuster, Wayne Boring, Jack Burnley, Paul Cassidy, Ed Dobrotka, Don Komisarow, Leo Nowak, Frederic E. Ray, and John Sikela. (2017) Superman, the Golden Age. Volume Three. 
  5. “DC Comics Inc”. (2019) DC. https://www.dccomics.com/.

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  • Home
    • About >
      • FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions
    • Support Us >
      • Projects you can support! >
        • Distributing Books
        • Presenting at 112th Annual Meeting of Pacific Coast Branch
        • Summer Research Relocation Fund
    • Contact
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      • Black Hearts (2021)
    • Blog
    • Podcast: Forgotten History
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    • Summer 2017 Internship >
      • 2017 Summer Showcase & Fundraiser
  • Books
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  • Resource Page
    • Supplementary Research Guides >
      • Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Background of Biochemical Warfare Development
        • Imperial Japan's Chemical Warfare Development Program
        • Map of Unit 731
        • Personnel of Unit 731
        • Duties of Unit 731
        • Human Experimentation
        • [GRAPHIC] Germ Warfare Attacks
        • Cover Ups After the War
        • [OLD] Cover Ups After the War
      • Philippines' Resistance - Guide >
        • Philippines World War II Timeline
        • The Japanese Invasion & Conquest of the Philippines
        • Bataan Death March
        • Formation of Underground Philippines Resistance
        • Supplies of the Guerrilla Fighters
        • The Hukbalahap
        • Hunter's ROTC
        • Marking's Guerrillas
        • United States Army Forces in the Philippines of Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL)
        • The Aetas
        • Chinese and Filipino-Chinese Nationalist Guerrilla Units
        • The Female Faces of the Philippine Guerrillas
      • Rising Sun Flag - Guide >
        • History of the Rising Sun Flag
        • Atrocities Committed Under the Flag
        • Rising Sun Flag in Pop Culture
      • Pinay Guerrilleras - Guide >
        • Japanese Occupation of the Philippine Islands: Pinays Answering the Call to Arms
        • The Fierce Heneralas and Kumanders of the Hukbalahap Guerrillas
        • Amazons of the Pacific Theater
        • Filipina American Veterans: Recovering the Extraordinary Feats of the Ordinary Pinays
        • The Legacy of the Asian Women Soldier
      • Fall of Singapore - Guide >
        • Singapore World War II Timeline
        • History of World War II in the Pacific
        • History of Singapore
        • Japan's Conquest in Asia
        • Japan's Invasion of the Malay Peninsula
        • Sook Ching Massacre
        • Double Tenth Incident
        • Social Changes and Challenges in Singapore
        • Voices from Syonan
        • Return to British Rule
      • Three Years and Eight Months - Guide >
        • Hong Kong before WW2
        • Buildup to World War 2
        • The Battle of Hong Kong
        • Life during 3 Years and 8 Months
        • East River Column Guerrilla Fighters
        • Prisoners of War Camps
        • End of Japanese Occupation
        • War Crimes Trials
      • Siamese Sovereignty - Guide >
        • The Land of Smiles
        • The Thai-Japanese Relationship
        • Phibun’s Domestic and International Policies
        • The Free Thai Resistance Movement
        • Post WW2 Aftermath of Thailand
      • The Khabarovsk War Crimes Trial - Guide >
        • Defendants of Khabarovsk War Crime
        • The Japanese Empire and USSR in WW2
        • The Employment of the Bacteriological Weapon in the War
        • Planning of Japan invasion to USSR
      • Unit 731 Cover-up : The Operation Paperclip of the East - Guide >
        • Establishing Manchukuo
        • The Development of Unit 731
        • Plan Kantokuen and Bacteriological Warfare
        • The Downfall of the Japanese WW2 Era
        • Three Stages of Interrogations
        • Lasting Impacts
      • Marutas of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • How did Ishii Shiro start unit 731?
        • A Beta Testing Site
        • Establishing Pingfan
        • Experiences at the Human Experimentation Complex
        • Vivisection at the Unit 731
        • Anta Testing Grounds
        • Overall Advance from the Laboratory Creations
        • The End of the War
      • Prince Konoe Memoir - Guide >
        • Who is Prince Konoe?
        • Preparation to Tripartite Pact
        • Emperor Hirohito and Prince Konoe
        • The End of Prince Konoe
      • Competing Empires in Burma - Guide >
        • What was the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • When did the China-Burma-India Theater Happen?
        • Who Fought in the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • The Second Sino Japanese War
        • Japan in the South
        • Operation U-Go
      • Battle of Shanghai - Guide >
        • The Battle of Shanghai. Background
        • Shanghai Before War
        • The First Battle of Shanghai 1932
        • Battle of Shanghai 1937
        • Aftermath of Battle for Shanghai
      • Ishi Shiro - Guide >
        • History of Biological Weapons and The Young Ishii Shiro
        • Establishment in Manchuria
        • Pingfang District - Harbin
        • Failures and Corruption
        • Post War
      • Taiwan The Israel of the East - Guide >
        • Background of Formosa
        • Industrialization of Japan
        • China During WWII
        • Taiwan under Kuomintang
        • New Taiwanese National Identity
      • Seeking Justice for Biological Warfare Victims of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Introduction of Wang Xuan
        • Colonel Memorandum
        • The Beginning of Biological Warfare
        • The Bacteriological Warfare on China
        • Victims in Zhejiang’s Testimonies
        • After the War
      • Rice and Revolution - Guide >
        • The French Colonial Period
        • Anti-Colonial Resistance
        • The Rise of the Communist Movement
        • Imperial Japan’s Entry into Indochina
        • The Portents of Famine
        • The Famine (1944-45)
        • Legacy of the 1944-45 Vietnam Famine
      • Clash of Empires - Guide >
        • Japan’s Imperialist Origins
        • Japan’s Competition against the West: Nanshin-ron and Hokushin-ron
        • Japanese Imperialism Through the Lens of French Indochina
        • The U.S.-Japan Relations and the Pearl Harbor Attack
    • Lesson Plans >
      • Reparations
      • Ethics in Science
      • Writing the Narrative of a Pinay Fighter
      • Privilege Journal
      • Environmental Injustices
      • Female Guerrillas
      • Hunter's ROTC
      • Scientific Advancements
      • Seeking Justice: A Humanities Lesson Plan
      • The Hukbalahap
      • Trading Immunity
      • Bataan Death March
      • Biochemical Warfare Development
Contribute