Todas las maravillas: the ups and downs of Latinx representation in Marvel Comics from 1975 to 2002

Abstract

In the last decade there has been a boom in the popularity of superheroes. Superhero movies dominate the worldwide box office, turning many of these heroes into a pop culture phenomenon. Today, one can see many children with shirts, bags, cups, and lunchboxes with the images of these characters. This surge in popularity has increased people’s interest in the medium these characters come from, that being comic books. Over the decades creators have tried to make the comic book space more diverse. Non-white heroes like Miles Morales (Ultimate Spiderman) have received increased attention not only in comics but also in cinema and videogames. Characters that were previously white in the original texts are now adapted as people of color on the big screen. For example, the character Namor was originally created in the 1940s as a Caucasian man. He was turned into a Mayan played by Mexican actor Tenoch Huertas for the second Black Panther movie that came out in 2021. These examples are two of the most recent cases. Latinx characters have existed in superhero comics ever since the 1950s. Meaning that they have been present since the beginnings of the superhero genre forming a fundamental part of the history. The purpose of this research project is to trace that history of Latinx characters in Marvel comics from the 1970s to the 2000s with a focus on how these characters have changed over the decades and how the people behind these creations have affected the characters’ portrayal. The characters that the project will focus on are: The White Tiger Héctor Ayala (The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu), the first Latinx superhero in Marvel, and Sunspot Roberto DaCosta (The New Mutants). I will choose one comic from each decade to examine how the portrayal of Latinx characters in Marvel comics have developed. These comics stray away from recurring stereotypes such as gangbangers, drug dealers, servants, and the poor. But that could also just be considered the bare minimum. I also want critically to analyze how the presence of Latinx voices behind the page affects character portrayal. To begin this analysis, I will examine the history of superheroes comics to determine how the medium has developed over the years, as well as highlight some Latinx creators that have worked in the industry over the decades.