Racist superman comics

[Reubin]

I am doing a school project on the representation of race in popular superhero comics and need help finding the most notorious examples of racism. Thanks!

[Kuwagaton]

The first thing is that I'm reluctant to forward something like Superman #12 as just racism. That really doesn't take the attitudes involved or cultural understandings into context, and I don't think that label is honest. There was also a Japanese villain called the Leer in war time, and while that was a definitely deliberate (whether or not less exaggerated stereotypes matter), a reasonable amount of that war time ugliness was not based on race specifically.

One thing I think is also worth pointing out is the re appropriation of Ching Lung in the New Super-man comic.

[TheMaker1610]

You are most likely to find examples of racism in the Golden Age Captain Marvel books uh

[manwhohaseverything]

does this count?i mean,it's not exactly racism but war propaganda

[DochaDocha]

does this count?i mean,it's not exactly racism but war propaganda

Consider the following:

Japan was not our only enemy during WWII. What kind of war propaganda was created against the Germans and Italians? Did this war propaganda caricature German or Italian traits the way this particular propaganda tried to caricature Japanese traits? Were people saying "pop a WOP" the way Supes says "slap a Jap"?

It's important to look at the content and context of war propaganda and look for racial context. I'm not a historian, but based on looking at Google for 10 minutes, I'd say this particular cover expresses the artist's underly racial bias. Hitler was the face of the German enemy. Anti-Nazi propaganda often focused on Hitler himself, and caricatures of Hitler focused on his specific physical traits. The face of the Japanese enemy seemed to focus less on specific individuals and the propaganda focused largely on dehumanizing caricatures of Japanese people, with highly exaggerated features. And pejoratives aside, the fact that it's just naming a people in general instead of specific leaders in charge of the military decisions, like Hitler or Mussolini, kind of says a lot in itself. It's hard for me to say this particular cover isn't racially driven on top of focusing on our WWII enemy.

I suppose I would describe it as that the anti-Japanese sentiment in that cover is largely based on being anti-Japan vs. anti-Japanese people, but the context is that the creator's (and probably Americans' at large) view of Japanese was already somewhat low. My initial conclusion is this is racist.

[Sacred Knight]

While true Japan was not America's only enemy in the war, also in the sake of full context its gotta be noted it was the enemy that hit closest to home. They attacked directly, on American home soil, something the Nazi's or any of the other Axis Powers hadn't done yet. For those not directly overseas in conflict but at home in America, Japan was the more clear and defined bad guy. Don't get me wrong, I think it is quite racist, but just pointing out one other reason why Japan was more the face of the enemy in regards to Americans over Germans or Italians, etc.

[Kuwagaton]

Yeah I really think Pearl Harbor would have made it unique. The unfortunate incidence of Asians drawn grotesquely isn't something you can pin on Superman comics, keeping in mind that the very unfortunate cover to Action 58 had nothing to do with the story.

It's unfortunate that it still goes on culturally. I see all sorts of brazen, indignant misgivings of Muslims attributed to the WTC from 17 years ago.

Here is the Leer. I mean he's not drawn attractively in the least, but it's not the type of caricature you mostly saw. And the story also mentioned that his own face had been slightly distorted, hence the moniker.