Katana (Tatsu Yamashiro) Appreciation 2020

[Electricmastro]

An appreciation thread for Katana, who first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #200 (July, 1983).

1983:



1984:



1985:

[Electricmastro]

1991:



1993:



1994:

[Electricmastro]

2009:



2013:



2020:

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Anyone like her appearances in Beware the Batman?

[Restingvoice]

I really like her New 52 suit except for that big Japanese flag on her forehead. It's just so... cliche.
Has her sword always contain her husband's soul? Since when?

[Digifiend]

Since forever. That was part of her origin as told in the original Batman and the Outsiders book.

[Raijin]

I really like her New 52 suit except for that big Japanese flag on her forehead. It's just so... cliche.
Has her sword always contain her husband's soul? Since when?

Having pride in where you’re from is cliche?

[Electricmastro]

Having pride in where you’re from is cliche?

Yeah, I don’t see it as anymore out of place than Captain America wearing colors of the American flag for example.

[j9ac9k]

Yeah, I don’t see it as anymore out of place than Captain America wearing colors of the American flag for example.

But Captain America's whole thing is that he stands for America. It's not like you'd expect every American hero to wear red white and blue. Katana just happens to be Japanese - her nationality isn't really her identity, so to have that there is more reminiscent of a time when any hero from another place or ethnicity was branded with that as being their defining trait second to their powerset. (if not their primary characteristic)

[Electricmastro]

From Detective Comics #986 (October, 2018). Art by Philippe Briones.

[John Venus]

Katana had the strongest emotional moments during Barr/Aparo's original Outsiders run.

[John Venus]

2009:

IMO, this is her best costume.

[Dylan Davison]

IMO, this is her best costume.

I like that costume too, but the newer costume in Outsiders/SS is pretty dang sleek. I love simple costume designs like that.

[lemonpeace]

But Captain America's whole thing is that he stands for America. It's not like you'd expect every American hero to wear red white and blue. Katana just happens to be Japanese - her nationality isn't really her identity, so to have that there is more reminiscent of a time when any hero from another place or ethnicity was branded with that as being their defining trait second to their powerset. (if not their primary characteristic)

I mean, we have people like Spider-Man and Superman, hell Wonder Woman is just based in America and she's draped out in red, white, and blue. the difference between Katana's costume the caricatures you are alluding to is that Katana is a complex character beyond her costume prominently featuring her nationality; her nationality is a part of the cohesive whole. it's a similar thing to when people complain that Black Lightning name puts an emphasis on him being black, even though there is a narrative and socially relevant reason for it. I find a lot of fans have this idea that any non-American or non-white characters putting their race or culture in the forefront is all bad, which is a common misconception with comic fans that's indicative that they don't really understand what was wrong with how media portrayed non-white/non-american characters in the past. the issue wasn't that they're culture was overt in their identity, the issue was that they were limited ONLY to their race or culture, and moreso, that they were limited to stereotypes and caricatures of their race or culture. Katana and Black Lightning take pride in their heritage because their heritage, like in real life, should (and I imagine does) inform their experience as a hero. Black Lightning being forward about his face doesn't suddenly negate the nuance of his character, nor does Katana's mask being reminiscent of the Japanese flag. now if Tatsu started to bruk out into a bunch of concubine "ching chong me so horny" talk while wearing a slutty Japanese flag kimono or if Jeff started toking on menthol cigarettes, purple drank, and ducking child support with his pants hanging off his ass then that's when things are an issue

[j9ac9k]

...the issue wasn't that they're culture was overt in their identity, the issue was that they were limited ONLY to their race or culture, and moreso, that they were limited to stereotypes and caricatures of their race or culture....

Forgive me for cutting out one part of your response but yes, I totally agree. I'm not sure how much you were simply expounding on my thought or if you thought I was making a different point, but that's exactly what I was trying to say. And I do agree that Katana at this point has grown beyond any stereotype, so her having the flag on her mask doesn't rankle my personal sensibilities,(a lot of people have reminders of their heritage tattooed on their bodies out of a sense of pride, so Katana's show of pride seems reasonable to me) but I can see why some might see that as problematic when it reminds people of those older, less enlightened practices of resorting to stereotype as character.

In terms of costumes, her current one might be my fav. I also really liked her look from the Nocenti series even if the grey skin didn't totally make sense.