What Ethnicity is Lady Shiva?
Every once in awhile a post pops up on tumblr discussing at length what ethnicity Lady Shiva is, mostly in deference to what ethnicity that makes Cassandra Cain. This is not a call-out post, but rather a compilation of facts and my interpretations. I’ve done this before, but the post is now lost to the vast expanse of the internet. It’s worth typing up again.
Lady Shiva has suffered through the years as being ambiguously Asian with enough controversial and circuitous backstories that we are provided with both an abundance and lack of an answer. In order to help you all out, I’m just going to provide a case-by-case analysis on Shiva’s appearances and outfits in order to discern her ethnicity. Associated panels posted below; special thank to @judgeanon for reading through this.
TLDR; Lady Shiva was created specifically as a mixture between different Eastern cultures to act as a foil to the more traditionally American heroes. She has been portrayed with mainly Japanese and Chinese influences, but also importantly Southeast Asian, Korean and South Asian references. I firmly believe Lady Shiva is Chinese, but there is evidence to be argued for each and every one of the ethnicities/regions listed above. (My headcanon, what I believe to be the most probable backstory she has can be found by searching ** in this extremely long post.)
Note: being Chinese is not an ethnicity, but rather a nationality. I’m using the main ethnic group in China, the Han, and the word Chinese interchangeably. That being said, there has never been any indication that she is or is not Han vs any other ethnic group native to China.
She originally appeared in Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #5 in 1975. Going by the name Sandra Woo-san, she appears after the death of her sister Carolyn Woosan in order to enact revenge. She eventually become swayed by the allure of violence and adopts the name Lady Shiva, citing that she is named “for Shiva, the Hindu goddess of destruction!” This is unfortunate, of course, because Shiva in Hindu Mythology is more commonly known as Lord Shiva and is masculine. If you were wondering whether Shiva ascribed to Hindu mythology, I do believe this answers the question.
Like other forms of kungfu in popular culture (exploitation films, Bruce Lee, etc.), there is not really a concentration on describing where Shiva came from. Here are a few facts about her appearance. I have not read all of these issues, but I got most my information from scans.
In this appearance, she is the niece of a man named Mr. Shiruto (a Japanese last name)
In her very first panel, it appears that she is wearing a dress derivative of a red Chinese qipao
She goes to adopt an outfit that resembles a karate gi. Karate is a Japanese martial art, but it is also important to notice that other Asian cultures have adopted similar outfits (Korea, China and other Southeast Asian countries as well). This fact can be disputed as I’m not really sure what this costume is supposed to look like.
Her only weapons were a “samurai sword” (better known as a katana) and throwing stars (also known as shurikens).
Her sister is the goddaughter of Sensei Otomo/O-Sensei (a clearly Japanese name and title)
This may seem obvious, but the title of the book “Kung-fu” is Chinese.
Even her name is strange. The last name Woosan is odd in that Woo/Wu is typically a Chinese/Korean last name, but -san is a Japanese honorific. It would not typically be attached to a last name in the way like the comic described.
Having a English first name/Asian last name is very common in places like Hong Kong, but mainland China, Japan and Korea (basically anywhere where English can be taught in schools) often adopt this same philosophy.
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We are also treated to this panel, showing off Shiva’s home. Ignoring her incredibly long torso for just one moment, we see a ridiculous amount of knives and a lot of confusing details. I’m not sure what language the writing on the lamp beside her is meant to be, so if anyone can answer that– please help me out. In particular, I can see a Indonesian kris knife in the background, a Chinese dao, bangles like those worn in Hindu culture. There’s an vibe to it that I would classify as ‘Arabic’, supported somewhat by the patterns of fabric and window.
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I don’t think Dennis O’Neil or Ric Estrada meant anything by this confusing jumble of influences. I attribute it to being well-intentioned but lacking of knowledge. However, most of her actions and influences point to her being Japanese or, less likely, a mix between Chinese and Japanese.
In other words, she got off to a rocky start.
While all this is interesting, Shiva would undergo a very large change in her second appearance, The Question, also written by Dennis O’Neil in 1987. This is probably the most prolific early appearance of Lady Shiva and most likely established her as a recurring character in the DC mythos. If you have not read it, I strongly recommend you pick it up. It is one of my favorite comics ever.
Entitled The Question Vol 1: Zen and the Art of Violence it saw a focus on the development of Shiva’s character, but not actually her heritage. At times, we would see a favoring towards South Asian culture: she is depicted with a bindi, wearing bangles and, of course, calling herself Shiva.
It is interesting to note that she can also be seen wearing bangles in some of her 70s appearances as well.
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However, this is only short-lived. Her appearances aside from these stay true to her East Asian sphere of influence. She writes a letter in complete Mandarin- possibly the most compelling evidence for her ethnicity to be Chinese. She maintains her ties to Sensei Otomo and, while mainly depicted focusing on hand-to-hand combat, uses another traditional Japanese weapon- a sai.
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Even the title references her connection to Japan/China: Zen is a Japanese term for a branch of Buddhism common in Japan, China, Vietnam and Korea.
I personally think her beliefs correspond more with Tao, supported in anecdotal evidence in Blackest Night written by O’Neil and Greg Rucka in 2009. Other than philosophy, Tao is more inherently Chinese. Because this mindset is so specific to Chinese culture, I have a hard time seeing Shiva being anything else.
(( I believe the term Zen is used as the title, because it is more widely known in Western culture and has a connotation to it that Tao does not (due to unfamiliarity))
For these reasons, I strongly see a shift towards this incarnation of Shiva being mostly Chinese.
It is also interesting to note that her appearance here is markedly similar to wuxia fiction, also a uniquely Chinese element. Also called knight-errant literature, wuxia fiction typically showcases a character with a strong moral code though ambiguous morality performing superhuman tasks through an understanding of the chi- a term encompassing the mind and body. This describes Lady Shiva exactly. Most stories involving her draw from this genre. If you’ve read any of her appearances, it is clear she takes her cues from hallmarks of Chinese literature, Chinese martial arts and other culture-specific details. Dennis O’Neil’s Question run is the beginning of that.
Dennis O’Neil also writes her in Fables a crossover with the Question, Green Arrow and Batman, but I am saving the analysis of that for later as I personally see it a resolution to the question of Shiva’s ethnicity. In it, Shiva cares for Sensei Otomo as they complete one last quest together, teaching each of the three heroes a valuable lesson.
It is pretty much the last of any of Shiva’s main roles until the turn of the century. After this point (1988-1998ish), Lady Shiva begins to drift incredibly both in character, costume design, appearance. She begins to become more stereotypically ‘Asian’, becoming the archetype of a dragon lady and mainly serving to train heroes rather than have plotlines of her own. You can see a variety of her appearances below.
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She appears in A Death in the Family in 1988 as a possibility to be Jason Todd’s mother (the fact that she is even considered has an interesting effect on Jason’s ethnicity). She wears a black jumpsuit/red go-go boot combo that doesn’t really say anything about her background. She also appears in Robin vol 1 in 1991 with a variety of outfits.
She uses nunchaku, gives Tim his bo staff (both Japanese names for weapons that are used in Japan/Korea/China/Vietnam) and also fights with escrima sticks. However, by this time, it is established that she prides herself in going around the world to learn martial arts and weapon techniques indigenous to specific regions, so this does not truly make any statements.
Most of her appearances in this time usually have her wearing the same outfit as in A Death in the Family. Birds of Prey: Manhunt in 1996 shows her in clothes that are clearly based on stereotypical Chinese fashion, note the red color, the mandarin collar, the hanging fabric..etc.
Her most notable appearance during this time is in KnightsEnd (1994), the third chapter of the Knightfall Trilogy. Here she trains Batman after Bane has broken his back and helps Bruce to regain his skills. Her costume is not notable, same as DinF and BOP:Rebirth, but she gives Batman the mask of Tengu, which Wikipedia describes as a “creature found in Japanese folk religion and are also considered a type of Shinto god”. She is also depicted next to Japanese characters on the cover. I assume this means she is meant to Japanese.