Um, has Jonah Hex ever met a black person?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I mean, he's wearing a Confederate uniform. Some modern writer must have addressed how weird that is to today's audiences. They wisely sidestepped it completely when Jonah Hex appeared on Legends of Tomorrow, the comics version is still dressed like a soldier on the side of slavery....long after the war ended.

That's...kinda messed up.

[JackDaw]

I mean, he's wearing a Confederate uniform. Some modern writer must have addressed how weird that is to today's audiences. They wisely sidestepped it completely when Jonah Hex appeared on Legends of Tomorrow, the comics version is still dressed like a soldier on the side of slavery....long after the war ended.

That's...kinda messed up.

He fought on the confederate side.

Given his upbringing...and the mores of his time...it wouldn't be a complete nonsense to write him as if he he was a politically correct middle class 21st century American. Thankfully that's not been done to date...which is why he's one of the few really distinct DC characters. In my top ten.

[Celgress]

He fought on the confederate side.

Given his upbringing...and the mores of his time...it wouldn't be a complete nonsense to write him as if he he was a politically correct middle class 21st century American. Thankfully that's not been done to date...which is why he's one of the few really distinct DC characters. In my top ten.

Well put, my friend. It would be like making Red Skull a pacifist who loves everyone. RS is supposed to be vile and Hex is supposed to be what he is.

[Riv86672]

Well put, my friend. It would be like making Red Skull a pacifist who loves everyone. RS is supposed to be vile and Hex is supposed to be what he is.

^^^Well said.

Speaking of Jonah’s outfit, when he was in the future, he wore the colors of The Road Reapers motorcycle gang for nearly the entire 18 issue run. I always wanted that to become a plot point, w. him meeting another Chapter of the gang, and them wondering who in tf he was, or riding into a settlement that had been pillaged by The Reapers in the past, but, it never happened, sadly.

[CaptainLiberty76]

For crying out loud folks, quit trying to find problems where there are NONE! Jonah is fine just as he is--his outfit is fine just as it is. It is a reminder to him of the hardships of his life and to change it because some 21 century people has so little a grasp of the full picture of history is nonsense. Back in my day we understood that while the War Between the States dealt with slavery, we also understood that here was more to it than that one simple issue that all could agree on. There were blacks who willingly fought for the Confederacy--not out of fear of the 'oppressive masters' but as men who fought to defend their way of life (not slavery). There is more to the conflict than many are willing to learn about in our day and age. Just as an aside, for all those who approve the destruction of monuments, memorials and the like, you would do well to learn about an Act of Congress passed in 1958 that designated that he tombstones, monuments and remembrances of Confederate soldiers are the monuments of AMERICAN Veterans (look it up). Therefore, all this so-called 'righteous indignation' against those of the failed Confederacy and their graves is the desecration of the grave and memory of men who bled and died in a horrendous war is spitting in the face of a Veteran of the military of the United States of America.

As to the original question, of course he has, look through his stories and find out for yourself. There is a lot more heart in Jonah Hex than in many in our society today. As the Good Book reminds us, "You have not yet suffered to the point of shedding blood." Those valiant fallen of the Union and of the Confederacy spilled their blood, gave their lives and died. Who are we to say anything? Our responsibility is not a war more than 150 years old; our responsibility is here and now to end prejudice and to treat all others regardless of race, gender or orientation with RESPECT and compassion. Then we are doing something useful. As President Lincoln reminded us that we bear malice toward none and come together as one nation standing for truth and justice for ALL. Sorry for the long post.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Wow, this thread got brought back from the dead? I think we addressed this back in 2016 when I first posted it.

[keeen]

I can at least partially answer this: In All-Star Western #21 by Gray/Palmiotti/Moritat, Booster Gold brings Hex to the future.

- Hex is stopped by a black police officer and expresses nonjudgemental surprise at seeing a "colored fella" with a badge

- Batwing attacks him and refers to him as a "redneck in a racially insensitive costume" before beating him up and taking him to Arkham

I really liked that series, thanks for giving me a reason to flip through a couple issues.

[JackDaw]

I can at least partially answer this: In All-Star Western #21 by Gray/Palmiotti/Moritat, Booster Gold brings Hex to the future.

- Hex is stopped by a black police officer and expresses nonjudgemental surprise at seeing a "colored fella" with a badge

- Batwing attacks him and refers to him as a "redneck in a racially insensitive costume" before beating him up and taking him to Arkham

I really liked that series, thanks for giving me a reason to flip through a couple issues.

Batwing duffed up Jonah? Thankfully time had erased that detail from my memory...mind you one of very few DC series that I will re-read sometime. That and the Jonah Hex series that preceded it, has to be strong contender for best long DC run in last 10 years.

[keeen]

Batwing duffed up Jonah? Thankfully time had erased that detail from my memory...mind you one of very few DC series that I will re-read sometime. That and the Jonah Hex series that preceded it, has to be strong contender for best long DC run in last 10 years.

Out of curiosity, do you recall how when he returns to the past, that 21st century girl he's picked up in the future just abruptly dies? That bothered me so much it actually caused me to re-evaluate my estimation of the whole series! But as you suggested, time heals all wounds, lol.

[JackDaw]

Out of curiosity, do you recall how when he returns to the past, that 21st century girl he's picked up in the future just abruptly dies? That bothered me so much it actually caused me to re-evaluate my estimation of the whole series! But as you suggested, time heals all wounds, lol.

Yes, Gina (Green), I think. She was a wonderful character. Tough call...because it wouldn't have felt right for her and Jonah to split up, or Jonah to stay in 21st century. But without a split what would have happened to dear old Talulah? On balance, the last few issues were a wonderful end to the series...I loved that Jonah avoided the grim fate predicted by the old series, without dis-honouring any of the old tales.

Probably time that I re-read the run...I was scratching my head as i plodded into town last week, trying to remember whether Iron Jaws (the wolf) appeared in the Palmiotti/Gray run....really liked the original Fleisher stories that featured him.

[keeen]

So I'm now going to give you an outsiders point of view and probably offend some Americans in the process, particularly if you work in TV or film scripting.

The hue and cry over Hex wearing his Confederacy uniform is another example of Americans wanting to PC their own history.

A European equivalent would be Romans wandering around showing religious tolerance to Christians and not feeding the to lions and crucifying them. That's what romans did at the time and that should be permissible to show as what they did at the time.

I don't think this is unique to the American psyche...for example, I would imagine that when French media depicts the events surrounding WW2, they focus more on the Resistance than the collaborators, right?

Yes, Gina (Green), I think. She was a wonderful character. Tough call...because it wouldn't have felt right for her and Jonah to split up, or Jonah to stay in 21st century. But without a split what would have happened to dear old Talulah? On balance, the last few issues were a wonderful end to the series...I loved that Jonah avoided the grim fate predicted by the old series, without dis-honouring any of the old tales.

Yeah, I was kind of looking forward to some stories with her adjusting to the past, as he had done to the future. I got the impression they cut that plot thread short with the impeding cancellation and they rushed to get Talulah in the series, so her death came out of nowhere. Hell, I would've rather seen Talulah just shoot the girl in a fit of jealous rage. Seems like something she'd do.

With your recommendations, I'm gonna have to give that series another read as well...maybe it doesn't end as awkwardly as I recall.

[TRS80]

Yes, of course he has. He was sold as a slave to indians, as well. And, he always stands against slavery. Its part of why he went awol. He wears the confederate colors to honor his brothers in arms.

Controversy warning! What you learned in school isn't the whole story.

The civil war was fought over tariffs and states rights. If it was about slavery, then they would have abolished slavery in the union border states as well. To Jonah hex, a born rebel, he was defending the underdog and his home from an oppressive regime. The point is that you can be a proud southerner, a confederate supporter, and be against slavery.

[LordAllMIghty]

Yes, of course he has. He was sold as a slave to indians, as well. And, he always stands against slavery. Its part of why he went awol. He wears the confederate colors to honor his brothers in arms.

Controversy warning! What you learned in school isn't the whole story.

The civil war was fought over tariffs and states rights. If it was about slavery, then they would have abolished slavery in the union border states as well. To Jonah hex, a born rebel, he was defending the underdog and his home from an oppressive regime. The point is that you can be a proud southerner, a confederate supporter, and be against slavery.

I agree you can be a southern and be against slavery but the confederate flag is still considered raciest.

[TRS80]

I agree you can be a southern and be against slavery but the confederate flag is still considered raciest.

Yes. Today the confederate flag has been bastardized into a symbol of racism. But, it wasnt until the second KKK that it became associated with hate mongering. In Jonah's natural time it had a deeper meaning. To my knowledge Jonah Hex never displayed a confederate flag. Just his coat and hat were part of a confederate soldier's uniform. Racists dont go around waving confederate jackets and hats.

[Jim Kelly]

You gotta wonder why, after the war ended, Jonah Hex didn't get in his SUV, swing by the local Walmart and buy himself a hoody and a pair of jeans on his credit card.

Oh right. It was the 19th century and Jonah, being a member of a disgraced army, had little means. And in the 19th century poor folk didn't have a lot of clothes. Jonah would've had to go to a tailor and have himself measured for a new set of clothes to be cut and sewn to order--and he would've had to have some way to pay for that--because a new set of clothes wouldn't come cheap. More likely he would've had to get his clothes third or fourth-hand, re-resold from someone who no longer had use for their clothes, like dead Confederate soldiers.

It seems most likely the whole reason Hex joined the Confederate Army in the first place was because they'd feed and clothe him and put a roof over his head. And the clothes he got in the army were probably of a better quality than anything he'd worn before then in his lifetime.

But hey, 19th century people ought to have had our disposable culture values, where we consume materials at an alarming rate and have no thought for what that does to the planet.