(RNS) — There is no superhero called Irony Man, but if there were, he would now be faced with a mighty problem: tackling an industry that was created by Jews that is now turning on them.
Marvel, the comic book and filmmaking powerhouse whose Captain America and other world-famous characters were created by Jewish writers and artists, is once again being accused of antisemitic acts.
The latest episode involves Sabra, created by Marvel in 1980 as an Israeli superheroine trained by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, and gifted with superpowers such as the ability to heal others. Sabra, whose civilian identity is Ruth Bat-Seraph, sports a white costume prominently featuring a Star of David, the six-pointed icon that is a common symbol for both Judaism and the Jewish state.
Marvel announced two years ago that Sabra would be a featured character in the next Captain America feature film, part of Marvel Studios’ billion-dollar superhero movie franchise. Playing Captain America for the first time would be black actor Anthony Mackie.
But the news about Sabra’s inclusion sparked loud protests from anti-Zionist groups, including a campaign by American Muslims for Palestine against Disney, which owns Marvel Studios. They accused Sabra of representing “a state that is recognized by the entire human rights community as an apartheid regime, guilty of ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people.”
A version of Marvel’s Sabra character. (Image © Marvel Comics)
In response, Marvel Studios said it was going to reimagine the character.
Sabra, played by Israeli actress Shira Haas, is now described as a former Russia-trained superspy who works for the U.S. government, according to news reports.
Jewish outrage to this news has been almost as fast as a speeding bullet.
“Requiring the erasure of Jewish &/or Israeli identity as a precondition to being visible in the public square & culture is a form of antisemitism,” declared Jeremy Burton, CEO and executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council in Boston. “If, as is being reported, Marvel Studios has erased the Israeli and/or Jewish identity of Sabra in the upcoming Captain America movie, then it will be rightly seen as a dangerous concession to bullying from an antisemitic mob.”
Critics also raised the hypocrisy of erasing her Israeli background while reportedly making her Russian, even as Russia is trying to destroy Ukraine.
The irony here is as powerful. The comic book industry was created by Jews: Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster; Batman by Bob Kane and Bill Finger; Captain America by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, to name only a few. All three characters fought the Nazis in their comic books during World War II. The ideas behind The Hulk, created by Jews Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, come in part from the Jewish legend of the super-strong golem.
For Marvel to engage in antisemitism today is shameful, said Jonathan Karp, a scholar of Jewish history and popular culture at Binghamton University in New York.
“If the reports are accurate that Marvel has erased the Israeli identity of its character Sabra and transformed her into a Russian instead, it would constitute a prime example of what I call anti-Israeli racism,” Karp said. “The double standard that allows for a demonizing of Israel becomes more blatant by the day, and Marvel — especially given its own Jewish roots — should be ashamed of compounding it.”
This isn’t the first time Marvel has been accused of fostering antisemitism.
Last year, a new villain introduced in the Daredevil comic book series by writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Aaron Kuder resembled figures from anti-Jewish Nazi propaganda, including a hooked nose, long horns and a long white beard. Kuder rejected concerns raised by Jewish and Catholic interfaith leaders at the time.
But there are other examples: In 2021, in an issue of the Immortal Hulk, a Marvel artist used antisemitic imagery. In 2017, Marvel took disciplinary action against one of its illustrators, Ardian Syaf, for inserting surreptitious antisemitic and Islamist hardline messages into an issue of the X-Men.
And it’s not just Marvel’s superheroes under attack.
In 2017, DC Comics’ blockbuster movie “Wonder Woman,” starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot, was banned in Lebanon and Qatar hours before the film was scheduled to screen after being referred to as “the Israeli soldier film.”
“Labeling Israel as a singularly evil society, condemning not just specific Israeli policies but Israel’s culture and people as a whole, is racist to the core,” Karp said.
But some observers said it was too soon to judge how the Sabra saga will play out and called on comic books to do a better job portraying Jews.
“One never knows until the film is out,” said Miriam Eve Mora, academic director at the Center for Jewish History in New York. “I try to be cautiously optimistic until I see the product.”
But Mora expressed concern that the comic and movie industries keep failing to show how ethnically diverse Jews really are, and tend to focus on Jews who are identified through their trauma. “Jewish joy and Jewish diversity are both practically nonexistent in mainstream comics, and as a Jew and Jewish historian, I find that a glaring omission.”
If Marvel wants to do better, “they should talk to a Jewish modern historian who knows comic books, like me,” she said.
Former Marvel editor and writer Danny Fingeroth is also taking a wait and see position with Sabra.
“I think the movie’s story and the character’s profile will change multiple times before the movie comes out next year,” said Fingeroth, an expert in the intersection of comics and Jewish culture. “We don’t know how Sabra will ultimately be portrayed. If nothing else, people are now talking about Sabra, whereas before they had no idea she even existed.”
(Eric J. Greenberg is an award-winning religion journalist and expert in multifaith relations. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)