Meet the new heroes of both Marvel and DC comics.
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September is Hispanic heritage month, celebrating Hispanic Americans and their achievements in US history. From culture, art, entertainment, and more. I loved growing up with a Puerto Rican family and I was surrounded by the culture with food, music, and dancing. We even took trips back to Puerto Rico on holidays. But, I still felt there wasn’t a connection to my heritage outside of my home. As a kid, there wasn’t a lot of representation of Hispanic culture in films, television shows, or even literature. Latinx people were written as background characters or villains. Now, as an adult, more stories are being told of Hispanic Americans — especially in comic series. If you’re a fan of comics and graphic novels you won’t want to miss out on some of these stories.
New Latinx Characters
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In the Marvel Universe, both the films and comic books have always done a great job representing different ethnic groups. America Chavez aka Miss America is a new superhuman with enhanced strength, speed, and inter-dimensional time-traveling powers. What makes her character so inspirational for young girls and women in the Latinx community is that she is true to who she is. An article written by Latonya Pennington states that America Chavez, “Is the first queer Latina superhero to lead a Marvel Comic stand alone series.” I’ve recently read her comics and I was disappointed that her series wasn’t released during my childhood. Growing up as a young Puerto Rican girl I would’ve loved to have read a comic series about a character with strong values, who I could relate to.
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Jessica Cruz is the only female Latinx to take on the title of the Green Lantern in the DC comics. Her powers include time travel, and creating force fields with the power of her green lantern ring. Her origin story, Unearthed, by Lilliam Riveria, gives readers a deeper look at her story. Rivera shared Jessica’s backstory in the blog Nerdist and said, “It’s also a story of immigration and how Jessica will question her role in a sometimes unforgiving and harsh world while trying to keep her family together.” Even before she had powers, Jessica Cruz was a badass female character and an inspiration to many readers. When the world is against her and threatens to take away everything that she loves, she pushes through and doesn’t let anything stand in her way.
Reimagined Latinx Characters
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The recreation of a beloved character isn’t always easy when fans have loved them for decades. Readers who’ve grown up with the original Spider-Man comics are now getting the chance to have their stories told through the eyes of Miles Morales, who embodies what life is like for a young biracial teenager living in Brooklyn. When the news broke out in 2011 about Miles Morales becoming the new Spider-Man, editor-in-chief Alex Alonso said “What you have is a Spider-Man for the 21st century who's reflective of our culture and diversity. We think that readers will fall in love with Miles Morales the same way they fell in love with Peter Parker.” The idea of creating a biracial Spider-Man was met with mixed reviews; most were skeptical to this change as they loved Peter Parker as Spider-Man, while others were excited to see themselves represented in the form of their favorite superhero. After all, didn't we all dream of becoming our favorite superheroes once? With the recreation of a beloved character, the creators also had to come up with new powers for him. Miles has a few of the same powers as Peter however he also has some new ones like invisibility and venom strike.
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Blue Beetle is the story of Mexican-American teenager Jamie Reyes as he navigates everyday problems while trying to save the world from aliens. This story, like Spider-Man, has been recreated twice over the years. What draws readers to Jamie’s story is that the character that people have already come to love from the previous versions of the Blue Beetle comics now centers a Latino male as the lead. The Blue Beetle also has awesome powers that come from his suit which gives him flight, powerful hand blasts, and durability. While providing the same character, the culture from the original character is different, allowing other readers the opportunity to connect with Jamie based on their own experiences. Plus, the wait is almost over to see the live-action film of Blue Beetle, which is creating quite a buzz as per Christian Holub who wrote a piece on the upcoming film and how fans can get to know the character of Jamie Reyes.
I am very proud that the Hispanic stories are being told in the form of comic books, I mean who wouldn’t want to be a superhero? If you haven’t already, you really should read one or all of these comics. They’re filled with great stories by characters who will change the way you view the world. Happy reading!