Sidekicks, Villains

Ah Choo–It Could be Worse

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Hit Comics #18 Page 1

“Introducing Stormy Foster” Hit Comics Vol 1 #18

Edited by Jerry Iger and illustrated by Max Elkan.

The sidekick Ah Choo comes from Quality Comics’ series Hit Comics, which ran from 1940-1950. His first appearance is in issue 18, “Introducing Stormy Foster,” as an unidentified delivery boy, but by issue 21 he is named and stars as the Great Defender’s sidekick in fighting the Germans.

In his introduction, he switches his Rs and Ls, as the stereotype dictates, and speaks non-standard English. In issue 18, Ah Choo plays an extremely minor role and is not fully fleshed out as an archetypal sidekick until issue 21. Because of this, there’s little to comment on his appearance, other than his slanted eyes and foreign clothing. His only distinguishing characteristic is that he’s not the enemy–because he’s Chinese.

In issue 18, where Ah Choo and the Great Defender first appear, the main enemy is Oshinto Karu, “notorious Asiatic spy who has been hunted for months by the F.B.I.” Karu is Japanese, the nation’s enemy, but his group falls under the nondescript “Asiatic” group. While Karu’s name clearly marks him as Japanese, his allies are an unknown and vague Asian–only someone with knowledge of Asian cultures in the 1940s would be able to wager their ethnicity. Of course, that’s not the point of the comic. Other moments of concern come when the narrator refers to the “Oriental” enemies as  “yellow assassins” and when they run from the Great Defender, “like a pack of terrified rats, the Oriental spies scamper to the roof.” Hilarious! These enemies also call their mission a suicidal mission for the great emperor. Classic.

“Introducing Stormy Foster” is very representative of 1940s American attitudes towards Asians, symbolizing just how general but lethal popular media fostered with Asian stereotypes. Ah Choo’s first appearance also reveals this othering of Asians in his speech patterns, which both are drastically changed in issue 21 as he is given more substance as a character.

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Hit Comics # 18 Page 9

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Hit Comics #21 Page 9

“King Korman’s Castle” Hit Comics Vol 1 #21

Edited by Jerry Iger and illustrated Max Elkan

As a sidekick in issue 21, he actually helps the Great Defender with his slingshot, but obviously is not on the same level as the main superhero. While the artist Max Elkan portrays Ah Choo more positively than in the previous issue, he still is seen as the “good” Asian or the “model minority.” Moreover, the only positive change in his character is his absence of the Asian Accent. Similar to Chop Chop, Ah Choo’s appearance is heavily racially coded, with slanted eyes, buck teeth, and what might be a vague reference to “Oriental” clothing.

So, we’ve witnessed Ah Choo as a racial caricature, what now?

First, let’s talk about the effect and implications of these comics. Basically, what’s the point of bringing this up 70 years later? Theoretically, it’s in the past. We’ve changed now! Haha no! Racial caricatures have only changed in the last 70 years, as yellowface has just transformed into whitewashing. Whitewashing can be seen in the casting of white actors for established Asian characters, such as in Aloha, Exodus, Prince of Persia, Pan, Avatar: The Last Airbender…and the list goes on. This also applies for animated characters, in terms of literal whitening of their skin, such as Aladdin, or if you know anime, Robin Nico from One Piece. Asian stereotypes have survived the modern age, and they still reduce people to caricatures. While Ah Choo’s personality is similar to Robin’s regarding the sidekick archetype, his appearance is incredibly othering. Culturally he has assimilated, but he will always be foreign.

Superhero comics is not a cultural product to be taken lightly. Consumable by many, comic books pervade the popular conscious and the private conscious. Ah Choo’s inability to fully assimilate parallels the experiences of Asian Americans today and our obsession with mocking Asians only continues to belittle their existence.

“We have always worn masks. Forced to wear them by others who feared us, hated by us…Since we first set foot on these shores, made to play the part of the “forever foreigner,” the “yellow peril,” the invading, unassimilable hored…Hidden behind identical slanted eyes and geisha makeup by others’ ignorance…exotic, other, not quite human… Those old masks–imposed by others, reinforced by the weight of historical repetition–have, over time, obscured and distorted our identity.” -Jason Sperber

Jason Sperber is part of the Secret Identities crew and writes for Nerds of Color. This quote comes from Cathy J.Schlund-Vials’ article, “Drawing from Resistance,” in the Amerasia Journal. In Ah Choo, we can see its relevance, for he represents this “forever foreigner,” and considering the Asian caricatured face as a mask, we can understand its obscuring nature.

Crandall, Reed, Elkan, Max and Iger, Jerry. “Introducing Stormy Foster.” Hit Comics Vol 1 #18. Quality Comics. December 1941.

Elkan, Max and Iger, Jerry. “King Korman’s Castle.” Hit Comics Vol 1 #21. Quality Comics. April 1942.

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Villains

Mandarin: The “Oriental Menace”

During the mid 1960s, the Cold War was in full swing, and the United States feared an expansionist, aggressive “Red China.” in 1964, Marvel Comics played off of these fears by introducing a new adversary for Iron Man: The Mandarin.

The first page of Tales of Suspense #50, Mandarin's first appearance. Published in 1964.

The first page of Tales of Suspense #50, Mandarin’s first appearance. Published in 1964.

In Mandarin’s first appearance, from Tales of Suspense #50, he is portrayed as an egotistical and secretive Asian villain, with slanted eyes, claw-like fingers, and a Fu Manchu mustache. He is a master of martial arts, and wears a different ring on each finger, each with the power to manifest mystical energy beams. Soldiers from the “Red Chinese Army” approach Mandarin in his secret castle deep within China with a request from the Chinese government: join forces with them, and they can take over the world together. But the Mandarin refuses, and sends the soldiers away. Meanwhile, Iron Man is given a mission from the Pentagon to go to China and do reconnaissance on the Mandarin, who has been sabotaging and stealing U.S. missiles and spy planes manufactured by Tony Stark. He enters Mandarin’s castle, and the two do battle, Iron Man’s Western technology vs. Mandarin’s Oriental mysticism.

The Mandarin displays his superhuman martial arts prowess in Tales of Suspense #50.

The Mandarin displays his superhuman martial arts prowess in Tales of Suspense #50.

Iron Man beats the Mandarin in Tales of Suspense #50.

Iron Man’s brains beat Mandarin’s brawn in Tales of Suspense #50.

Iron Man’s logic ends up defeating Mandarin’s karate, but the Mandarin proves to be a formidable adversary. The issue ends with Tony Stark “wondering when and where the powerful Oriental menace will strike again.” Indeed, the character continues to challenge Iron Man to this day. While his current design isn’t the “Fu Manchu clone” of the 1960s, he is still very much an “Asian” villain, with visual parallels to both Japanese samurai and Genghis Khan (whom the Mandarin claims as an ancestor).

The Manadarin's modern design, from Iron Man v3 #9.

The Mandarin’s modern design, from Iron Man v3 #9.

Unlike other caricatures of Asians in comics, The Mandarin is not a bumbling villain — he has always been portrayed as a very real threat, able to match the genius, technological abilities, and physical prowess of Tony Stark. And although he is a visual representation of the “mystical orient,” he is not a two-dimensional character. In Tales of Suspense #62, published in 1965, Marvel provides us with Mandarin’s backstory, some of which is re-imagined in the 2007 comic Iron Man — Enter: The Mandarin.

According to his origin stories, Mandarin is biracial. His mother was an English noblewoman and his father was a descendant of Genghis Khan, and one of the richest businessmen in China. His parents died when he was very young, leaving the young Mandarin to be raised by a bitter aunt. When he grew older, Mandarin spent every penny of the inherited family fortune on training in the sciences and martial arts. Penniless and unable to pay his taxes, the Communist Chinese government evicts Mandarin from his ancestral home. He chooses to blame the entire human race for his plight, and sullenly walks through the forbidden Valley of Spirits, where he comes across a crashed spaceship from a technologically-advanced race of aliens. Mandarin studies their technology and science and takes the ten power rings for his own use. The alien technology gives him god-like powers, allowing him to subjugate entire villages in his quest for world domination.

In analyzing the Mandarin as a character, we can see him as a visual representation of the “Asian” ethnicity as a whole. He’s a blended Asian villain:  born in China, of Mongolian ancestry, and a master of Japanese martial arts. The first page of the Mandarin’s debut story, referring to his “Asian” traits of martial arts prowess and scientific genius, exclaims, “Some claim he is far more than human!”  What makes the Mandarin a threat isn’t just his mysteriousness, but the fact that he is the equal of Tony Stark in intelligence and technology. The fact that an Asian villain might be able to match, or even exceed, the capabilities of an American superhero is unsettling. And although the American fear of “Red China” was at its peak in the decades which saw the creation of Mandarin, current political tensions between West and East, as explored in other posts in our class archive, seem to ensure that the “oriental menace” remains relevant today.

In a 2006 interview for CHUD.com, Jon Favreau, who directed the films Iron Man and Iron Man 2, discussed the Mandarin’s place in the modern world:

“There are certain fears and certain strengths the character evokes that are applicable, but of course you have to completely remove any of that short sighted cultural ignorance that leads to any sort of bigotry in the storytelling. That isn’t to say those fears and shortcomings of Iron Man as relating to that character aren’t relevant… [Mandarin] was intelligent, he was powerful, he was mysterious. He was always one step ahead. Despite his suit and technology, Iron Man was always the underdog. Mandarin always had this Machiavellian web he would fall into. He was based in China which was then mysterious because it was Red China. Today China is mysterious in other ways because it’s Global China. China is the economic powerhouse that is quickly catching up and will eventually surpass us.”

The Mandarin is, essentially, a visual representation of the Western fears surrounding the mysterious Asian continent, making the character  a perfect example of how comics reflect the cultural, social, and political attitudes of the society that creates them. The Mandarin’s continued popularity likely owes itself to the United States’ modern fears of Chinese domination, and the enduring sense of “mystery” surrounding the Asian continent.

This cover art for the 2008 comic Invincible Iron Man #525 illustrates Western fears of an Eastern global takeover.

This cover art for the 2008 comic Invincible Iron Man #525 illustrates Western fears of an Eastern global takeover.

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