Eastfist

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/26/opinion/yang-comics-superheroes/index.html?c=&page=0

By Chongchen Saelee

This article by Jeff Yang kinda gets it half-way. We don’t need Asian Superheroes for EVERYONE, just for those who consume superhero culture.

It turns out, America did have a superhero called The Green Turtle back in 1940s, but because of anti-Chinese stuff in the day, was never allowed to reveal his identity.

Unfortunately, it just seems like they’re digging through the dumpster to validate themselves here. The Green Turtle might as well be played by Dana Carvey in yellowface. It’s such an old characterization. No modern Asian American can relate to it. As a piece of history, maybe it’s worth noting, but it definitely isn’t relevant anymore.

My own Asian superhero, Agent S, which debut in my alma mater student newspaper UW-Green Bay The Fourth Estate, is set in the present. I combined all the popular American superheroes to date into the archetype. And I also infused it with highly political charged imagery to leave the door open for interpretation and growth. And I’d also set my character in the real world, where Superman, Batman, and James Bond are indeed fictional, and wannabes are lunging off rooftops thinking those characters are real. That’s how I would do my hero justice.

In summary, only those who feel they need Asian superheroes should get them. And if no one gives them that validation, do what I did, come up with your own. That’s the only way they can truly be bulletproof.