Re: the JLA/99 crossover

[Fantasyartist]

Yesterday in the British Sunday title, the Observer(www.observer.co.uk, October 24, 2010), I read about the proposed team up between the Justice League and a group of Islam inspired superheroes entitled "the 99" Some commentators have attacked this as "Muslim pandering". My response to this is- guys, guys, guys, what IS the problem here? I am old enough to recall when the appearance of the first black superheroes(admittedly in Marvel) created a ruckus in some quarters, then the first Hispanic and Native American heroes and finally the first gay and lesbian superheroes/heroines.
Last but not least, it's only a comic book!

Anybody else think as I do?

Terry

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I wasn't personally interested enough in it to buy it, but I don't see a problem with it.

 

[hippie_hunter]

I don't see a problem with it. The 99 are rather big in the Middle East from what I hear, so in concept teaming up the biggest heroes from one part of the world with the biggest heroes in another is rather cool.

That said, I am completely uninterested in this book.

 

[sandwraith]

Okay, color me interested. Being Muslim myself, I've always sort of had to swallow the atypical Delta Force interpretations of Muslims in the media. Don't get me wrong though, we've done more than enough to make EVERYONE in the world hate us at one point or another.

Saw this on my LCS shelf. I'm tempted to give it a looksee.

 

[GyLocke]

For those who are interested in The 99 and it's relationship to Islam, I recommend this great TED lecture from the creator:

http://www.ted.com/talks/naif_al_mutawa_superheroes_inspired_by_islam.html

I think it's worth watching.

 

[sandwraith]

Thing is, while I applaud the consideration of making Muslim superheroes, I'm not really fond of the emphasis it places on the character's faith. Look at the post Infinite Crisis heroes. To me, I think Jaime Reyes was a great Blue Beetle and it wasn't so much that he was Latino. It added flavor to his character. Look at Ryan Choi, who I think is the first Asian character who's powers had NOTHING to do with the "Dragon" or "Chi" or special martial arts. He was a superhero who happened to be Asian.

Look at Batwoman...who is too many things to list. Anyway, I think the first two examples suffice. Creators can make cool characters with awesome powers which have NOTHING to do with their racial or religious background. At least that's how I feel.

 

[GyLocke]

Yeah, but it’s not about „whooo, this character is muslim!”.
From what I gather, the 99 are not religious superheroes. It’s the whole point, to make every member from a different country. Hell, they included a Hungarian, which is a big deal for me.
There’s only one female character who covers her face from the twenty-something characters, I think it’s fair, if you look at the population of the world.

It’s about making superheroes accessible around the world, yes, especially in the Middle East. It’s a lot more modest culture, people get a nosebleed when they see the kind of clothes Wonder Woman chooses to fight crime in. (Or you know, when the evil muslim governments hire the Joker to murder the United Nations – see Batman: Death In The Family, the most misguided comic from DC I’ve ever read.)

I think it’s more like the American remakes for every French movie ever (all of them set in NEW YORK of course.) Except more necessary.

[FONT=&quot]It may not be the greatest thing ever, but I really admire that someone is trying to do something more with the medium I love, than selling merchandise. Helps to elevate comics much more than another bloody event or some terrible indy **** about relationships.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT]