Deaf Superheroes

I know, I'm doing a completely terrible job keeping up with the blog lately. You probably wouldn't want to imagine some of the factors that have contributed to that. Mostly it all just means I'm supremely busy.  I've been writing a lot for my comp class as well as writing every few weeks for ASL. I have so much reading to do as well. I just don't want to type up a blog as often as I used to.
So, I'm going to share one of the essays I wrote for my ASL class, because I thought it was particularly interesting. 

Deaf Superheroes

I originally thought I was going to write this report about deaf comedians, but when I started doing research on deaf entertainment, I found out that Marvel (one of the two major comic publishers in the US) is running a story arch in which Hawkeye is deaf and must communicate using ASL. Everywhere I looked, “deaf entertainment” searches were filled with Hawkeye.

Marvel is the origin of Guardians of the Galaxy, which was a summer blockbuster. They also created Spiderman, Iron Man, Captain America, and the X Men. In 1999, Marvel also created a Native American, female superhero called Echo (later known as Ronin, when she joins the Avengers) who is deaf.

Her story is interesting. It begins with tragedy: when she is still young, her father is killed and the man responsible for his death raises her. She grows up never knowing the truth. She is sent to expensive schools for people with learning disabilities, but when she recreates a piano piece, she sent to a school for prodigies.

Her super power is “photographic reflexes” or the ability to copy the movements of others. Through this, she becomes an incredible pianist, martial artist, acrobat, ballerina, and jet pilot. While her attention to visual detail gives her great advantages, it also has realistic drawbacks. She is helpless in the dark, and does not respond to vocal commands from people she can’t lip-read. That can be particularly frustrating in the superhero world of full-coverage facemasks. Wikipedia says, “When she initially meets the Avengers, Captain America has to repeat all of Iron Mans’ questions for her.”

It must be tough to commit to such a storyline, but I’m glad they are. I may have to see about getting my hands on some of these comics.

It seems like last week’s essays seemed to focus a lot on the negative aspects of being part of a minority culture. Actually, a lot of articles I came across in my search for topic ideas were similarly aligned. A woman sues because she is forcibly reassigned to a different jury when the court finds out she’s deaf, because they don’t want to pay for an interpreter. A deaf man is murdered in Indiana and the local police face setbacks in solving the case because everyone this man associated with is also deaf and interpreters are a limited resource.

It’s nice to see a spot of sunshine amid the storm clouds. It’s such an incredible thing, as a kid, to have a superhero you can relate to. Four Deaf people created Signs and Voices, a British comic book starring four Deaf superheroes. They say, “This project will help our readers relate to and learn about social integration, and raise the aspirations of deaf young people.” I completely agree.

A common theme in superhero comics is a difficult fight against adversity. Iron Man is a billionaire with inoperable shrapnel in his chest. Superman is an alien, trying to fit in with humans by pretending to be Clark Kent. Batman’s parents were the only family he had until they were killed.  I think we could use a few more superhero histories that more people can relate to and be inspired by.

Hawkeye has been temporarily, moderately hearing impaired before. The new arch seems to involve severe to profound hearing loss. I wonder how long it will last?