We live in a diverse world today, and the comics we read resemble that to a certain degree. One publisher, Marvel, has always been at the forefront of representing diversity. Whether it be different cultures or races or sexual orientations, Marvel has tried to incorporate all of that into their world, so it somewhat reflects our world. They have even had superheroes of differing abilities, like Daredevil, who is blind or Professor X, who, depending on which story arc you are reading, is confined to a wheelchair. One group or culture that has been massively underrepresented has been the Deaf Culture. Ever since I’ve had kids, it has been something I have noticed is missing from the world of comics. It’s just not there. There is Jericho in the old Teen Titans of DC comics, but he was a mute who could hear just fine, he just used sign language to communicate. And then Hawkeye lost his hearing for a bit due to a self-inflicted injury, but he was never proud of it and hid the fact that he used a hearing aid, until Stark could come up with a way to restore his hearing for good. And then, recently, Marvel created The Blue Ear, a superhero who used his hearing device to hear trouble. This is as close as anyone has gotten to representing deaf and hard of hearing individuals and their culture in comics, and frankly it’s disappointing. I mean, the story about Blue Ear is great and heartwarming, and awesome for that kid, but it was a drawing and not a full-time hero, and it didn’t represent Deaf Culture. For those who are unfamiliar, many people who are deaf or hard of hearing don’t view it as a “disability.” They feel like they can do anything a hearing person can do jet as well as a hearing person, except hear. They are a proud group of individuals who fight everyday for their rights to be treated just like everyone else and to receive the same opportunities as everyone else. They see themselves as a culture, not as disability. So, in a universe full of superheroes, I refuse to believe that there isn’t at least one individual from this proud and noble group who wouldn’t step up and be a hero. And there’s no way that I can believe that their lack of hearing would hold them back.
Marvel, though, is trying something new this Wednesday, July 30, when Hawkeye #19 hits the shelves. According to a report in The New York Times, Hawkeye will be losing his hearing again, and this particular issue will be quite different. The writers have left all the word bubbles blank and have incorporated actual sign language into the story and the communication between Hawkeye and the other characters in the book. From what I read in the article, it looks like this may just be a one issue deal, and not permanent, which is too bad. It would have been a great opportunity to develop the Hawkeye character and introduce a new world to many Marvel readers. I do feel, however, that maybe this a step in the right direction, and I hope, with writers, like Matt Fraction, on board, who are willing to look at new ways to write the story from a deaf perspective, something may open up for a full-time Deaf superhero. I hope it will.
When I told my oldest son about issue #19, he was way excited. He wanted to go out and buy it immediately. He thought it was way cool that sign language was going to be in a real superhero comic. He’s deaf, along with two of his sisters. He has a cochlear implant (it’s a step above the sorts of hearing aids talked about in this https://wonder-ear.com/blogs/articles/mdhearingaid-review-all-new-models-alternative article), but his main mode of communication, really his only mode, is American Sign Language. He is only 7 1/2, but he has already noticed that when he looks at all the superheroes he can find the white ones and the black ones and the boy ones and the girl ones, the blind ones, the ones in wheelchairs, the green ones and the ones made out of metal and rocks, but what he can’t find is himself. He doesn’t see the deaf one out there, the one who proves that he can be and do anything, just like everyone else. So, to the people at Marvel I say, great job with Hawkeye #19, but do better. Take it further. Help my son and other deaf kids just like find themselves in your comics. I hope they will.
