A nova era dos quadrinhos: deslocamentos e hibridez nos novos heróis da Marvel Comics

Abstract

Knowing how to live with the difference has become more necessary than ever every single day. This is the biggest challenge of everyday life. A challenge that presents itself to the ones who need to live with the difference, but also to those who, deemed as different, must deal with the fact that he or she is just one among countless groups of people labeled as different. If, on the one hand, such situation is a big challenge for everyone involved, on the other hand, the experience can open up our minds and make us aware of the several cultural traditions that make up the society we live in. The expected effect – though not always achieved – would cease the idea of a melting pot that would end the differences and a greater acceptance of the multiculturalism in our society. As a natural consequence of this, the demand for space in the various literatures become impossible to ignore. Faster than other media – slower than they should be, though – superhero comic books answered this clamor and have been making themselves a more and more realistic portrait to the reality of the society in which they are inserted. More importantly, this change in comics is followed by a rupture with the tradition of imposing a hegemonic class, as we see an expressive increase in the number of characters identified with some minority, as well as the number of authors belonging to such groups working in the creative sector of production of comics. Bearing this scenario in mind, this work aims to examine how a space is opened for “ex-centric” identities to show their voices, to have the opportunity to be heard and, especially, how the theme of the Other is worked on in such stories. Who is this Other? Why are they here? How to deal with them? Are they really that different? And does it matter? To achieve these goals, this analysis uses the theoretical support of authors like Eco (2011 [1964]) and Bauman (2013 [2011]) in the discussion of the role of the comics as a vehicle of culture. This work is also endorsed by Hall (2005, 2009 [2003]), Toro (2010) and García Canclini (2008) for the issues on how these comics characters adapt to a society in constant change. Finally, the study is also based on the ideas of Landowski (2002) to analyze which type of Other is representing the nation and which tactics this Other adopts in their relationship with the alterities of themselves. It is possible to notice, thus far, that multiculturalism is embraced through a highlight of new heroic identities that emerged after 2011 and others created by the fragmentation of the nationalist hero, all of them more aligned with the current times and that look on the cultural diversity of the United States.