A while back on the Panelcast I mentioned the budding controversy of\u00a0 a white power group that was upset about the inclusion of Nightrunner in the line up of the Batman Inc french chapter. I figured it would die down and be pretty much only be a blip on the radar of geeky comic news sites. Much was my surprise when I saw similar Nightrunner controversy get a segment on last night’s airing of The Daily Show. The segment didn’t deal with the opinions of the Council of Conservative Citizens (which totally sounds like a super villain group BTW) but the opinions of just one guy, illustrator Bosch Fawstin, who, like the CCC is concerned that this young, Muslim, FICTIONAL character is somehow a secret terrorist.<\/p>\n
This isn’t the first time The Daily Show has dealt with Muslim non-troversies as this sentiment is unfortunately prevalent in many areas of the world, but I was shocked that this particular story was covered. I hadn’t thought that Batman having a Muslim sidekick was such a big deal. Or even any deal. Honestly, why does it matter? Nightrunner is far from the first Muslim superhero character and will not be the last. Is it because he is in a Batman comic? Is it because he is French? Islamophobia can’t be the only reason (I hope not). Maybe my mind just isn’t capable of seeing why this could possibly be an issue.<\/p>\n
I understand, intellectually, that people are racist or xenophobic and that this fear leads them to have peculiar beliefs, but what possible threat could a make-believe set of lines and shapes and colors present the real world? I know, I know, I’m being too rational about this. I guess it is my fault for thinking that Islam=\/=terrorism.<\/p>\n
Actually, in a way, I am afraid that Nightrunner may turn out to be a so called “jihadist”. Not out of fear of Muslims, but out of fear that DC would stoop to such a hackneyed stereotype to sell books.\u00a0 I can picture the storyline now – “Batman Inc. must root out a sleeper cell in their midst that is committing acts of terrorism in the name of Batman”! Barf.<\/p>\n
Personally, I hope that DC does not do this and instead uses the opportunity to portray the character as a just and worthy addition to the Batman crew, that happens to be Muslim.\u00a0 Obviously, the character’s religious beliefs will play a role in shaping his methods and actions, but it shouldn’t necessarily be the focus of the character, especially in the Batman franchise. Batman’s set of morals are pretty well established and archetypal enough to be able to fit any character.<\/p>\n
If we are lucky, this will all die down quickly, though I see it possibly popping up in larger media sources soon enough.<\/p>\n
On a different note, I hope you all enjoyed the latest Geek Girls episode. I am always looking for more ladies to interview and I really want this to become at least a bi monthly series. I am hoping to make the show a bit longer and more diverse in the topics discussed, rather than just a single topic, one-on-one series. If anyone out there has some ideas for the show, or just something you want to talk about, please, contact me or AJ. I definitely want to get more feedback, regardless of whether you have a vagina or a penis (or both\/neither).\u00a0 Remember kids, I am doing this for you.<\/p>\n
Send your hate mail to: bryan@forbiddenpanel.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A while back on the Panelcast I mentioned the budding controversy of\u00a0 a white power group that was upset about the inclusion of Nightrunner in the line up of the Batman Inc french chapter. I figured it would die down and be pretty much only be a blip on the radar of geeky comic news […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":290,"menu_order":14,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1139","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P1opIU-in","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":573,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/blogs\/janelles-eye-view\/","url_meta":{"origin":1139,"position":0},"title":"Lessons From The Mother Ship","author":"Janelle","date":"February 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Janelle is a writer, singer, teacher and a mom. \u00a0She is a lover of comics, horror movies, zombies, ghost stories and sci-fi. \u00a0She brings to the table a unique perspective of the geek culture as both a woman and a mother and is not afraid to share her opinion and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":296,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/blogs\/bryans-madness\/retro-review-the-dark-knight-returns\/","url_meta":{"origin":1139,"position":1},"title":"Retro Review – The Dark Knight Returns","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"January 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"OK, so I know that this review is about 20 odd years late, but having just finished the graphic novel I picked up, I figured \"what the hell\". I don't need to introduce the protagonist, because if you don't know who Batman is, you do not belong here and you\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":589,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/blogs\/janelles-eye-view\/my-thoughts-on-batman-arkham-asylum\/","url_meta":{"origin":1139,"position":2},"title":"My thoughts on Batman: Arkham Asylum","author":"AJ","date":"February 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Ok so I know it\u2019s a long time coming and most of you have already played this already, formed your own opinions, read every other review out there and probably don\u2019t care much about my opinion at this point, but I\u2019ve gotta do it. I haven\u2019t written much lately because\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2111,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/blogs\/ajs-side-panel\/whiteout-gamer-and-all-the-other-things-thats-been-going-on\/","url_meta":{"origin":1139,"position":3},"title":"Whiteout, Gamer, and all the other things that’s been going on.","author":"AJ","date":"July 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Sorry for the lack of updates on our behalf. \u00a0Seems like I am always late on the updates but I can't help it at times. \u00a0This time it was due to Bryan and I being sick for the past week. \u00a0So without further adieu let's get going with the updates\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":492,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/blogs\/bryans-madness\/in-which-i-dont-destroy-the-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":1139,"position":4},"title":"In Which I Don’t Destroy The World…","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"January 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, It was bound to not happen I suppose. I have finished reading The Science Of Superheroes by Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg and I am slightly disappointed that I didn't learn how to gain god like powers. Ah, well, all the better for humanity. TSOS is really more of\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/blogs\/bryans-madness\/in-which-i-dont-destroy-the-world\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":614,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/blogs\/janelles-eye-view\/back-from-the-dead\/","url_meta":{"origin":1139,"position":5},"title":"Back From the Dead!","author":"AJ","date":"February 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Okay well, \"from the dead\" is a little dramatic, maybe just back from a year of insanity, changes and new discoveries.\u00a0 Whatever you call it, it's been nearly seven months since my last installment on the site and I'm sure many of you new comers are thinking, \"who the heck\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/princess-diaries-2-anne-hathaway1-246x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1139\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}