The Figure of the Refugee in Superhero Cinema

ABSTRACT

In this paper we argue that superhero cinema offers an opportunity to think through the narratives and affects of the refugee crisis, which are distinct from, but related to, the relatively well-attended-to tropes of journalism. To do so we adopt both the ethical stance of feminist political geography and the analytic methods of popular geopolitics. Our analysis focuses on two films from the burgeoning Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU): Thor: Ragnarok and Captain Marvel. Both films are not ‘refugee films’ per se, but they illustrate the ways in which the ongoing ‘refugee crisis’ is being dealt with in mainstream, corporate Hollywood blockbusters. The two films are considered both in their narrative and affective engineering, as part of an effort to understand the ways in which political subjects might be shaped by the act of viewing. Our analysis uncovers three themes: 1) mobility as power, 2) the aesthetic of modernity, and 3) refugee bodies. We conclude that studies like this can contribute to a broader understanding of the role of whiteness and securitisation in the portrayal of refugees in the Global North.

Notes

1. First founded in 1939, Marvel Comics is an American comics publishing company that specializes in the superhero genre. Marvel’s comics were heavily shaped by the voices of the American Jewish immigrants who created the company, including Martin Goodman, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Chris Claremont; though their comics were initially targeted towards a younger audience, they still carried highly political and at times propogandist material. Adapting these superhero narratives onto the big screen in the MCU would then carry similar narratives that are connected to issues of difference, securitisation, and heroism. The MCU is produced by Marvel Studios which was acquired by the Disney Cooperation in 2009. There are other film studios which own the rights to the few remaining Marvel superheroes not owned by Disney, such as Sony Pictures Entertainment with Spider-Man.

2. At the front and centre of the MCU, the Avengers are one of Marvel’s most famous superhero teams, its members including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hulk, and Hawkeye.

3. One of Marvel’s principal superheroes, Thor Odinson was created by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and Lee Lieber. Thor’s first appearance in Marvel Comics was in Journey into Mystery #83 (1962). The superhero’s homeworld, Asgard, which first appeared in Journey into Mystery #85 (1962), is a realm that is home to god-like beings called Asgardians who possess superhuman strength, speed, as well as other abilities. Both Asgard and its citizens have appeared many times over the course of the MCU, though the narrative more often than not focuses more on Asgard’s royal family. The first entry in the Thor cinematic trilogy, Thor, was released in 2011 and its sequel, Thor: The Dark World, premiered in 2013.

4. Marvel’s Mighty Thor comics were greatly influenced by Norse mythology, as is exemplified by the titular Ragnarök, a prophesied series of events which ultimately leads to the death of several Norse gods and the destruction and rebirth of the world.

5. In the comics, Danvers was a minor character who became Ms. Marvel in 1977, and over the past several decades, she has taken on several different superhero mantles, eventually becoming Captain Marvel. The original Captain Marvel was a male alien Kree operative named Mar-Vell who first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (1967), however Carol’s storyline in Captain Marvel is inspired by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Dexter Soys’ run in Captain Marvel (2012).

6. The Kree and Skrulls are both alien races that have featured prominently, generally as villains, in Marvel’s comics since the 1960s. The Kree are an advanced militaristic species, and the Skrulls are known for their shapeshifting abilities and green reptilian features. One of the Kree’s many military units, Starforce is an elite military task-force. Though the Kree have previously appeared in the MCU, Captain Marvel provides the first appearance of the Skrulls.

7. It is also important to note the politicisation of mobility in the film can also be linked to the glorification of the US Air Force. Like several earlier films in the MCU such as Iron Man, Marvel Studios directly collaborated with the US military while making Captain Marvel (see Alford 2010; Kellner 2011).

8. For more on the white saviour trope in cinema, see Hughey (2014); Vera and Gordon (2003).

9. In the MCU’s space narratives, these worlds are more often than not metonymically represented by a single urban landscape; in effect the ‘planet’ then becomes the ‘city’ and the Asgard and Hala reflect “the dominant organising structure[s] of” these alien races’ “culture[s]” (Webber 2007, 13).

10. In the past, Asgardians have appropriated the Casket of Ancient Winters, both a technological weapon and source of life power for the Frost Giants, leading to the ruin and collapse of the Joten home world, Jotunheim, as well as the Aether from the Dark Elves in a battle which ultimately leads to the death of all but a few of their race.

11. It should be noted that the Asgardian geopolitical order’s aesthetic and cultural connection to Vikings is further complicated in its appeal to the Alt-Right movement and white nationalism. For example, the casting of black actor Idris Elba as the white Norse God Heimdall in Thor was met with racist backlash and a call to boycott the movie by the Council of Conservative Citizens, a white supremacist organization. For more, see Mantyla (2010); Burley (2019); Blake (2020); Mattheis (2018); and Young (2016).

12. The militaristic nature of the Kree is also evident in Guardians of Galaxy (2014), wherein they are caught in another thousand-year long war with the Xandarians of the Nova Empire.

13. It is worth mentioning that there are other Marvel superheroes who similarly grapple with the themes of prejudice, detention, and genocide, perhaps the most well-known being the X-Men.

14. For more on climate refugee narratives see Kaplan (2016), Horn (2018), and Murray & Heumann (2016).

15. Arguably, comic book fans may also come with their own preconceived notions of the Skrulls’ evil nature as they have been a longstanding villainous fictional race in the comics.

16. Previously appearing as the main villain in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Ronan pursues and kill Skrulls for the Kree Empire and is the face of the Accusers in Captain Marvel.