As someone who identifies more as Jewish by heritage, and doesn’t practice any longer, I absolutely agree with the Marvel writer. Not once is Jesus, Mohammed, or other modern religious figures mentioned (apart from Cap being all for God and Country). Religion just isn’t part of the MCU. Yes, some cultural newances may be missed from the lack of Jewish or Romani background, but honestly, it’s a movie. The representation is in the original. People can go there if they want to see representation. If there was specific representation for Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhists, etc. that were commonly seen throughout the MCU then yeah, I’d be a little miffed. But the MCU is sticking to the secular storyline that has been established for over a decade at this point.
Spot on response. There is no need make religion an issue in the movies, unless its part of the story line: like nightcrawler’s attempt to be a priest. Most often it is a general narrative that anti-mutant sentiment is akin to antisemitism, racism, homophobia, etc.
Oscar Isaac is not “Jewish on his father’s side.” His father is a Latino Christian who may or may not have some distant Jewish ancestry. That’s it. Why is this the most-viewed interview on earth?
And memorize this:
Actors with two Jewish parents: Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman, Paul Rudd, Logan Lerman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bar Refaeli, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Adam Brody, Kat Dennings, Gabriel Macht, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Erin Heatherton, Lisa Kudrow, Lizzy Caplan, Gal Gadot, Debra Messing, Gregg Sulkin, Jason Isaacs, Jon Bernthal, Robert Kazinsky, Melanie Laurent, Esti Ginzburg, Shiri Appleby, Justin Bartha, Margarita Levieva, James Wolk, Elizabeth Berkley, Halston Sage, Seth Gabel, Corey Stoll, Michael Vartan, Mia Kirshner, Alden Ehrenreich, Julian Morris, Asher Angel, Debra Winger, Eric Balfour, Dan Hedaya, Emory Cohen, Corey Haim, Scott Mechlowicz, Harvey Keitel, Robby Benson, Odeya Rush, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is Jewish, too (though I don’t know if both of his parents are).
Actors with Jewish mothers and non-Jewish fathers: Timothée Chalamet, Jake Gyllenhaal, Dave Franco, James Franco, Scarlett Johansson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Daniel Radcliffe, Alison Brie, Joaquin Phoenix, River Phoenix, Emmy Rossum, Ryan Potter, Rashida Jones, Jennifer Connelly, Sofia Black D’Elia, Nora Arnezeder, Goldie Hawn, Kristen Stewart, Ginnifer Goodwin, Judah Lewis, Brandon Flynn, Amanda Peet, Eric Dane, Jeremy Jordan, Joel Kinnaman, Ben Barnes, Patricia Arquette, Aidan Gallagher, Kyra Sedgwick, Ali MacGraw, Ryan O’Neal, Dave Annable, and Harrison Ford (whose maternal grandparents were both Jewish, despite those Hanukkah Song lyrics).
Actors with Jewish fathers and non-Jewish mothers, who themselves were either raised as Jewish and/or identify as Jewish: Ezra Miller, Zac Efron, David Corenswet, Alexa Davalos, Nat Wolff, Tiffany Haddish, James Maslow, Josh Bowman, Andrew Garfield, Winona Ryder, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael Douglas, Ben Foster, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nikki Reed, Jonathan Keltz, Paul Newman.
Oh, and Ansel Elgort’s father is Jewish, though I don’t know how Ansel was raised. Robert Downey, Jr., Sean Penn, and Ed Skrein were also born to Jewish fathers and non-Jewish mothers. Armie Hammer, Chris Pine, Emily Ratajkowski, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and Finn Wolfhard are part Jewish.
Actors with one Jewish-born parent and one parent who converted to Judaism: Dianna Agron, Sara Paxton (whose father converted, not her mother), Alicia Silverstone, Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
Are you telling me you just have this information readily available in your head or did you take the time to meticulously search all this up to prove…um…I still don’t know what exactly. Either one is unstable and strange behavior
I agree 100%. I just don’t get the whole “my kids want to see themselves represented” can’t they identify with people who aren’t Jewish? I mean, I’m a white Scotsman and I love Ripley despite not being a woman. I love Blade, Shaft and almost every character Denzel has played despite not being black. I see the good characteristics within them and aspire to be like them, as a person, as a human being. We are all just people and we need to stop boxing ourselves in and try to see the good qualities we should ALL aspire to have.
VERY well stated! I love most of Marvel movies, and the comic books that inspired them. My only disappointment was casting Halle Berry as Storm in Sony’s X-Men franchise. Maybe she was following her director’s instructions, but if she had read the comic books as source material, she would’ve known that Ororo Munro RARELY showed fear, even in battle. She felt it, but it was never obvious. Besides, she had to remain level headed because she could unleash hell on Earth if she didn’t. I hope there will be a recast after the Sony franchise is moved to the MCU. It’s time for a change.
Storm is claustrophobic and has suffered from it in battle. So, she has shown fear. But agree that live action Storm was not a great adaptation of the character.
While Stan and Jack and a lot of other Marvel staff were Jewish, Steve Ditko wasn’t, he was born/raised Byzantine Catholic. Although I don’t think he was practicing
Untrue. In Infinity War, Peter Quill was asked “who do you serve” and he replies ” what do you want me to say, Jesus”? It was offensive and unnecessary.
I also want to know why. I was bummed he wasn’t more critical. Pratt, himself, is an out and proud Christian and I suspect he had the lined trimmed down to just that because of his faith. I don’t see Quill in the movies or the comics as a person of faith.
That was probably more a deliberate reference to the actor behind Peter Quill – Chris Pratt. He’s well known to be a practising Christian and has even been attacked for it in the media.
Can we please simply enjoy a movie? Why do we have to keep touting everybody’s religion, color, and sexuality? What happened to entertainment for entertainment’s sake? I don’t think this series needs an agenda and I certainly don’t think we need to see him running to Temple to worship.
Spits in the face of fans is a bit strong. The plain reality is that the writer of the character, not even the creator of that character mind you, has virtually zero input on how that character is shown on the screen. The studio and the director do that. The writer is lucky if they are invited to watch. A good example of studio direction going away from established canon might be Halle Berry’s Catwoman. An interesting take on an idea, but hardly what people expected to see.
Regarding Jewish representation, I get the urge to claim heroes as our own… however you define that. I read Moon Knight from his inception and was right there when he became popular in the 80’s into the 90’s. His being Jewish was not a large part of that narrative, if it was even mentioned. The faith and ethnicity of the character were not the driving force behind the stories. More on point was the mental health of the man. That, more than anything else, made Moon Knight click with people.
I view this version of the hero to be a major win for mental health issues and those who suffer from them. There are heroes out there for all of us. Not everyone has to be precisely as written on the page.
That all being said, I greatly look forward to the upcoming Fantastic Four film. There you WILL find a hero with a deep Jewish background that does inform and enhance the character…Ben Grimm, The Thing.
What everyone seems to be missing here is not whether Spector is Jewish or not. It’s that Feige has been intentional and deliberate about representation. Whether that’s gay, black, Latinx, deaf, etc. Yet when it comes to Judaism it seems like it’s not on his radar.
And for the commentor who said religion isn’t a part of the MCU, let me introduce you to Kamala Khan who’s Muslim identity (based on the teasers) is an integral part of her identity. And when Matt Murdoch plays a larger role in the MCU, I assure you his Catholicism will also (and should be) a part of his identity. Let’s not be naive. This isn’t about not having religion in the MCU. This is about not having Judaism.
Spot on brother! Somehow despite 3 movies Ben Grimm being Jewish didn’t come up either. Bast centered Paganism being the national religion of Wakanda was touched on visually and in dialogue, but there’s no Jews in the MCEU?
That’s just wrong. How much of this is Kevin Fudge pandering to the Wokester Left, many of whom (Rashida Tlaib, Johan Omar, Cori Bush, etc) could give the Klan a run for their money in Antisemitism.
It’s even sadder in the case of Moon Knight as Spector and variations of it is a traditional Jewish name.
Just because it isn’t explicit doesn’t make it prejudice. The fact is small minority just wants to complain. All the Jews I know myself included don’t care. Quit making everything about identity and complaining for some virtue signaling pat on the back.
Where are all the Scottish heroes at? All I got is Historical movies about William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, Rob Roy McGregor or fiction like Highlander or Bond. I must stop watching movies immediately.
I’m sure you told BLM to sit down and shut up as well then, right champ? Or is this just you left leaning folks yet again trying to act like us Jews don’t matter, INCLUDING other leftist Jews.
As a Muslim, please don’t even mention Kamala Khan. She is the most plastic, uninteresting character I’ve ever seen in Marvel Comics, not to mention how inaccurate the religious portrayal of us was. I’ve connected more to male characters in these comics that I ever will to Kamala Khan, a Muslim girl like myself.
No one’s buying the her comics nowadays and no Muslim over the age of 12 likes that cheap excuse of a story. Marvel should stick to what they’re good at.
Scarlett Johansson is Jewish. Paul Rudd is Jewish. Natalie Portman is Jewish. Taika Waititi ( Director and voice of Korg) is Jewish. Robert Downey Jr. is Jewish by descent. Gwyneth Paltrow is Jewish. Aaron Johnson (Quicksilver) is Jewish. And a number of MCU directors are Jewish.
Who cares. If you want to watch a super hero story about Judaism push for a Ten Commandments reboot. These are shows about super heroes. The weird little detours they make awkwardly pandering to various heritages always feel like a nonsequitur anyway. Show the character being weak and ordinary. Show them get Lazer powers. Show them struggle to adapt. Show them win and find their confidence. If you need to pad it out, throw in a PG love story, the death of a parent/mentor, or a reluctant friendship arc. You’re home. Just assume everyone in the audience admires everyone’s cultures and isn’t so broken that they need their identity affirmed every ten minutes in a story about lazers.
Seriously people are making this an issue?! Shows from the MCU that I have seen, hasn’t really mentioned any other religion. No Christian, Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, and so on. The closest I’ve seen was in Dr. Strange have any sort of religious tone.
Now granted I have not seen every show and every piece of MCU material released.
In Daredevil that was always a major part of his character though. In Moon Knight it was a part of him but it was never at the forefront. As another poster said it was more about his mental state and he how dealt with the issues.
Khamala Khan’s Muslim faith has been an integral part of that character and the stories told in Ms. Marvel comics from day one. She was created and written as a Muslim kid and her comics have always been told from that point of view. Daredevil is another Marvel hero whose faith has played a huge role in the story lines that have been written about that character over the decades. Moon Knight? Not so much. It’s apples and oranges. Someone post one story arc from the comics where the fact that Marc Spector was retconned a decade after his debut as Jewish played an integral part. I dare you. And for the record, Stan Lee never said that Peter Parker was Jewish. Not once. Is it implied? Absolutely. But it’s not cannon, at least not in the comics. The fact is that while some of the most prolific comic book creators from the golden and silver age we’re Jewish, they pretty much avoided associating any of their creations with a Jewish heritage, a practice that was fairly common back then not just in the comic book industry but across the country as a whole. Just look at the Golden Age of cinema in Hollywood. Every single studio mogul was Jewish and they avoided any depiction of overtly Jewish characters in the movies they released, unless it was played for comedy. But this whole Moon Knight thing isn’t even that deep. Stop trying to create controversy where there is none. So annoying.
Disney and its writers simply need to remain consistent. If they are going to erase the origin story of their heros and expect no person to say anything, they need to stop using phrases like “whitewashing” and “cultural appropriation”. You cant be sensitive about one and insensitive about another.
They’ve been incredibly stupid. Case in point- hiring a Korean actor to play a national hero of the Middle East- Gilgamesh of Mesopotamia. What TF was Kevin Fudge smoking???
Right. Disney makes a big stink about things but only in select situations. What is Kevin’s rulebook exactly in this. How does he justify pissing on one group while being sensitive with another. Its favortism. There is another name for it.
What I don’t get is that is it really cultural appropriation when Whites only make up about 9% of the worlds overall population yet have built and created so much? Shouldn’t everybody else be the ones appropriating based on their logic?
Being Jewish isn’t about religion.
We are born into it, all the history and culture , its the persecution and hate, the creation and spirit.
It’s the same reason miles morales was created and I respect him as a character, when you go Into a story you want to see yourself as the hero/ villain. A piece of him/ her brings you into the story, makes you feel welcome.
For some people it’s the color of your skin, some it’s the circumstances of their life, for others it’s their religion.
And you can’t dismiss it so easily.
I’m a secular Jew and I respect my heritage, I don’t pray every day.
I still believe in him and am very proud of being Jewish.
His heritage had no bearing on the story. The creator of him is ok with it. He is still a minority being portrayed by a POC and this whole article makes me once again shamed to be semitic.
They wanted kick ass actor & big time audience draw: Oscar Isaac to play the role. (He’s perfect for it). Oscar Isaac isn’t Jewish. They can’t write the character as Jewish and have a none Jew play the role without people absolutely losing their ever-loving minds over this. They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Ignoring the character’s religion (that has absolutely no bearing on the story) is the lesser of two evils. Can’t we be happy that his casting gives Guatemalan kids a hero to look up to and just call it a day, already? Nobody’s face was spit on.
Everybody’s always talking about how people are being racist but yet they can’t keep race and religion out of things like this. It’s getting out of hand and it’s ridiculous. It doesn’t really matter who you are or what your religion is. If they’re great actors, they’re great. Actors end up story. After all, everybody always says no matter what you are or what color you are. The blood is all the same. It’s all red on the inside and the soul is the same exact thing.
Heimdall, half the people in Asgard, Nick Fury, Kingpin (From the movie), the crappy last Fantastic 4 movie, Perry White, Commissioner Gordon…and tons more. They’ve constantly supplanted their heritages and we were told to quit whining about it. So why does it matter now? Ultimately, it doesn’t matter…but I’m a semi-stickler for the source material, so I kinda get it.
As a Jew and a comic book fan since the 1950s, I am always thrilled to see a Jewish character. Yes, it may not be relevant to the plot now, but it might be later. Religion does become part of the plot sometimes, so a Jewish character is great, even if he is psycho.
I would prefer if they did keep the Jewish backstory. It opens writing opportunities and promotes real inclusion instead the heterosexual, homosexual, and the rest of you can go screw yourselves inclusion we’ve been seeing. I also like the reply the artist gives. He is not spitting in anyone’s face, he is tired of those who nitpick every single minor detail. Bring in religion however make it have a point to the story. A lot of this lgbt crap is added just check some box off instead of added for story purposes. Rule number 2 of lifestyle inclusion have a point.. Rule number four of lifestyle inclusion Never sacrifice the story.
In a universe with literal gods Earth religions are kind of pointless anyway.
Also I couldn’t tell if the article was being sarcastic or not. Are there actually going to be people suggesting Jewish people are underrepresented in Hollywood?
One might remember that although Stan Lee and Jack Kirby may have Anglicised their names, their heritage as Stan Leiber and Jacob Kurtzberg were baked into the characters of the Marvel Universe. No TV show can erase that, nor can it erase Moon Knight’s true heritage.
I don’t want to be that guy, but how many people remember that Nick Fury was Caucasian in the comics when he was created to be Marvel’s version of James Bond?
👍🏾😂😂😂👏👏👏 I think your joke might’ve gone over some peoples’ heads, though. But don’t sweat it, this almost 64 years old, heterosexual Black woman got it!
Shut up. Just shut up. This is not spitting in the face of anybody. That Marvel writer is absolutely right. They aren’t bound by origin stories. Moon Knight is a fictional character for gods sake, who the hell cares what religion the character is? Stop being so sensitive. “What about that other Muslim character?” As the man said, writers aren’t bound by origin stories. It doesn’t matter what has been in previous iterations of something. Writers can write whatever they feel like writing. Again, it isn’t real. Stop being so sensitive and grow up. There’s actual problems in the world to be worrying about. Not this ridiculousness.
Been saying this every since Disney has taken over Marvel. They have not got a single Marvel character and story right. The are completely destroying 60 years of Marvel history in these movies they make. Best Marvel movie to date has been Blade, the first one. Tell the story right or tell a different story.
This is Marvel’s fault too for allowing it to happen. The is main reasons I stopped collecting comics in 2008.
Grow up everyone. These pieof entertainment are for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. race, religion , who cares! Wat if we made the black panther white? Omg omg. There are so many other things being flip flopped around by color of skin, gay heroes, get over it. Not everyone gets to have their own hero they see themselves in. If u want to be diverse, teach your children it’s ok to want to be like a hero for the good things, not the color of their skin. Thesr are fictional characters, not representations of nit picky people. We can’t control wat others do, but we can control ourselves. Get over it
Hollywood never truly cared for the history of comics, they care about making money. I stopped watching superhero movies over 15 years ago because of it, they never truly follow the history of comics. Guess it’s just easier to rewrite their history.
I find it hard to reason why Jewish MCU characters should have their heritage negated… Directors and producers have cowtowed to redesigning characters as black..INSTEAD OF EMPHASIZING already black characters. Let Moon Knight BE who he’s supposed to be! Let ALL MCU characters be who they’re supposed to be. Don’t want a white Luke Cage anymore than an origin wiped Moon Knight!
SHUT THE F
U
C
K
UP, every last one of you! We are literally having a variety of conflicts, as well as a massive amount of disasters, and the whole world literally ending, and yet you idiots want to point fingers on who is to blame on things. I am tired of both the old guard xenophobic elitists AND the SJW morons being a bunch of mindless polititards that are collectively ruining comics. You want someone to blame for why comics and their related ilk dying, as well as the cosmos dying as well, how about you all take a good long look in your mirrors sometime, you whiny bunch of hypocrites? Finally, Judaism is NOT a race, it is an ideology, and it always has been, to YAHWEH EL ELOHIM, and anyone that says otherwise on the matter is not only not well versed in the Torah and other Jewish and Christian Holy Scriptures, but that they are also against YAHWEH EL ELOHIM and His Holy Word as well, and any protests otherwise will only confirm the indisputable and undeniable universal truth about the matter, period, full stop. You cannot serve two masters, for you will love and obey one and hate and disobey the other one. True servants of YAHWEH EL ELOHIM will truly serve Him and the liars will rebel against Him. You will know them by the fruit that they will bear.
So people are upset that the Egyptian god hero isn’t Jewish on screen, because they need “representation”. But those same people don’t care that ant-man is played by very clearly Jewish Paul Rudd? It’s that what I’m understanding here?
i haven’t always been the biggest Spider Man fan but have been reading his title since the 70’s on and off and totally missed that he was Jewish. Same with Moon Knight. I don’t think any particular story arc was dedicated to that?
who cares what religion the guy is. Does this mean now that every hero has to have a religion? Or has to claim some find of god? who cares! Enjoy the heroes for what they do and the powers they have not what invisible person do they believe in. Go touch some grass.
“And Moon Knight is by far the first time that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has drawn criticism for erasing Jewish culture.”
I think this says the exact opposite of what you intended. If this is by far the first time then this means this is really the very first time this has happened. “This is hardly the first time,” is what you want to say.
Comments for Marvel Writer Spits in the Face of Fans, Does Not Care if MCU Erases Character’s Heritage
ZL
As someone who identifies more as Jewish by heritage, and doesn’t practice any longer, I absolutely agree with the Marvel writer. Not once is Jesus, Mohammed, or other modern religious figures mentioned (apart from Cap being all for God and Country). Religion just isn’t part of the MCU. Yes, some cultural newances may be missed from the lack of Jewish or Romani background, but honestly, it’s a movie. The representation is in the original. People can go there if they want to see representation. If there was specific representation for Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhists, etc. that were commonly seen throughout the MCU then yeah, I’d be a little miffed. But the MCU is sticking to the secular storyline that has been established for over a decade at this point.
Cameron
Spot on response. There is no need make religion an issue in the movies, unless its part of the story line: like nightcrawler’s attempt to be a priest. Most often it is a general narrative that anti-mutant sentiment is akin to antisemitism, racism, homophobia, etc.
Bee
Oscar Isaac is not “Jewish on his father’s side.” His father is a Latino Christian who may or may not have some distant Jewish ancestry. That’s it. Why is this the most-viewed interview on earth?
And memorize this:
Actors with two Jewish parents: Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman, Paul Rudd, Logan Lerman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bar Refaeli, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Adam Brody, Kat Dennings, Gabriel Macht, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Erin Heatherton, Lisa Kudrow, Lizzy Caplan, Gal Gadot, Debra Messing, Gregg Sulkin, Jason Isaacs, Jon Bernthal, Robert Kazinsky, Melanie Laurent, Esti Ginzburg, Shiri Appleby, Justin Bartha, Margarita Levieva, James Wolk, Elizabeth Berkley, Halston Sage, Seth Gabel, Corey Stoll, Michael Vartan, Mia Kirshner, Alden Ehrenreich, Julian Morris, Asher Angel, Debra Winger, Eric Balfour, Dan Hedaya, Emory Cohen, Corey Haim, Scott Mechlowicz, Harvey Keitel, Robby Benson, Odeya Rush, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is Jewish, too (though I don’t know if both of his parents are).
Actors with Jewish mothers and non-Jewish fathers: Timothée Chalamet, Jake Gyllenhaal, Dave Franco, James Franco, Scarlett Johansson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Daniel Radcliffe, Alison Brie, Joaquin Phoenix, River Phoenix, Emmy Rossum, Ryan Potter, Rashida Jones, Jennifer Connelly, Sofia Black D’Elia, Nora Arnezeder, Goldie Hawn, Kristen Stewart, Ginnifer Goodwin, Judah Lewis, Brandon Flynn, Amanda Peet, Eric Dane, Jeremy Jordan, Joel Kinnaman, Ben Barnes, Patricia Arquette, Aidan Gallagher, Kyra Sedgwick, Ali MacGraw, Ryan O’Neal, Dave Annable, and Harrison Ford (whose maternal grandparents were both Jewish, despite those Hanukkah Song lyrics).
Actors with Jewish fathers and non-Jewish mothers, who themselves were either raised as Jewish and/or identify as Jewish: Ezra Miller, Zac Efron, David Corenswet, Alexa Davalos, Nat Wolff, Tiffany Haddish, James Maslow, Josh Bowman, Andrew Garfield, Winona Ryder, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael Douglas, Ben Foster, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nikki Reed, Jonathan Keltz, Paul Newman.
Oh, and Ansel Elgort’s father is Jewish, though I don’t know how Ansel was raised. Robert Downey, Jr., Sean Penn, and Ed Skrein were also born to Jewish fathers and non-Jewish mothers. Armie Hammer, Chris Pine, Emily Ratajkowski, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and Finn Wolfhard are part Jewish.
Actors with one Jewish-born parent and one parent who converted to Judaism: Dianna Agron, Sara Paxton (whose father converted, not her mother), Alicia Silverstone, Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
Saul
Are you telling me you just have this information readily available in your head or did you take the time to meticulously search all this up to prove…um…I still don’t know what exactly. Either one is unstable and strange behavior
Chris
I agree 100%. I just don’t get the whole “my kids want to see themselves represented” can’t they identify with people who aren’t Jewish? I mean, I’m a white Scotsman and I love Ripley despite not being a woman. I love Blade, Shaft and almost every character Denzel has played despite not being black. I see the good characteristics within them and aspire to be like them, as a person, as a human being. We are all just people and we need to stop boxing ourselves in and try to see the good qualities we should ALL aspire to have.
Angela Shortt
VERY well stated! I love most of Marvel movies, and the comic books that inspired them. My only disappointment was casting Halle Berry as Storm in Sony’s X-Men franchise. Maybe she was following her director’s instructions, but if she had read the comic books as source material, she would’ve known that Ororo Munro RARELY showed fear, even in battle. She felt it, but it was never obvious. Besides, she had to remain level headed because she could unleash hell on Earth if she didn’t. I hope there will be a recast after the Sony franchise is moved to the MCU. It’s time for a change.
npete
Storm is claustrophobic and has suffered from it in battle. So, she has shown fear. But agree that live action Storm was not a great adaptation of the character.
Earl Leonard
While Stan and Jack and a lot of other Marvel staff were Jewish, Steve Ditko wasn’t, he was born/raised Byzantine Catholic. Although I don’t think he was practicing
Edward
Untrue. In Infinity War, Peter Quill was asked “who do you serve” and he replies ” what do you want me to say, Jesus”? It was offensive and unnecessary.
Pagan
Why?
npete
I also want to know why. I was bummed he wasn’t more critical. Pratt, himself, is an out and proud Christian and I suspect he had the lined trimmed down to just that because of his faith. I don’t see Quill in the movies or the comics as a person of faith.
Maccy Dee
That was probably more a deliberate reference to the actor behind Peter Quill – Chris Pratt. He’s well known to be a practising Christian and has even been attacked for it in the media.
Jmacguire
Can we please simply enjoy a movie? Why do we have to keep touting everybody’s religion, color, and sexuality? What happened to entertainment for entertainment’s sake? I don’t think this series needs an agenda and I certainly don’t think we need to see him running to Temple to worship.
Rich S
Spits in the face of fans is a bit strong. The plain reality is that the writer of the character, not even the creator of that character mind you, has virtually zero input on how that character is shown on the screen. The studio and the director do that. The writer is lucky if they are invited to watch. A good example of studio direction going away from established canon might be Halle Berry’s Catwoman. An interesting take on an idea, but hardly what people expected to see.
Regarding Jewish representation, I get the urge to claim heroes as our own… however you define that. I read Moon Knight from his inception and was right there when he became popular in the 80’s into the 90’s. His being Jewish was not a large part of that narrative, if it was even mentioned. The faith and ethnicity of the character were not the driving force behind the stories. More on point was the mental health of the man. That, more than anything else, made Moon Knight click with people.
I view this version of the hero to be a major win for mental health issues and those who suffer from them. There are heroes out there for all of us. Not everyone has to be precisely as written on the page.
That all being said, I greatly look forward to the upcoming Fantastic Four film. There you WILL find a hero with a deep Jewish background that does inform and enhance the character…Ben Grimm, The Thing.
Bill
People will just find anything to complain about these days
Eddie p
This doesn’t spit in the face of anyone. Jewish people don’t give a crap about this. Stop making drama for the sake of views/reads.
Arye
What everyone seems to be missing here is not whether Spector is Jewish or not. It’s that Feige has been intentional and deliberate about representation. Whether that’s gay, black, Latinx, deaf, etc. Yet when it comes to Judaism it seems like it’s not on his radar.
And for the commentor who said religion isn’t a part of the MCU, let me introduce you to Kamala Khan who’s Muslim identity (based on the teasers) is an integral part of her identity. And when Matt Murdoch plays a larger role in the MCU, I assure you his Catholicism will also (and should be) a part of his identity. Let’s not be naive. This isn’t about not having religion in the MCU. This is about not having Judaism.
JD Charles
Spot on brother! Somehow despite 3 movies Ben Grimm being Jewish didn’t come up either. Bast centered Paganism being the national religion of Wakanda was touched on visually and in dialogue, but there’s no Jews in the MCEU?
That’s just wrong. How much of this is Kevin Fudge pandering to the Wokester Left, many of whom (Rashida Tlaib, Johan Omar, Cori Bush, etc) could give the Klan a run for their money in Antisemitism.
It’s even sadder in the case of Moon Knight as Spector and variations of it is a traditional Jewish name.
Amin
Just because it isn’t explicit doesn’t make it prejudice. The fact is small minority just wants to complain. All the Jews I know myself included don’t care. Quit making everything about identity and complaining for some virtue signaling pat on the back.
Chris
Where are all the Scottish heroes at? All I got is Historical movies about William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, Rob Roy McGregor or fiction like Highlander or Bond. I must stop watching movies immediately.
Aaron Finkenbinder
Jew here. Don’t care. Let’s move the eff on, shall we?
Gharms
“A small minority wants to complain”
I’m sure you told BLM to sit down and shut up as well then, right champ? Or is this just you left leaning folks yet again trying to act like us Jews don’t matter, INCLUDING other leftist Jews.
Gene
Shut up. Nobody cares including 99% of us Jews. Get over it already.
Silla
As a Muslim, please don’t even mention Kamala Khan. She is the most plastic, uninteresting character I’ve ever seen in Marvel Comics, not to mention how inaccurate the religious portrayal of us was. I’ve connected more to male characters in these comics that I ever will to Kamala Khan, a Muslim girl like myself.
No one’s buying the her comics nowadays and no Muslim over the age of 12 likes that cheap excuse of a story. Marvel should stick to what they’re good at.
Eliza
100 PERCENT agree.
Roux
Scarlett Johansson is Jewish. Paul Rudd is Jewish. Natalie Portman is Jewish. Taika Waititi ( Director and voice of Korg) is Jewish. Robert Downey Jr. is Jewish by descent. Gwyneth Paltrow is Jewish. Aaron Johnson (Quicksilver) is Jewish. And a number of MCU directors are Jewish.
Rich
I say,
“Let There Be Jews, in the MCU”
Ed Ross
Who cares. If you want to watch a super hero story about Judaism push for a Ten Commandments reboot. These are shows about super heroes. The weird little detours they make awkwardly pandering to various heritages always feel like a nonsequitur anyway. Show the character being weak and ordinary. Show them get Lazer powers. Show them struggle to adapt. Show them win and find their confidence. If you need to pad it out, throw in a PG love story, the death of a parent/mentor, or a reluctant friendship arc. You’re home. Just assume everyone in the audience admires everyone’s cultures and isn’t so broken that they need their identity affirmed every ten minutes in a story about lazers.
Richard
Seriously people are making this an issue?! Shows from the MCU that I have seen, hasn’t really mentioned any other religion. No Christian, Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, and so on. The closest I’ve seen was in Dr. Strange have any sort of religious tone.
Now granted I have not seen every show and every piece of MCU material released.
JD Charles
Did you see Daredevil? It starts and ends in a Catholic Church. Matt Murdoch tells his life’s story to a priest.
Chris
In Daredevil that was always a major part of his character though. In Moon Knight it was a part of him but it was never at the forefront. As another poster said it was more about his mental state and he how dealt with the issues.
JK
That wasn’t the MCU…
Roux
That wasn’t technically MCU canon until recently.
Abe
But no one messes with the Zohan.
Don
Khamala Khan’s Muslim faith has been an integral part of that character and the stories told in Ms. Marvel comics from day one. She was created and written as a Muslim kid and her comics have always been told from that point of view. Daredevil is another Marvel hero whose faith has played a huge role in the story lines that have been written about that character over the decades. Moon Knight? Not so much. It’s apples and oranges. Someone post one story arc from the comics where the fact that Marc Spector was retconned a decade after his debut as Jewish played an integral part. I dare you. And for the record, Stan Lee never said that Peter Parker was Jewish. Not once. Is it implied? Absolutely. But it’s not cannon, at least not in the comics. The fact is that while some of the most prolific comic book creators from the golden and silver age we’re Jewish, they pretty much avoided associating any of their creations with a Jewish heritage, a practice that was fairly common back then not just in the comic book industry but across the country as a whole. Just look at the Golden Age of cinema in Hollywood. Every single studio mogul was Jewish and they avoided any depiction of overtly Jewish characters in the movies they released, unless it was played for comedy. But this whole Moon Knight thing isn’t even that deep. Stop trying to create controversy where there is none. So annoying.
Plutarch Heavensbee
Disney and its writers simply need to remain consistent. If they are going to erase the origin story of their heros and expect no person to say anything, they need to stop using phrases like “whitewashing” and “cultural appropriation”. You cant be sensitive about one and insensitive about another.
JD Charles
They’ve been incredibly stupid. Case in point- hiring a Korean actor to play a national hero of the Middle East- Gilgamesh of Mesopotamia. What TF was Kevin Fudge smoking???
Plutarch Heavensbee
Right. Disney makes a big stink about things but only in select situations. What is Kevin’s rulebook exactly in this. How does he justify pissing on one group while being sensitive with another. Its favortism. There is another name for it.
Chris
What I don’t get is that is it really cultural appropriation when Whites only make up about 9% of the worlds overall population yet have built and created so much? Shouldn’t everybody else be the ones appropriating based on their logic?
John
get over it. horrible article. go cry about something else.
Shawn
Being Jewish isn’t about religion.
We are born into it, all the history and culture , its the persecution and hate, the creation and spirit.
It’s the same reason miles morales was created and I respect him as a character, when you go Into a story you want to see yourself as the hero/ villain. A piece of him/ her brings you into the story, makes you feel welcome.
For some people it’s the color of your skin, some it’s the circumstances of their life, for others it’s their religion.
And you can’t dismiss it so easily.
I’m a secular Jew and I respect my heritage, I don’t pray every day.
I still believe in him and am very proud of being Jewish.
Paul
Nick fury… Domino… Yeah, really an issue with the fake person’s religion.
Jack Dis
His heritage had no bearing on the story. The creator of him is ok with it. He is still a minority being portrayed by a POC and this whole article makes me once again shamed to be semitic.
MF Hughes
“Spits in the face of???” Hyperbole much?
Jay-eff
They wanted kick ass actor & big time audience draw: Oscar Isaac to play the role. (He’s perfect for it). Oscar Isaac isn’t Jewish. They can’t write the character as Jewish and have a none Jew play the role without people absolutely losing their ever-loving minds over this. They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Ignoring the character’s religion (that has absolutely no bearing on the story) is the lesser of two evils. Can’t we be happy that his casting gives Guatemalan kids a hero to look up to and just call it a day, already? Nobody’s face was spit on.
Mj
Everybody’s always talking about how people are being racist but yet they can’t keep race and religion out of things like this. It’s getting out of hand and it’s ridiculous. It doesn’t really matter who you are or what your religion is. If they’re great actors, they’re great. Actors end up story. After all, everybody always says no matter what you are or what color you are. The blood is all the same. It’s all red on the inside and the soul is the same exact thing.
Michael
Heimdall, half the people in Asgard, Nick Fury, Kingpin (From the movie), the crappy last Fantastic 4 movie, Perry White, Commissioner Gordon…and tons more. They’ve constantly supplanted their heritages and we were told to quit whining about it. So why does it matter now? Ultimately, it doesn’t matter…but I’m a semi-stickler for the source material, so I kinda get it.
Chaskill Schwartz
As a Jew and a comic book fan since the 1950s, I am always thrilled to see a Jewish character. Yes, it may not be relevant to the plot now, but it might be later. Religion does become part of the plot sometimes, so a Jewish character is great, even if he is psycho.
Bruce
It’s a movie, not real life! (Mic drop)
Steve G.
The article mentions Steve Ditko as being Jewish. I’m pretty sure he was never at any point in his life Jewish.
Writer6886
I would prefer if they did keep the Jewish backstory. It opens writing opportunities and promotes real inclusion instead the heterosexual, homosexual, and the rest of you can go screw yourselves inclusion we’ve been seeing. I also like the reply the artist gives. He is not spitting in anyone’s face, he is tired of those who nitpick every single minor detail. Bring in religion however make it have a point to the story. A lot of this lgbt crap is added just check some box off instead of added for story purposes. Rule number 2 of lifestyle inclusion have a point.. Rule number four of lifestyle inclusion Never sacrifice the story.
Here's a Fun Name
In a universe with literal gods Earth religions are kind of pointless anyway.
Also I couldn’t tell if the article was being sarcastic or not. Are there actually going to be people suggesting Jewish people are underrepresented in Hollywood?
Rudy
Oh stop complaining! You guys already have Magneto. LMAO!
Dash Fatbastard
One might remember that although Stan Lee and Jack Kirby may have Anglicised their names, their heritage as Stan Leiber and Jacob Kurtzberg were baked into the characters of the Marvel Universe. No TV show can erase that, nor can it erase Moon Knight’s true heritage.
Trouble509
What an idiotic article lmao
David
I don’t want to be that guy, but how many people remember that Nick Fury was Caucasian in the comics when he was created to be Marvel’s version of James Bond?
Nathan
Yessir! Great comment. Everyone needs to just quit being so sensitive
Uatu of Earth-8603
Marvel totally disenfranchised necrophiliacs by ignoring Thanos’ lust for Death.
Angela
👍🏾😂😂😂👏👏👏 I think your joke might’ve gone over some peoples’ heads, though. But don’t sweat it, this almost 64 years old, heterosexual Black woman got it!
erexx
Today even if something is remotely true it can be absolutely destroyed by it.
That’s not truth or justice.
Will
Shut up. Just shut up. This is not spitting in the face of anybody. That Marvel writer is absolutely right. They aren’t bound by origin stories. Moon Knight is a fictional character for gods sake, who the hell cares what religion the character is? Stop being so sensitive. “What about that other Muslim character?” As the man said, writers aren’t bound by origin stories. It doesn’t matter what has been in previous iterations of something. Writers can write whatever they feel like writing. Again, it isn’t real. Stop being so sensitive and grow up. There’s actual problems in the world to be worrying about. Not this ridiculousness.
T.S.
Been saying this every since Disney has taken over Marvel. They have not got a single Marvel character and story right. The are completely destroying 60 years of Marvel history in these movies they make. Best Marvel movie to date has been Blade, the first one. Tell the story right or tell a different story.
This is Marvel’s fault too for allowing it to happen. The is main reasons I stopped collecting comics in 2008.
Nathan
Grow up everyone. These pieof entertainment are for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. race, religion , who cares! Wat if we made the black panther white? Omg omg. There are so many other things being flip flopped around by color of skin, gay heroes, get over it. Not everyone gets to have their own hero they see themselves in. If u want to be diverse, teach your children it’s ok to want to be like a hero for the good things, not the color of their skin. Thesr are fictional characters, not representations of nit picky people. We can’t control wat others do, but we can control ourselves. Get over it
The O
Hollywood never truly cared for the history of comics, they care about making money. I stopped watching superhero movies over 15 years ago because of it, they never truly follow the history of comics. Guess it’s just easier to rewrite their history.
Chris
I find it hard to reason why Jewish MCU characters should have their heritage negated… Directors and producers have cowtowed to redesigning characters as black..INSTEAD OF EMPHASIZING already black characters. Let Moon Knight BE who he’s supposed to be! Let ALL MCU characters be who they’re supposed to be. Don’t want a white Luke Cage anymore than an origin wiped Moon Knight!
jal11180
SHUT THE F
U
C
K
UP, every last one of you! We are literally having a variety of conflicts, as well as a massive amount of disasters, and the whole world literally ending, and yet you idiots want to point fingers on who is to blame on things. I am tired of both the old guard xenophobic elitists AND the SJW morons being a bunch of mindless polititards that are collectively ruining comics. You want someone to blame for why comics and their related ilk dying, as well as the cosmos dying as well, how about you all take a good long look in your mirrors sometime, you whiny bunch of hypocrites? Finally, Judaism is NOT a race, it is an ideology, and it always has been, to YAHWEH EL ELOHIM, and anyone that says otherwise on the matter is not only not well versed in the Torah and other Jewish and Christian Holy Scriptures, but that they are also against YAHWEH EL ELOHIM and His Holy Word as well, and any protests otherwise will only confirm the indisputable and undeniable universal truth about the matter, period, full stop. You cannot serve two masters, for you will love and obey one and hate and disobey the other one. True servants of YAHWEH EL ELOHIM will truly serve Him and the liars will rebel against Him. You will know them by the fruit that they will bear.
Joe
So, now we have represent religious secs? Come on people, they make changes in characters all the time, get over it!! Whining asses!
Jonathan
So people are upset that the Egyptian god hero isn’t Jewish on screen, because they need “representation”. But those same people don’t care that ant-man is played by very clearly Jewish Paul Rudd? It’s that what I’m understanding here?
RORMachine
Uh…..I thought Parker was Catholic? When was it said he was Jewish?
Vladimir
Jesus, bro, go touch some grass.
SpaceGhost
i haven’t always been the biggest Spider Man fan but have been reading his title since the 70’s on and off and totally missed that he was Jewish. Same with Moon Knight. I don’t think any particular story arc was dedicated to that?
Issac
who cares what religion the guy is. Does this mean now that every hero has to have a religion? Or has to claim some find of god? who cares! Enjoy the heroes for what they do and the powers they have not what invisible person do they believe in. Go touch some grass.
Jinxo
“And Moon Knight is by far the first time that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has drawn criticism for erasing Jewish culture.”
I think this says the exact opposite of what you intended. If this is by far the first time then this means this is really the very first time this has happened. “This is hardly the first time,” is what you want to say.
Concerned
It’s a comic book movie, not a political /religious platform… Does everyone really always find a reason to get triggered?
Jon
This is a stupid article. I’m worse off for having read the half of it I did.
Peter Heimsoth
It’s certainly news to me that Spider-Man is Jewish, especially after having seen how very Catholic the Parkers are in the Tobey Maguire movies.
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