The story of Marvel’s first queer Latina superhero

At no point did I think superheroes would become such a huge part of my life. As a kid, I looked at them, and I saw everything I wasn’t. They had big muscles, supermodel good looks, and phenomenal cosmic powers. And me? I kind of looked like this, except shorter and with frizzier hair, and I never felt powerful. I was always just one big ball of nervous, soft energy, and superheroes, much like the bullies at school, didn’t seem to have a lot of room for that, for me. So I stayed away. And besides, who needs superheroes when you’re surrounded by Puerto Rican women from the Bronx?

(Laughter)

My tías were cops and paramedics, my abuelas were seamstresses and sold jewelry up the street, and my mom got her master’s degree in education and taught kindergarten in New York City public schools for over 30 years. So my superheroes were sitting around the dinner table with me.

And I don’t know how much time you’ve spent with Puerto Rican women from the Bronx, but we’re also some of the world’s greatest storytellers. And I’d sit there at my grandmother’s dining room table and I’d listen to the women in my family tell these wild, rambunctious tales about navigating their lives in the Bronx. And I wanted to be them so bad. But I wasn’t tough like them either. So mostly, I listened, and I soaked it in, and I found myself gravitating to the soft threads in their stories, and I wrote those down. The funny, the goofy, the gentle — those were my in to storytelling, so much so that I wrote a young-adult novel called “Juliet Takes a Breath,” about a chubby, queer Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx navigating sexuality, family and identity. And on the strength of “Juliet,” Marvel Comics tapped me to write the solo series for their first-ever Latina lesbian superhero, America Chavez.

Yeah!

(Cheers)

(Laughter) Listen, OK. Created by Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta for the Marvel miniseries “Vengeance,” America Chavez has been in the Marvel Universe for over seven years. She’s tough, Latina, and she’s so strong that she can punch portals into other dimensions.

(Laughter)

I know, right?

(Laughter)

And people were so excited, because finally, someone who shared her identities — queer and Latina — would be writing her story. And I saw that, right? And also, when I looked at America, I saw a young Latina in survival mode. See, because her moms had sacrificed themselves to the universe when she was a kid, and she’d been on her own ever since. No wonder she had to be tough. And that link, that link of having to be tough, that rested heavy with me. Like I said, I’m from the Bronx, and the Bronx is tough, tough like walking past sidewalk memorials and dodging cop towers on your way to the train type of tough. When stuff happens that’s bad, people are like, “Yo, you gotta keep it moving. You gotta keep trucking. Don’t cry. Don’t let it get to you.” And my mom and my tías and my abuelas, I never saw them take a moment to rest or to invest in self-care. And their soft? It never left the house.

And so that was the first thing that I wanted to give to America, the thing that I wished I’d been able to give to my abuelas and my tías, the thing that I’m trying to give to my mom now: permission to be soft. Like, it’s OK to sit in silence and go on a journey just to discover yourself, and your pain will make you crumble and you will fall and you will need to ask people for help, and that’s OK, and that being vulnerable is good for us.

But see, I didn’t come to all this compassion and healing stuff like, you know, out of nowhere, and so when it came to America’s story, I wanted to give her the space to be human, to mess up, and to find soft on her own.

So she kind of had to quit her day job. You know what I’m saying? I had to give her a superhero sabbatical,

(Laughter)

and the first thing I did was enroll her in Justice Sonia Sotomayor University.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

Because where else would she feel safe and represented and liberated but a university dedicated to the first Puerto Rican woman nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States? And her first class is “Intergalactic Revolutionaries and You,” and America is so excited, she’s ready to show off her strength, she’s ready to show off her portal-punching skills,

(Laughter)

and I stripped that safety net from her right away. And I limited her powers, and I changed up her location and shook up her world, because that is what college is like,

(Laughter)

especially if you’re alone. But I didn’t want America to be alone for long, and so in a homework assignment gone totally wrong, she lands on a battlefield with the X-Men.

(Laughter)

Because, when I was in college, the Reverend Kelly Brown Douglas was my mentor, and I knew that America Chavez needed one, too. And who better to mentor America Chavez than Storm, the first black female superhero and one of the most powerful members of the X-Men? Nobody, that’s who.

(Laughter)

And Storm teaches America how to quiet her mind inside of a star portal, and when America quiets her mind, she opens up the dimensions, and in that silence, she can listen for anything and anyone. And no one has ever offered her silence and deep reflection as a way to be powerful. And at first, she rejects it, but with Storm’s encouragement, it clicks, and America quiets the world around her, and she leans into a deep vulnerability. I mean, her and Storm even hug. I know. And that’s because my mentors loved me enough to encourage me to investigate myself and my ancestors, and when you’re 19, how do you even know what that means? I didn’t learn about the history of my people in college. I learned about the history of my people sitting on my grandmother’s lap when she pulled out the photo album and she named everyone that was here and everyone still left on the island.

So obviously, I had to crash-land a grandma on America Chavez, and not just any grandma — a big, strong, luchador grandma, one that loved her enough to take her to the ancestral plane, where America Chavez could see the history of her people play out in the skies above.

And America gets to see Planeta Fuertona, the birth planet of her grandmother, and she sees it get invaded, and she sees her grandmother and her mom flee. And she also sees the joy that they experience when their new homeland accepts them openly and offers them tremendous care. She gets to see great pain met with even greater compassion, and that’s right alongside the tremendous strength of her family. And so everywhere that I could, right, I wrote her little love notes for her and for all the other queer kids of color trying to be magnificent. Like, when you lose yourself, dig deep into your ancestry, because you will find the pieces there.

And also, reminders that soft is not a pass to duck, to hide, to be silent, to cower. Soft is also a push to hold ourselves accountable. Kind of like when America lands in World War II and comes face-to-face with Hitler, and she knocks him the hell out …

(Laughter)

just like Captain America did in 1941, and who knew we’d need America Chavez to punch Nazis in 2018.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

(Laughter)

And even that, that justified act kind of wrecks her a little bit, so I made sure that she linked up with her best friend, and they talk feelings and they go on a road trip and they sing “Just a Girl” by No Doubt at the top of their lungs.

(Laughter)

And when Midas, a sinister corporation, takes control of Sotomayor, threatens to ban portals and almost kills America … her ancestors reach for her … because they know that she needs to heal. And it is that burst of care, that healing, that gives her the fuel to defeat Midas and reclaim herself.

See, because that myth of having to go it alone and having to be tough … doesn’t serve us. America Chavez is a whole superhero, and she still needed a team of support to help her find herself. And she needed that gentleness, the type of gentleness that is rooted in compassion and still very much invested in justice and liberation. Because it’s in that space where softness and vulnerability meet strength that we transcend our everyday selves, that we become something greater, something majestic, maybe even something super.

Thank you.

(Applause)

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1 Comment

  1. cme
    Posted 2018年12月15日 at 上午8:18 | Permalink

    我从没想过超级英雄会成为我生命中如此重要的一部分。

    小时候当我看他们时,我觉得我什么都不是。

    他们有大块的肌肉,

    超模一样好看的长相,

    以及异于常人的无尽力量。

    而我呢?

    我看起来像这样,

    除了长得矮和一头卷发,

    我从未觉得自己强大。

    我曾只是一个紧张的,软弱的一个大球

    而超级英雄,则很像学校中的地痞流氓,

    对我来说,貌似没有太多的位置。

    所以,我远离他们。

    另外,当你周围都是来自布朗克斯区的波多黎各妇女时,

    谁还需要超级英雄?

    (笑)

    我的姑姑是警察和医护人员,

    我的外祖母是裁缝,沿街售卖珠宝,

    然后我妈妈取得了教育学的硕士学位

    并且在纽约的公立学校教授幼儿园。

    30多年来。

    我的超级英雄一直都陪我围坐餐桌前。

    我不知道你们花费了多少时间

    和来自布朗克斯的波多黎各妇女一起相处过,

    但是我们都是这个世界上最伟大的故事讲述者

    我经常会端坐在外祖母家的餐桌旁

    听着我们家族的女人讲述

    那些关于他们在布朗克斯区生活的狂野的故事。

    我很想成为他们。

    但我却不像他们那样坚强。

    所以,多数时候,我只是倾听,

    并且泪洒其中,

    我发现我被故事中的线索所吸引,

    所以我把它们写下来,

    有趣的,傻傻的,温柔的,

    这就是我讲故事的方式,

    内容如此之多以至于我写了一本青年小说

    叫做 “朱丽叶喘口气”,

    是关于一个来自布朗克斯区的丰满的波多黎各酷儿女孩,

    她引领性取向,家庭和身份。

    在 朱丽叶的推动下,

    惊奇漫画委托我为他们第一任拉丁酷儿超级英雄

    单独写一个系列,

    美国查韦斯。

    (喝彩)

    (笑)

    继续听,好吧。

    由乔·凯西和尼克·德拉戈塔为漫威漫画创作的迷你系列《复仇》,

    美国查韦斯已经在漫威系列漫画中

    存在超过7年时间了。

    她是顽强的拉丁籍女人,

    她强大到可以在其他维度打出入口。

    (笑)

    我知道的,对吧?

    (笑)

    人们非常激动,

    因为,最后有人会亮出她的身份 — 酷儿和拉丁籍人

    并且将会继续书写她的故事。

    并且我也看到那点,对吧?

    同样,当我看待美国查韦斯时,

    我看到一个年轻的在求生状态的拉丁人。

    瞧,因为她的妈妈在她还是一个孩提时牺牲了自己

    来挽救宇宙,

    从那以后她就得靠自己了。

    难怪她必须坚强。

    这种联系,这种让她坚强的联系

    确实让我很沉痛。

    如我所说,我来自布朗克斯,布朗克斯这个地方很艰难

    这种艰难就像你走过路边的墓地

    就像你去火车站的路上很难躲避警察一样难。

    当坏的事情发生时,人们通常这样,

    “你得让它动起来,你得继续开卡车。”

    “别哭,别让这事情影响到你。”

    我的妈妈,我的姑姑还有我的外祖母,

    我从未见到她们休息片刻或者为自己的健康投资。

    还有她们的软弱?它从未离开过房子。

    所以这要给美国查韦斯的第一件东西,

    也是我希望我曾可以送给我的外祖母和姑姑的东西,

    也正是我现在正想传达给我妈妈的东西:

    成为一个软弱的人的权利。

    就像,沉默的坐着

    并且出去旅行只为发现你自己

    并且你的疼痛会让你崩溃,然后你会摔倒

    然后你会向他人寻求帮助,

    这也可以的

    这样的保持脆弱性对我们来说是有好处的。

    但是,我来这里并不是为了同情和疗伤

    就像,你知道的,不知道从哪儿冒出来的,

    所以,当谈到美国查韦斯的故事时,

    我想要给她空间,让她可以更人性,或者更糟糕,

    并且能发现自己的温柔。

    所以她不得不辞掉日常工作。你们知道我要说什么了吗?

    我必须要给她一个超级英雄的假期,

    (笑)

    我做的第一件事是让她进入索尼娅·所托马约尔法官的大学。

    (笑)

    (掌声)

    因为难道还有其它地方比一所培养第一位

    被提名为美国最高法院法官的波多黎各女性更好的地方

    能让她感受到安全,尊敬和自由吗?

    她的第一课是 “银河系革命和你”,

    并且美国查韦斯很激动,她也准备好了展示自己的力量,

    她也准摆好了自己能够打出传送门的技能,

    (笑)

    然后我立刻剥去了她身上那层安全网。

    我限制她的力量,然后我改变她的位置

    并且重组她的世界,因为大学里就是这样。

    (笑)

    特别是当你很孤独时。

    但是我不想要美国查韦斯处于长期的孤独。

    所以,在一个完全错误的家庭作业中,

    她和X战警一起上了战场,

    (笑)

    因为,当我在大学的时候,

    凯利·布朗·道格拉斯是我的导师,

    我知道美国查韦斯也需要一个导师,

    还有比暴风更好地人能成为美国查维斯的导师吗?

    她是第一位黑人女性超级英雄,

    同样也是X战警中最强大的成员。

    还有谁?没人。

    (笑)

    暴风教导美国查韦斯如何把自己的心灵安静下来

    到一个星门中,

    当美国查韦斯静下心时,她打开了传送门,

    在那种沉默中,

    她可以倾听任何事情,任何人。

    没人曾经给予她安静

    和可以由此变的强大的深刻反思。

    一开始,她拒绝它,但是在暴风的鼓励下,

    它开始接触

    并且美国查韦斯平息了她周围的世界,

    她陷入了深深的脆弱中。

    我是说,她和暴风甚至拥抱。

    我知道。

    那是因为我的导师足够喜欢我

    并且鼓励我调查我自己和我的祖先,

    当你只有19岁的时,你怎么知道那是什么意思?

    我没有研究我们大学这些人的历史。

    我研究了坐在我祖母家餐桌周围的人的历史,

    当我祖母拿出来相册

    说出了所有在场人的名字和停留在岛上人的名字的时候,我研究了这些。

    所以,很显然,我需要给美国查韦斯紧急降临一个外婆

    不只是随便一个又大又壮的圣斗士外婆,

    是一个足够爱她并会把她带回祖先的星球的外婆,

    在那个星球上,她可以看到她的那些

    在天空中玩耍的人们的历史。

    并且美国查韦斯看到了 Fuertona 行星,

    也就是他外祖母诞生的星球,

    并且她看到了这个星球被入侵,

    并且她看到了自己的妈妈和外祖母逃亡。

    并且她看到了母亲和外祖母

    在新的家园受欢迎并且得到极大帮助时,

    她们所享受的欢乐。

    她看到巨大的痛苦会遇到更巨大的同情,

    这些都伴随着她的家族强大的力量。

    所以,在任何可能的地点,是的,

    我都会给她写情书

    献给她还有其它肤色和她一样

    想要变的更加杰出的酷儿孩子。

    就像,当你迷失自己时,

    深入挖掘你的先辈们,因为你将在那里找到片段。

    同时提醒,软弱不是逃避的通行证

    也不是躲避,沉默和畏缩的理由。

    软弱同样也是让我们坚守责任心

    的一种推动力。

    有点像美国查韦斯加入二战时

    面对面遇到希特勒,

    她把他打晕了。。。

    (笑)

    就像美国队长在1941年干的那样,

    谁知道我们会不会在2018年需要美国查韦斯来打击纳粹。

    (笑)

    (掌声)

    (笑)

    甚至那样的的正当行为,让她有点崩溃,

    所以我确定让她和她最好的朋友联合起来,

    她们讲述自己的感觉,她们去公路旅行,

    她们唱着歌曲 “Just a Girl”,毫无疑问她们吼破嗓门的唱着。

    (笑)

    当麦迪斯,一个邪恶的公司

    控制了索托马约尔,

    威胁要禁止星门并且差点杀死了美国查韦斯。。。

    她的祖先找到她。。。

    因为他们知道她需要疗伤。

    正是这种爆发的关怀,这种治愈,给了她能量

    来打败麦迪斯并且做回她自己。

    瞧,因为那个必须要独自上路,

    必须要独自坚强的神话

    没有给我们带来好处。

    美国查韦斯是一个超级英雄,

    她仍需要一个支持她的团队来帮助找回自己。

    她需要那份温柔,

    这份温柔,它扎根于同情心之中

    并且非常重视正义和自由。

    因为正是在那个空间,软弱和脆弱才遇到了这份力量

    这力量让我们超越了日常的自我

    这力量让我们变得更伟大,更庄严,

    甚至成为某种超级人物。

    谢谢。

    (掌声)