Captain America: Brave New World has a controversy that has been going on for decades, but is fueled by current events.
The film stars Anthony Mackie as Captain America and Harrison Ford, making his Marvel Studios debut taking over the role of US President Thaddeus Ross from the late William Hurt. The first trailer was released in the early hours of Friday and is generally getting rave reviews from fans.
But one supporting character seems destined to be an unintended lightning rod, and there are calls to boycott the film, sight unseen. Emmy Nominee Shira Haas (Unorthodox) plays Ruth Bat-Seraph, an Israeli former Black Widow who is now a high-ranking US government official.
The character’s reaction stems from her original incarnation in the comics. Ruth was formerly known as Shabra, who served as a Mossad agent. Some who are pro-Israel have an issue with the character switching allegiance to an American agency. While those who are anti-Israel object to the character because of her roots (or, in some cases, simply because she is Israeli).
The situation is complicated and full of misinformation. Some have speculated that the character’s name and backstory were changed due to recent events, and some who are calling for a boycott don’t seem to realize that her backstory has changed at all. There are also many who realize that the character has changed but say it doesn’t matter.
The change actually dates back to 2022 when Marvel announced at the D23 Expo that Haas was joining the MCU. At the time, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel criticized the decision, decrying “the ugly racism of the original comic and its exploitation of the Mossad is sick.”
At the time, the studio made it clear that the character’s story would change as well issued a statement on the subject: “While our characters and stories are inspired by the comics, they are always fresh for the screen and today’s audiences, and the filmmakers are taking a fresh approach with the character Sabra who first appeared in the comics over 40 years ago. ”
Marvel sometimes updates their characters to reflect modern times. by Benedict Wong Doctor Strange The Wong character, for example, was steeped in tropes when he was created in 1963, but the character was embraced in the updated film incarnation.
In Captain America 4, the name Sabra will not be used. The character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk comic in 1980 and wore a blue and white outfit with a Star of David. She was dubbed the first Israeli superheroine and was a major fixture in the Marvel comics universe, despite never having her own series.
However, some found the original comic character to be problematic, with Sabra often fighting against Arab terrorists. Also, the name Sabra has several meanings. It can be a person born in Israel, and it is also the name of a tree whose fruits have a prickly outside and sweet inside. But it’s also the name of a refugee camp in Lebanon where a militia massacred hundreds of Palestinians while Israeli troops remained nearby in 1982. That was two years after the character first appeared, which is another misinformation circulating on the Internet – some claim that Marvel deliberately named the character after the massacre.
A message of protest is making the rounds: “The character’s history involves working for the genocidal Israeli government and its occupation forces. By reviving this racist character in any form, Marvel promotes Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.”
At the same time, it’s hard to imagine that some version of an Israeli hero at a major pop culture event hasn’t been protested by some in 2024 — as Eden Golan found out when he endured anti-Semitic backlash to enter this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Marvel had no comment on the matter. Here’s the new trailer:
