Marvel Comics Introduce Indigenous Superhero
She’s young, has super powers and is indigenous!
This week, a new superhero makes her debut in Marvel Comics’ Champion series: Amka Aliyak, alias Snowguard, an Inuit teenager who hails from a town in Nunavut, one of the four regions that comprise the homeland for the Inuit population of Canada.
She debuted in Champion’s April issue #19 as a normal Inuit girl whose curiosity is piqued by the sudden appearance of a mysterious factory near her community. When she decides to investigate, adventure ensues – and, powered by an Inuit spirit-force named Sila, Amka gains the power to shapeshift, that is, transform into animal form.
The character is the brainchild of Jim Zub, a Toronto-based writer, artist and art instructor who, this year, took over writing the Champion series.
Zub said he has conducted extensive research into Inuit history and culture.
Traditional cultures have always admired the powers of certain animals, and the lines between the human and animal world blur in traditional Inuit stories in which shamans or Ijiraq, “shapeshifters,” transform into bears, wolves and other animals.
But the character Amka is more than just her superpowers. She is also a typical modern Inuit teenager, struggling to find her place between traditional and modern cultures, questioning the stories and values of her grandparents.
“These are things that people struggle with all the time,” said Zub.
He acknowledges that he doesn’t want to overly focus on the negative experience of Inuit under Canadian rule. And, he does not want to ignore issues like poverty, food shortages and violence against women.
"If we do it right, hopefully these kinds of bigger things come through in the storytelling," he said.
Comic superheroes are often retired after a few issues; but, Zub says Amka is here to stay and will join a cast of seven other characters, among them Spider-Man, the Hulk and Ms. Marvel, to fight the bad guys and change the world.
