The year is 2017 and I'm sitting in a not-so-crowded theater, watching "Justice League," DC's latest film in their (now almost defunct) superhero cinematic universe. The film is average at best and would not yield solid results financially or critically, especially when compared to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's multiple successes in the same genre.
What pleasantly surprised me about the film, though, is the scene in which Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck) goes to recruit Barry Allen/the Flash (Ezra Miller) to join his team of superheroes, and Barry mentions that he's Jewish. Now, six years later, after several delays and a development hell that saw various writers and directors join and leave the project, DC has finally released "The Flash," focusing on Miller's character. So, despite the film's controversial baggage (more on that in a sec), one truth still remains — this is essentially the first superhero film to star a Jewish protagonist. Congrats, DC, you technically got there before Marvel!
"The Flash" had the chance to set itself apart, to focus on a cultural representation . . . to be about something bigger than just more well-trodden multiversal shenanigans.
Ultimately, though, this fact will go down in history as nothing but a footnote because this film doesn't even attempt to utilize this representation for anything. In the film, the Flash uses his superspeed to travel back to the past in order to prevent his mother's murder when he was a child, but by changing the past, Barry finds himself in a drastically altered timeline, where there's no Superman, the Bruce Wayne that he knew is now a completely different Bruce (Michael Keaton), and the rest of the Justice League heroes no longer exist. Barry's family may be whole, but with General Zod (Michael Shannon) attacking Earth with his army, there's no one to stand in his way. So now Barry must find a way to fix the mess he had brought upon.
In a cinematic sphere fatigued by never-ending superhero films, "The Flash" had the chance to set itself apart, to focus on a cultural representation that has thus far been absent from these franchises, to be about something bigger than just more well-trodden multiversal shenanigans, but it squandered that opportunity by ignoring the established identity of its protagonist. That said, even if the film was more culturally aware, celebrating its representation would have been impossible, because no one would want to celebrate Ezra Miller who's been accused of numerous offenses and steeped in controversies. According to Rolling Stone, in the span of a few years, Miller reportedly choked a woman at a bar in Iceland, was arrested in Hawaii with a charge of second-degree assault, was accused by parents of grooming their daughter and charged with breaking into a neighbor's home in Vermont (later they pleaded guilty for trespassing in a plea deal), among other allegations.
If a decade ago, the leads in superhero films were all white, straight men, in recent years there's been a shift to more representation in this genre, primarily in the MCU — like with the "Black Panther" films, "Shang-Chi" and the all-inclusive "Eternals" and upcoming "Marvels." So a few years ago, I thought, "Surely an MCU Jewish superhero is just around the corner" . . . but nay! We are 32 films into the franchise, yet a kosher superhero has yet to grace the big screen. Granted, the Jewish population amounts to less than 3% of the U.S. population, and there are larger ethnicities and minorities that have received poorer (or zero) representation in media and deserve their voices to be heard as well.
Considering the ever-increasing antisemitism in recent years, it'd also be empowering to have heroes of our own, heroes who embody our cultural identity, experiences and struggles.
But still, one proper Jewish superhero with an authentic voice wasn't that much to ask, was it? Especially considering how Jewish creatives are the ones who invented all of this superhero stuff in the first place, like Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (creators of Superman), Bob Kane and Bill Finger (creators of Batman), and Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (creators of Marvel properties and characters like Fantastic Four, X-Men, the Avengers, and many others). Alas, over the past 20-plus years, Jewish representation in the genre has been lackluster and there have even been cases where canonically Jewish characters from the comics had their Jewishness either unacknowledged or erased when adapted to the screen. Take Kitty Pryde from "X-Men," who was introduced as Jewish in her first comic book appearance back in 1980, even visually wearing a Star of David necklace. Alas, the X-Men films didn't bring any of that over to the screen.
I remember how, as a Jewish teen, I started being more aware of my place in the world and realizing that we sorely lack representation in the heroic department. Most of the time, we're the funny people; we dominate comedies and sitcoms, and even in non-comedies, we tend to end up as the babbling-but-intellectual comic relief. As proof, see Ezra Miller's Flash, who just so happens to be the babbling-but-intellectual comic relief in their own film, (though admittedly, they play this role quite well). Now, I don't mind that we're the "funny people," but considering the ever-increasing antisemitism in recent years, it'd also be empowering to have heroes of our own, heroes who embody our cultural identity, experiences and struggles. Clearly I'm not the only one hungry for Jewish representation as just a few days ago, David Corenswet was cast for the role of Superman in James Gunn's "Superman Legacy," and a lot of buzz has followed about the possibility of the first Jewish Superman due to Corenswet's Jewish ancestry from his father's side.
"But what about the MCU's Moon Knight? Isn't he Jewish?" is a thought I imagine some may have. Yes, the titular character of the 2022 Disney+ show is the first Jewish superhero of the MCU. Except, well, only one of his personas, Marc Spector, appears to identify as Jewish, and it took the show until its penultimate episode to even confirm he's Jewish like in the comics, and even if the character is Jewish, actor Oscar Isaac who portrays him, is not. So yeah, Moon Knight is positively the MCU's first barely Jewish character.
The reason I'm pointing out the discrepancy between the actor's and the character's ethnicity is because it joins a long and disappointing trend in Hollywood where Jews don't get to play themselves, and instead, leading Jewish roles are given to gentile actors (as has previously been noted by Sarah Silverman, Maureen Lipman, and others). This casting trend has also been evident in the superhero genre, where more often than not, super-powered Jews have been played by non-Jews. In the first season of the CW's "Batwoman," its titular character was gay and Jewish (like in the comics). However, star Ruby Rose is not Jewish, and while the show addresses the LGBT aspect pretty well, it largely ignores the character's Jewishness beyond rare and shorthandy references to her bat mitzvah or Hanukkah. Another glaring example is Magneto — perhaps the most iconic super-powered Jewish character in cinema thanks to his appearance in seven of the "X-Men" films, but not only was Magneto played by non-Jewish actor, he was played by a non-Jewish actor twice – Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender, respectively. The most problematic thing about Magneto, though, is that even though he's been the only consistent Jewish presence in superhero films, half the time he's essentially a villain, and in one of the films ("X2") he even attempts genocide against all non-mutants, which is pretty jarring considering Magneto himself is a Holocaust survivor.
Now I'm not saying that only Jewish actors should play Jewish characters. Unlike with other minorities, there's no heavily defined look requirement, and undoubtedly, a producer would want to cast a high-profile actor in the role. But I do think that non-Jews playing Jews should perhaps be the exception, not the rule. Representation isn't just about the character onscreen, it's also about who plays them, and by striving for actors of the same cultural or ethnic background as the character, it can lead to a more authentic and respectful portrayal, as well as granting more acting opportunities to actors from the same background. Like with any other minority, Jewish people share a story and experiences that others do not.
Ironically, Barry Allen isn't Jewish in the comics, but "Justice League" chose to retain Miller's identity and make it part of the character . . . but only on the surface. So even though it may have been accidental due to casting, "The Flash" managed to clear the very low bar of "lead Jewish actor playing a Jewish superhero." The only reason this film is even vaguely a step in the right direction is because all the previous films and shows never bothered to make a single step.
As for what the future holds, in light of the numerous accusations made against Ezra Miller's and "The Flash's" disappointment at the box office, according to Vulture, it's doubtful that DC will give this film and its actor a second chance, so this might be the end of the road for the kosher speedster. Meanwhile, on the Marvel side of things, there's the "Fantastic Four" film on the horizon with its still-to-be-announced cast, so there's still a chance that they cast a Jewish actor for Ben Grimm/The Thing (another character known to be Jewish in the comics). Coming even sooner is "Captain America: Brave New World" with actress Shira Haas as Sabra, both of whom are Jewish Israeli, so this might end up as the first actually culturally aware Jewish representation in superhero films. Sure, she wouldn't be the lead, but at least it's another step forward.
Now, about the first Jewish Disney princess . . .
