DC has just revived Super-Chief. As this snippet adapted from Wikipedia explains:

Super-Chief may be the first Indian superhero of the Silver Age. His primacy is debatable because he existed in a Western comic, a separate historical reality. In any case, he was a short-lived character who didn't have much impact and was soon forgotten.

The new Super-Chief is the one likely to last. And he embodies a whole host of clichés and stereotypes. First consider the man:

• Jon Standing Bear is tall and broad-shouldered.
• He has long black hair and ruddy skin.
• He's an angry veteran and ex-con.
• He's abandoned his beliefs and traditions while his grandfather upholds them.
• His grandfather is a drunk, as was his deceased father.

This is Indian-superhero creating by the numbers, without a hint of originality. About the only twist is that the grandfather is as angry as Jon is, and he asks Jon to put him out of his misery.

As a superhero, Super-Chief has a couple more problems:

• His powers (strength, speed) are as basic and unoriginal as they come.
• The buffalo mask is terribly wrong because most buffalo lived far from Iroquois territory. It's also weird if you think about it, since Jon's last name and strength come from bears, not buffaloes. (The mask was part of the original Super-Chief's getup, but the new stories could update it.)

In short, this is an interesting but flawed revival of a 45-year-old character. Unless Super-Chief is written with more knowledge and creativity in the future, he's bound to be stereotypical.

More on Super-Chief
ALL-STAR WESTERN #117

Related links
More on Super-Chief
Comic books featuring Indians

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