On Friday, we closed out National Arab American Heritage Month by asking you to name your favorite Arab character in superhero comics. Coming in at number one with 34.5 percent of the vote was none other than Damian Wayne, the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul. Introduced by writer Mike W. Barr and artist Jerry Bingham in 1987’s “Batman: Son of the Demon,” the character became a mainstay and the fifth Robin in DC’s main continuity thanks to Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert in 2006. Damian’s Arab heritage can often feel invisible in the comics, though there have been recent signs DC are trying to take it into account, including having him try on a thawb in “Batman: Prelude to the Wedding: Robin vs. Ra’s Al Ghul,” and by featuring a version with darker skin in “Wayne Family Adventures.”
In second place with 13.8 percent was Damian’s grandfather, Ra’s al Ghul, the only Batman villain other than the Joker who might be considered the Dark Knight’s archnemesis. While a terrorist (and goodness knows we have plenty of Arab representation like that in the media), Ra’s al Ghul is a charismatic, intelligent and honorable foe, who embodies how the late Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams brought depth and darkness to the Batman comics in the early ’70s. He is the closest thing Batman has to a Bond villain, and it’s bittersweet that, while he was the first main antagonist in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, that version wasn’t even an Arab.
Tied in third place with 10.3 percent each were another classic DC supervillain, the presumably Arabic-speaking Black Adam, and Marvel’s new crime fighter Amulet (Fadi Fadlalah). Created by Saladin Ahmed and Sara Alfageeh in 2020, the nazar-inspired Amulet was Marvel’s first Arab American superhero, a burly protector who wields magic shields in a variety of ways. So far he has teamed up with Ms. Marvel and Miles Morales, and hopefully it won’t be long before he has his own series.
Eid Mubarak to Arab and non-Arab Muslims alike, and please check back on Friday for our next Reader Poll!
