Explained: Why are fans upset with Sabra's entry in MCU?
Marvel Studios went all guns blazing to the D23 event and dropped some major announcements. One of these was the film Captain America: New World Order, which will mark Sabra's entry into the MCU. Sabra, a controversial character, is a mutant and a Mossad agent and will be played by Shira Haas. However, not everyone is happy with this development. Here's the entire controversy.
Who is Sabra and why is she important?
Sabra was created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema. The character's first appearance in the comics was in 1980s in The Incredible Hulk as a "deliberate and self-conscious Israeli echo of Captain America." During her first appearance, she charges at Hulk, considering him "to be in league with a group of Arab terrorists." Hulk later describes her as a "Zionist recruiting board."
The controversy finds its roots in the Israel-Palestine conflict
The controversy is tied to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, and several people believe Sabra's inclusion in the MCU will "promote Islamophobia," "back ethnic cleansing," and "justify massacres." Over the years, Israel has been criticized for treating Palestinians as "inferior," suppressing them, and following an "apartheid" system. In the comics, Sabra worked for Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency responsible for "assassinations of several Palestinians in Europe."
Several netizens have accused MCU of 'promoting genocide'
Furious fans stormed Twitter vocalizing their fury. One person tweeted, "Sabra's existence within the MCU shows that Marvel Studios supports the colonization of Palestine." Another tweet read, "Marvel is promoting the genocide and colonialism against Palestinians in the new Captain America movie, please don't support it and don't give Marvel your money." This tweet has been shared widely and received over 42K likes.
Read netizens' distress over the matter here
Here's another Twitter thread
There's immense conflict over the origin of the word 'Sabra'
The origin of the character's name is also disputed. Sabra is the name of a cactus bush and several Israelis are named after it. However, the bushes allegedly also marked the location of Palestinian villages destroyed by Zionist and Israeli forces in 1948. Moreover, Sabra was also the infamous genocide camp where "the Israeli military allowed Lebanese Christian militia to massacre residents" in 1982.
The character has been 'freshly imagined for the screen'
Marvel Studios issued a statement in its defence and said, "While our characters and stories are inspired by the comics...they are always freshly imagined for the screen and today's audience." The makers also underlined that "the filmmakers are taking a new approach with the character Sabra who was first introduced in the comics over 40 years ago." Will this clarification finally quell the outrage?
Here's all you need to know about 'Captain America 4'
Captain America: New World Order is the fourth Captain America film after Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Captain America: Civil War. As part of MCU's Phase 5, it'll be directed by Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox) and will release on May 3, 2024. For now, Tim Blake Nelson, Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, and Carl Lumbly have been confirmed.
