Marvel Adds Indigenous Superhero from Canada’s North

 

A new superhero has been added to Marvel¹ Comics’ Champions series. Her name is Amka Aliyak. She is known as Snowguard.

Amka Aliyak is an Inuit teenager from northern Canada. She comes from Pangnirtung, a town in the territory of Nunavut.

Inuit is the name for the native, or indigenous², people living in northern Canada, as well as parts of Greenland and the American state of Alaska. Nunavut is one of four areas that make up the homeland for Canada’s Inuit population.

Amka Aliyak first appeared last month in Champion’s issue #19. She began as a normal girl who became interested in the sudden appearance of a mysterious factory near her home.

When she decides to investigate, a new, great adventure begins. Her character is powered by an Inuit spirit-force named Sila. She gains the power to shapeshift, which means she can change her form from a girl to an animal.

Amka Aliyak is struck with mythical³ power in the newest comic book, Champions #20. Her superhero persona, Snowguard, will come to life in Champions #21, to be released in June. Marvel Comics is known for many of its superheroes, including Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Cyclops and the Hulk.

The idea for Amka came from Jim Zub, a Toronto-based writer, artist and art teacher. He took over writing the Champions series, beginning with #19.

“I’d been doing Marvel stories for three years. And when I was on the Avengers series, I made a few new villains⁵ and a couple of new little elements,” Zub said. “There are Canadian superheroes at Marvel, but there haven’t been any new ones in quite a while and there haven’t been any teenaged heroes.”

That is when Zub decided⁶ to turn to the Inuit people, whose traditions include myths⁷. Some of their stories describe creatures with human-like characteristics.

The writer teamed up with South African artist Sean Izaakse and colorist Marcio Menyz to bring Amka Aliyak to life. Zub said that in creating her character, they tried to keep an important balance. They wanted to make sure she represented the things that make indigenous culture special and interesting. But they did not want the character to “fall too far into stereotypes⁹.”

Zub said he carefully researched Inuit history and culture. He also contacted Toronto-based film producer Nyla Innuksuk, who is the great-granddaughter of the last shaman of the north.

He said the producer was able to provide good ideas for the teenage girl’s character, as well as information about life and culture in her community. This resulted in details being added, such as traditional tattoos¹¹ and clothing.

As with other superhero comics, the stories are often built around showing examples of good and bad behavior. The characters seek to “demonstrate the ways we should treat each other and the things we should watch out for,” Zub said.

He added that readers should not worry about Amka Aliyak disappearing after a few issues, as is sometimes the case with comics. He says she will be joining forces with the other Champions to fight evil and change the world for a long time to come.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

character – n. a person included in a story

issue – n. version of a newspaper, magazine, etc. that is published on a particular day

adventure – n. an exciting and sometimes dangerous experience

villain⁴ – n. someone in a story or movie who does bad things

mythological¹² – adj. things or ideas that are believed by many people but are not true

stereotype⁸ – n. an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular quality

element – n. a part of something

shaman – n. someone believed in some cultures to have powers to control or influence good and evil spirits

tattoo¹⁰ – n. a permanent picture or word added to the surface of skin, created by using needles to put colors under the skin

1 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

2 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

3 mythical   

adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的

参考例句：

• Undeniably,he is a man of mythical status.不可否认，他是一个神话般的人物。
• Their wealth is merely mythical.他们的财富完全是虚构的。

4 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

5 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 myths   

n.神话( myth的名词复数 )；杜撰出来的人[事物]

参考例句：

• They drew the material of their plays chiefly from myths and legends. 他们主要从神话传说中提取剧本的素材。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jasper White is one of rare people who believes in ancient myths. 贾斯珀。怀特是少有的相信古代神话的人之一。 来自新概念英语第二册

8 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

9 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

11 tattoos   

n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 )；归营鼓；军队夜间表演操；连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青，文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的胳膊上刺满了花纹。
• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的双臂刺满了纹身。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 mythological   

adj.神话的

参考例句：

• He is remembered for his historical and mythological works. 他以其带有历史感和神话色彩的作品而著称。
• But even so, the cumulative process had for most Americans a deep, almost mythological significance. 不过即使如此，移民渐增的过程，对于大部分美国人，还是意味深长的，几乎有不可思议的影响。