Captain America Producer Addresses Sabra Controversy in ‘Brave New World’

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The upcoming movie “Captain America: Brave New World” is generating a lot of excitement as it approaches theaters. This sequel not only passes the torch to Sam Wilson, portrayed by Anthony Mackie, for the lucrative Captain America franchise, but also introduces Harrison Ford’s character, Red Hulk, into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). However, the film has been shrouded in controversy since 2022 due to the inclusion of Ruth Bat-Seraph, or Sabra, an Israeli hero played by Shira Haas. Now, Marvel producer Nate Moore is addressing this controversy by explaining the reasons behind and methods used for altering the character in “Brave New World”.

In the world of comics, Sabra is a mutant superhero who serves as an agent for the Israeli intelligence agency known as Mossad. Her appearance in “Captain America: Brave New World” sparked some controversy due to the sensitive topic of Israel, but this was further amplified after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. This attack led to Israel invading Gaza, a conflict that has sadly resulted in the loss of thousands of innocent Palestinian lives.

During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Captain America: Brave New World producer Nate Moore addressed the alterations made to Sabra’s character. When asked about how much Sabra had been modified from her comic book origins, Moore clarified that the changes were not as significant as some online speculation suggested. He explained that adapting a comic for the big screen necessitates altering certain elements but emphasized that they wanted to preserve Sabra’s core personality traits.

Moore further stated, “Many of the characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe differ from their original comic book counterparts. I believe there are differences due to the unique nature of film as a medium compared to publishing.” However, he was impressed by actress Ruth’s portrayal of Sabra, particularly her strong-willed and self-assured attitude, which closely mirrored her comic book character. “Sabra is a determined, self-confident woman who knows exactly what she wants and isn’t afraid to go through anyone to get it,” Moore added.

In the movie, Ruth used to be an ex-agent from the Black Widow program who left the Red Room after the occurrences portrayed in the 2021 “Black Widow” film. Now, she’s collaborating with President Thaddeus Ross, with her past connections to Mossad and mutant identity being omitted from this narrative. Moore discussed why this shift is significant, expressing:

In the Black Widow film, we found it intriguing to establish Ruth within the Red Room lore as something more than just a Russian institution, hinting at its global reach. This aspect is particularly captivating because despite working for the U.S. government and collaborating with Thaddeus Ross, Ruth’s perspective on him differs significantly from that of Sam Wilson. The intrigue lies in their contrasting views about Thaddeus Ross’s suitability as a president, which may set Sam and Ruth on a potential conflict path, adding an exciting layer to the narrative.

Instead of Sabra being portrayed strictly as an Israeli superhero in the upcoming “Captain America” film, Marvel Studios may have anticipated potential controversy surrounding her character. By altering Ruth’s background to a Black Widow agent rather than a member of Mossad, the narrative connects to the existing storyline about numerous Black Widows in existence, as depicted in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Hawkeye”.

In a nutshell, Marvel Studios often takes comic book characters and significantly transforms them for their movie adaptations, such as changing Kaecilius, a minor Doctor Strange villain, into a completely different antagonist for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), or combining Whiplash from Iron Man 2 with Crimson Dynamo in the films. However, even though Marvel has a history of making major changes to lesser characters, this hasn’t stopped the debate over Sabra’s appearance in Captain America: Brave New World from escalating.

The Controversy Around Sabra in ‘Captain America: Brave New World’

In a move to alter Ruth’s character and differentiate her from her comic book version, there’s been minimal success in quelling the debate. As early as April 2023, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a Palestinian-led nonviolent initiative, decided to boycott Captain America: Brave New World. This was prior to the Israel-Hamas conflict that erupted in October 2023. Even before Disney revealed their plans to reimagine the character Sabra as Black Widow, a role change that has not led to BDS rescinding its stance.

Furthermore, transforming Ruth into the Black Widow and apparently eliminating her Israeli ancestry upset fans who are of Jewish origin. However, in a recent chat with Variety, Moore clarified that Ruth will be a first-generation Israeli, not an agent from Mossad.

The character Wenwu, portrayed by Tony Leung in the movie “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, was created as a replacement for The Mandarin, a comic book villain with culturally offensive elements that Marvel Studios sought to address. However, even with all the changes, many Chinese viewers found the character problematic. Shi Wenxue, a film critic from Beijing, expressed this sentiment to The Global Times in 2021, stating, “The character of Fu Manzhou perpetuates the ‘yellow peril’ stereotype common in Western media. It is difficult for Chinese audiences to accept that a biased character from a century ago continues to appear in a modern Marvel production.

William Shakespeare’s quote, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” implies that a thing’s fundamental nature remains unchanged regardless of its name or label. Translated to the context of Wenwu and Ruth, if these characters retain their core traits and roots from their comic book origins, can they ever truly depart from them? Conversely, if the characters have significantly evolved or differ greatly from their original counterparts, are they still considered the same character?

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2025-02-07 21:32