Given the destructive capabilities of a single, normal, human baby, a major hole in the Superman mythos is the Kents would have been dead within a week of bringing home their superpowered Kryptonian foundling.

My Little Green Turtle: 

A Superhero in the Making

(小緑亀)

I utterly adored The Shadow Hero written by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by Sonny Liew. Whoever thought that a single work could encapsulate my love of Golden Age superhero comics, Chinese martial arts lore and the Asian American immigrant experience? I can't wait to read the follow-ups to the debut volume.

Completely by  chance, I dressed my son Jack in a onesie today that appeared to be the exact shade of green worn by the Green Turtle, the long-forgotten Chinese-American superhero revived in The Shadow Hero. Feeling inspired, I placed him on a green beach blanket I found (an acceptable shade), and taking a green bandanna sitting in my bureau (not really the right shade or pattern, but it worked), I dressed him up to serve as an appropriate tribute to the Green Turtle. Even better, without any coaching or prompting, baby Jack brought his hands together in a rough approximation of the kung-fu hand salute.

One of the memories this image stirred up was the fact that when I was five, my mother indulged my Superman fixation and sewed a little cape for me to wear saying "Super Dwight." But funny enough, that cape wasn't done up in the Man of Steel's trademark red, white and blue.

It was green.

Coincidence?

Marvel Comic's The Nisei Squadron

On Tuesday, the wife and I watched the second season premiere of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series on ABC. The episode began with a World War II flashback featuring Agent Peggy Carter of the Strategic Scientific Reserve (the predecessor to S.H.I.E.L.D.) accompanied by Captain America's compatriots the Howling Commandos, represented by Dum Dum Dugan and Jim Morita.

Out of curiosity, I looked up further details on the Jim Morita character, played onscreen by Kenneth Choi (who coincidentally is also from the Chicago area and appeared in the Red Dawn remake I worked on, though we shared no scenes). To my surprise, I discovered here that Morita did actually originate from the classic Marvel Comic books, and even headed up his own group called the Nisei Squadron.

Jim Morita as he appeared in Marvel comics

Jim Morita as played by Kenneth Choi in Captain America: The First Avenger