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Arab-Muslim Character to Join DC Comics’ ‘Green Lantern’ Series

Sep. 4, 2012 6:56am Billy Hallowell

DETROIT (TheBlaze/AP) — When DC Comics decided to blow up its fabled universe and create a brave, diverse future, Geoff Johns drew from the past for a new character: his own background as an Arab-American. This is the latest push for inclusiveness in the comic, with the company announcing earlier this summer that the Green Lantern, himself, is being relaunched as a gay character.

The company’s chief creative officer and writer of the relaunched “Green Lantern” series dreamed up Simon Baz, DC’s most prominent Arab-American superhero and the first to wear a Green Lantern ring. The character and creator share Lebanese ancestry and hail from the Detroit area, which boasts one of the largest and oldest Arab communities in the United States.

Arab Muslim Character Simon Baz to Join Green Lantern | DC Comics

This image provided by DC Comics via Bender/Helper Impact shows interior panels of the November 2012 issue of the latest Green Lantern series featuring the character Simon Baz, DC Comics most prominent Arab-American superhero and the first to wear a Green Lantern ring. The character and creator share Lebanese ancestry and hail from the Detroit area, which boasts one of the largest and oldest Arab communities in the United States. (AP Photo/DC Comics via Bender/Helper Impact)

“I thought a lot about it — I thought back to what was familiar to me,” Johns, 39, told The Associated Press by phone last week from Los Angeles, where he now lives. “This is such a personal story.”

Baz’s story begins in a standalone “zero issue” available Wednesday that’s part of a companywide effort to fill in the gaps or tell the origins of a character or team. Johns has no plans for Baz to fade into the background — the character in February is bound for the Justice League of America, one of DC’s premier super team books, to fight alongside Green Arrow, Catwoman and Hawkman.

Johns said he took economic as well as ethnic cues for the character from his native Detroit area, with Baz resorting to stealing cars after being laid off from his automotive engineering job. He steals the wrong car, which inadvertently steers him into a terrorism probe and, eventually, an unexpected call to join the universe’s galactic police force.

This image provided by DC Comics via Bender/Helper Impact shows the November 2012 cover of the latest Green Lantern series featuring the character Simon Baz, DC Comics most prominent Arab-American superhero and the first to wear a Green Lantern ring. The character and creator share Lebanese ancestry and hail from the Detroit area, which boasts one of the largest and oldest Arab communities in the United States. (AP)

The olive-skinned, burly Baz hails from Dearborn, the hometown of Henry Ford and the capital of Arab America. His story begins at 10 years old, when he and the rest of his Muslim family watch their television in horror as airplanes fly into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Events unfold from there as U.S. Arabs and Muslims find themselves falling under intense suspicion and ostracism in the days, months and years following the attacks.

“Obviously, it’s affecting everybody,” said Johns, who grew up in nearby suburbs in a Lebanese Christian household and got into comics when he discovered his uncle’s old collection in his Arabic grandmother’s attic. “One of the things I really wanted to show was its effect on Simon and his family in a very negative way.”

Baz is not the first Arab or Muslim character to grace — or menace, as has historically been the case — the comic world. Marvel Comics has Dust, a young Afghan woman whose mutant ability to manipulate sand and dust has been part of the popular X-Men books. DC Comics in late 2010 introduced Nightrunner, a young Muslim hero of Algerian descent reared in Paris. He is part of the global network of crime fighters set up by Batman alter-ego Bruce Wayne.

Frank Miller, whose dark and moody take on Batman in “The Dark Knight Returns” in 1986 energized the character, took a different tack in his recent book, “Holy Terror,” which tells the story of The Fixer and his efforts to stamp out Islamic terrorists. The graphic novel initially took root as a look at Batman’s efforts to fight terrorism, which grew out of Miller’s experiences of being in New York on 9/11.

A broader mission to bring Islamic heroes and principles to the comic world comes from Naif Al-Mutawa, creator of “The 99.” The U.S. educated psychologist from Kuwait has been gaining followers across the globe since the 2006 debut of the comic book that spawned a TV series. “The 99″ is named after the number of qualities the Quran attributes to God: strength, courage, wisdom and mercy among them.

The series gained a wide audience in 2010, when it worked with DC on a six-issue crossover that teamed the “The 99″ with The Justice League of America.

Johns, who also has written stories starring Superman, The Flash and Teen Titans, said going diverse only works if there’s a good story, and he believes he found that with Baz. But don’t mistake him for a hero in the beginning: Baz disappoints both devout Muslims – his forearm tattoo that reads “courage” in Arabic is considered “haram,” or religiously forbidden – and broader society by turning to a life of crime.

“He’s not a perfect character. He’s obviously made some mistakes in his life, but that makes him more compelling and relatable,” he said. “Hopefully (it’s) a compelling character regardless of culture or ethnic background. … But I think it’s great to have an Arab American superhero. This was opportunity and a chance to really go for it.”

Of course, Johns hopes Green Lantern fans accept Baz, who joins other humans who have been “chosen,” including Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner. The overall relaunch has been good for DC, which has seen a solid gain in sales and critical reception – as well as some expected grumbling – since coming out with the “New 52″ last year.

Johns also sees the debut of Baz as a chance to reconnect with people in his home state: He’s scheduled to visit Dearborn this weekend for events related to the release that include a signing Saturday at a comic book store and a free presentation Sunday on his career and characters at the Arab American National Museum. He worked with museum staff to make sure he got certain details right about his character and the Arab-Muslim community.

“It doesn’t completely define the character but it shapes the character,” he said. “My biggest hope is that people embrace it and understand what we’re trying to do.”

–

RELATED:

DC Comics Relaunches the Original Green Lantern as a Gay Superhero

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Comments (65)

EqualJustice
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 10:04am
Who cares!!! NO ONE buys comics any longer, do they? Gay and Muslim just don’t go together anyway.

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- BigRed1
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 10:15am
  Obviously you have never been to the Middle East and seen Man Love Thursdays. Homos and Muslims go hand in hand literally!
  
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- hidden_lion
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 1:17pm
  I guess he will be forced to the the ring for Jihad, maybe he will do us a favor and take out Detroit while he is at it.
  
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- The_Cabrito_Goat
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 3:09pm
  Comic book “heroes” became psychopaths in and around the 90s, with the advent of “Watchmen”.
  
  Just look at the difference between today’s Batman and the 50s version of the caped crusader.
  
  Report this comment
BigRed1
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 9:56am
Not a surprise since Green Lantern is now gay. Finally, a superhero everyone can relate too. I want a Jewish Banker or Irish Bartender Superhero! Nobody respects my heritage! Its all about me me me me me me me! DC is racist and anti semetic for not having more jewish/irish superheros. Boycott is coming DC!

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- rsanchez1
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 12:32pm
  I preferred my comic book Arabs when they were villains getting their asses kicked, like Batman with Ra’s al Ghul. Now, DC is throwing their comics to crap.
  
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capitalismrocks
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 9:09am
DC has gone down the tubes with the whole PC thing…. I’ll stick with Stan Lee and Marvel, they aren’t afraid to put America first and not conform to the PC world…. as Tony Stark says “I’m done with the whole liberal agenda”

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- Cataclysm
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 9:41am
  Agree… People everywhere get hung up on being PC.
  
  Report this comment
teddrunk
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 9:08am
Does the Muslim Super Hero stone 13 year old rape victims as an “honor death”?

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jhrusky
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 9:05am
And yet more proof that America has been infiltrated at all levels by people that want to destroy us.

Sadly, it is looking like it’s going to continue and nothing is going to get better. The American people have become too complacent to do anything. After all that has been happening, and even after a fair number of people realize what is happening as seen by The Blaze and other blogs, they’re STILL too damn lazy to get up off their a55 from watching their Jersey Shore and drinking their cheap swill to go out and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! People STILL are not attending their local meetings where they could begin to make a difference; school boards, cities, towns, villages, cities and more. Blogging is NOT going to fix this! Does it take a complete collapse and reformation into communism or marxism or socialism or the total embracement of sharia to wake you up?! Once that happens, it’s too late … you will NOT be able to do a damn thing about it!

It’s so frustrating to witness the complete lack of involvement of so many people… people that talk the talk but can’t get off their big butts to walk the walk!

Everyone here should be attending every local meeting they have … taking the time out of their busy lives to do so. I doubt, no, I KNOW that is not happening as I know some others who post here and all they do is post … no action whatsoever.

GET OUT AND MAKE YOURSELF HEARD! Demand we return to our values before it’s too late!

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- pondfrog
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 10:18am
  There is evidence everywhere and 45% of the people can’t see it. When you tell them they think you are lying. When you point out the numerous pieces of proof, they call you racist or a hater. How is the world can we get through to the other side? The media won’t cover it!
  
  Report this comment
- objectivetruth
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 10:23am
  How much good will anything do is more the question isn’t it?Many of us including myself do go to the meetings.While we are able to get some things settled on the local front the big picture is still being ignored.No one wants to bring it up.They tap dance around it like its the red headed step child.These freaks have inbedded themselves so deeply it will take god congress and the ultimate power of the unknown to unseat them from their vestigages.
  
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- jhrusky
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 3:16pm
  @ objectivetruth
  
  I agree and totally understand your frustration. Thank you for trying to make a difference. And rest assured, it WILL happen if people like you, I and others continue to attend these meetings and make their voices heard… make their demands heard. The progressives didn’t do this overnight or even over a couple of years. It took decades for them to get where they have and it’s going to take just as long for us to get some reasonableness back into our country. It’s not going to be easy, but nothing really good is easy. The important thing is that we continue to fight this fight and ensure we don’t lose any more ground. We have to keep trying to wake up the willfully blind. They do come around, but so very slowly.
  
  Personally, I think the reason most people won’t accept what is happening is because to do so is just too damn horrible for them to comprehend. Their minds do not want to grasp that there is evil out there and it is set to enslave them and their children and grandchildren. That is just too hard for them to accept, so they turn that fear back into anger toward the person trying to wake them up and shout, “RACIST” and other stupid things.
  
  So, to quote New Riders of the Purple Sage, “Keep On Keeping On”!
  
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Miami
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 8:59am
Gee I wonder if he’ll stone the new Gay (DC Comics) Character?

Or Wonder Woman since she shows so much skin?

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- Miami
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 9:01am
  How dare she fly a plane much less alone…
  
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aceboogie
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 8:34am
I think this green lantern is going to bomb. Pun intended…

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Uechi
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 8:30am
Ahab the arab who is going to fight for lies, injustice and the shariah way. The first episode is how to beat your 10 year old wife. The secnd episode is how to kill Jews and Christians. Are you kidding me an Islamic hero? What crappola.

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boristhescot
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 8:23am
Seriously folks, the fact that DC chose somebody who was Arab American is a problem? This may be a bit fan-boyish, but the ring is meant to pick people from every walk of life. That fact that they didn’t pick a white male isn’t pandering. Nor was it when they picked a black make or a white female or a green female. My big issue is if they didn’t want this to be about terrorism, why is he wearing a ski mask and carrying a gun?

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- stage9
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 8:27am
  So does this mean he going to kill Green Lantern for being gay?
  
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- themachinist239
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 10:50am
  “My big issue is if they didn’t want this to be about terrorism, why is he wearing a ski mask and carrying a gun?”
  
  Because if you’d read the entire article, or any synopsis released by DC about the new series, you’d have seen that his story is one of a Detroit man losing his job, then resorting to crime via stealing cars. The green lantern picks its target always with an intent, to bring out the good in it’s target to fight for justice. This character is consistent with the story DC has been elaborating on for years. I’ve grown up with these comics. There have been numerous character sub-plots like this one in every superhero universe, be it DC or Marvel (black teen Spiderman for example). The Blaze has no incentive to divulge these silly details which would give everyone a balanced view. This is a non-story desperately pushed into the spotlight to create controversy out of nothing.
  
  Report this comment
- Chet Hempstead
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:26pm
  themachinist239
  Yeah, but why does a guy with a Green Lantern ring, which has repeatedly been described as one of the most powerful weapons in the galaxy, need to still carry a gun? I don’t know what kind of gun it is or what it does. It’s obviously designed to remind you of a .45, but when you look closely you see it has all kinds of raygun flanges and a second barrel where the recoil spring guide rod would be. Assuming that it is some kind of weapon, why does he need it? None of the other Green Lanterns carry a piece.
  
  As for the ski mask, that’s easy – because other superhero masks are idiotic. It’s completely unrealistic that the first two Green Lanterns went around for years wearing masks that only covered the area around their eyes, and this was supposed to have disguised them so effectively that nobody ever recognized them.
  
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Wildblue3
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 8:11am
I’m a comic guy and can explain a little. There is a parallel earth that has many of the same heroes we do but with a change. On that earth, Flash got his speed from Hermes, superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were all killed, and that Green Lantern is gay. On the normal earth, we will get Simon Baz now that Hal Jordan is gone for now. DC does do this. In the late 60s-70′s, they gave the ring to the black John Stewart to promote segregation. I feel they are doing the same thing now. I agree with “Lead Them” They should have made a female Muslim. That would have made things interesting.

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Delores at CH WV
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 8:05am
DC Comics. . . . so gone!

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- poorrichard09
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 8:19am
  Before he leaps toward the sky to fly does he shout “allah akbar, away!” ?
  
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AllLost
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 8:01am
So many new story lines available…green lantern forces women to wear green burkas, kills anyone who draws a picture of a man they call prophet, single handed destroys Israel, helps Iran send nukes to destroy Big Satan.

Then other heroes can work to stop him.

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- t00nces2
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 8:11am
  The message I got was that Muslim Arab living in the United States steal cars…
  
  If Obama had a son, he would look just like Simon Baz
  
  Report this comment
standuppeople
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:52am
Wait, the Green Lantern is now gay and the new character will wear his ring?

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Mr.Fitnah
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:49am
Why do they keep picking on the Green Lantern ?

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- watersRpeople
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 8:06am
  The Pale rider.
  
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- watersRpeople
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 8:16am
  America has been doting on the paramours of the pale horse for quite some time now.
  
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- watersRpeople
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 8:26am
  You don’t understand the Horses and Horseman of the Apocalypse of a nation. It’s the process a free nation goes through from the start to finish, and it has happened over and over again. That’s why Jesus even said to his generation – Matthew 24:34 Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
  
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- watersRpeople
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 8:40am
  But not only does the process of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse happen on the smaller scale as with a nation, it also happens on the larger scale with the world which takes many thousand years to cycle completely. Therefore, as the end of the U.S, as the end of the world as people know it.
  
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txbigfoot
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:47am
Pandering.
A gay and a Muslim.. what next. Where are the lesbians?
DC has gone to the dogs.

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- only easy day was yesterday
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 10:35am
  batwoman is a lesiban
  
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- Eastinfection
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 11:11am
  Actually- didn’t Wonderwoman come from an isle exclusively inhabited by women?
  
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- goahead.makemyday
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 2:55pm
  EAST – She most certainly did.
  
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fukjihad
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:43am
these comments much more entertaining than the article

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JesusFreak95
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:40am
Hmm, wonder how the new Muslim super hero is going to react when the Green Lantern comes out of the closet? Isn’t that punishable by death under Sharia law?

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Vegascelt
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:37am
So is bacon like kryptonite to him? (Yes I know Kryptonite is from Superman)

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KingCanon
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:34am
Adding Muslim Hate to Lantern Gay doesn’t create
interest any more than sunlight sweetens trash!
And speaking of trash…. well… you get the picture.

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Gonzo
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:28am
Able to leap tall infidels in a single bound?

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Angry-Elf
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:20am
I heard he won’t be a regular as he will blow himself up in the first episode…

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- Government_Goodies
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:24am
  LMAO. I was thinking something similar.
  
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- MittensKittens
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:30am
  Instead of a magic ring giving hi9m the powers, it’s a magic carpet and pointy shoes…
  
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TheBurningTruth
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:08am
I guess he left his C4 “utility belt” home for this outing. Probably just arresting some women drivers (now THAT’S a War on Women!) or perhaps casing the latest US military installation from the air.

Next edition: The 72 Virgins!

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Leadthemtothelight
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:04am
Notice the character is a man not a woman. More propaganda for the masses. It’s really nice to see comic books being used to put a “nice” spin on Muslims. I will concede that not all muslims on the planet are radical extremists who want to see all christians dead or converted. However I am sick of having the Muslim agenda rubbed in my face daily.

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- TennesseeConservative
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:12am
  You hit that nail on the head. The media spew muslim propaganda constantly. You are exactly right.
  
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- TheBurningTruth
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:13am
  Sorry, I have to disagree with you. There are NO “moderate” muslims. I conclude this because the so-called moderates always end up supporting their more radical brothers. Whenever some group or government negotiates with a muslim group, that group splits into the “moderates” and the “extremists”. The extremists never give ground resulting in another round of negotiations giving more ground to the muslims. This would go on until the most radical muslim finally agreed to the terms of the negotiation…. except that those most extremist of muslims simply want all of us DEAD and there is NO negotiating short of that.
  
  The “moderates” may agree to intermediate terms except that they’ll NEVER turn in their more extremist brothers. As long as the “moderates” support the “extremists” (as their religion REQUIRES them to) there simply ARE NO moderates.
  
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HOOT_OWL
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:01am
That suit look tight.. Where does he put his box cutter..?

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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 7:25am
  LoL
  
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pattea party
Posted on September 4, 2012 at 6:59am
In ten years Muslims will claim the invented comic books.

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- Black Manta
  Posted on September 4, 2012 at 3:45pm
  My friend, the way things are looking according to the bible….We don’t have much time…One must be baptized and repent to enter the kingdom…turn to Christ…
  
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