In The Shadow Hero, Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew engage and challenge many Asian American stereotypes that are prominent in today’s society. From the beginning of the comic, we learn that Hank’s parents had gotten an arranged marriage. Hank’s mother had to oblige to her parents and her husband which enforces the stereotype that Asian women are submissive. Later on, the mother assumes a different role when she is rescued by the American superhero, the Anchor of Justice. She forces her son to become a superhero against his will and goes as far to use chemicals to gain some sort of superpower. The stereotype that Asian parents will make their child do anything if they think it’s going to make them successful in the future is seen here. Especially in this situation, the mother looked up to an American superhero and wanted Hank to be as close as possible to a white man. Many of the white American’s in the book use racist words to describe the Chinese. For instance, When Mock Beak wins in a game of billiards against a white man, another rich looking American remarks how the loser, “didn’t have a Chinaman’s chance” (59). Another example is when Detective Lawful calls the Chinese, “sneaky slant-eyed bastards” (118). Leun bolds these words in the comic to emphasize how the Chinese were really seen by many people.
However, the stereotypes are also challenged in the novel. Despite not wanting to at first, Hank actually does become a successful superhero. He recreates the presupposed image of the white superhero by becoming what was the first Asian superhero. Hank overcomes the stereotype that Asians are weak and scrawny by training hard and bulking up and actually taking down criminals. In the book, many people thought that every superhero was by default a Caucasian man. When Detective Lawful mistakes him for a white man, Hank proudly emphasizes that he is Asian and is doing just as much good as a white superhero which gains respect from the detective. When given the chance to kill Mock Beak, Hank decides to do the just thing and bring him to court instead. He does this to break the stereotype that all of the Chinese in Chinatown followed their own laws and not the American ones. Going on, Red Center is not just a damsel in distress figure in the comic. She is a woman who saves herself and overcomes the stereotype that Asian women are weak.
In the end, Hank becomes a superhero that everyone can look up to, even the Anchor of Justice. He doesn’t just save people for acceptance from the other people of America, but he does this to feel good about himself.
