The Shadow Hero is a six-issue miniseries of comics, reimagining of the Green Turtle character in a retconned timeline, written by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew.
The miniseries was first published on February 18, 2014. [1] Aiming to offer more representation for Asian Americans in superhero fiction, they rewrote the Green Turtle character to dig further into the lived experiences of Asian Americans in ways the Green Turtle could not at the time of its inception. [2]
In the original comic The Green Turtle the hero is often thought of as the first Asian American superhero. However, because the Green Turtle famously never shows his face, it could never be confirmed. Gene Luen Yang's The Shadow Hero reimagines the main character, teenager Hank Chu, as a reluctant hero who struggles to find his identity in 1930s Chinatown. In the New York Times, Dave Itzkoff titles his interview with the author "Gene Luen Yang thinks superheroes are for everyone."
Hank Chu is an American Chinese teenager who contentedly devotes his time to maintaining the family grocery store with his father. However, after his mother has an encounter with the local superhero, she urges Hank to become one himself. He is reluctant to her attempts, such as exposing him to chemical spills to give him superpowers, and shows more interest in the family business than crimefighting. [2]
When horrific tragedy occurs in his family and community, Hank is motivated to pursue his role as a crimefighter. Along the way, he unknowingly becomes entwined with an ancient Chinese Tortoise spirit, allowing him impenetrability to bullets. Throughout the graphic novel, Hank battles the local Chinese gang's forceful reign over his community. [3]
The author ends with a note breaking down how the original comic's author faced backlash from his publisher for wanting to make the hero Chinese, and how Leun Yang and Liew went about creating a new twist on a classic tale. [4]