Sabra, a fairly obscure Marvel Comics character, has Marvel fans speculating about her superpowers in the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World film. Sabra was created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema. Making a brief cameo in Incredible Hulk #250 (August 1980) before a full debut in Incredible Hulk #256 (February 1981), Sabra is the superhero alter ego of Ruth Bat-Seraph, an Israeli mutant who serves as an agent for the Mossad, the Israeli secret service. The Israeli actress Shira Haas is set to portray Sabra in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film Captain America: Brave New World (2025).
According to lore (which will be retconned in Captain America: Brave New World), possessing superhuman attributes due to her mutant lineage, Sabra boasts strength, speed, agility, reflexes, endurance, and stamina. She can endure impacts equivalent to high-caliber rifle fire, although she has suffered wounds from an MP-40 sub-machine gun. Sabra‘s regenerative healing abilities surpass those of an average human. She can transfer her life energy to others, enhancing their physical health and endowing them with low-level superpowers, randomly determined and unrelated to Sabra‘s own mutant abilities. The recipients retain these powers until Sabra decides to reclaim her life energy, during which her standard power levels temporarily diminish but return to normal upon retrieval.
But the announcement of Sabra‘s inclusion in Captain America: Brave New World sparked criticism, as concerns were raised about potential negative stereotyping of Palestinians and Arabs. Critics pointed out that Sabra, being a Mossad agent in the comics, interacts with Arab characters portrayed as misogynistic, antisemitic, and violent. The controversy extended to the character’s name, which holds different meanings for Israeli Jews and Palestinians.
Palestinian-American writer and analyst Yousef Munayyer expressed disappointment in the lack of positive representation in the comics, arguing that turning Israeli spies into heroes was “insensitive and disgraceful.” In response at the time, Marvel Studios defended the inclusion of Sabra in Captain America: Brave New World, stating it was taking a “new approach” to Sabra and emphasizing the continual re-imagination of characters for contemporary audiences in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Now, with the release date drawing near and amid the ongoing Israeli/Gaza war, fans have started speculating about what the superpowers of Marvel’s re-imagined Sabra might be. Twitter user Mon tweeted: “The unstoppable! Murderer of children! Sabra ! What y’all think would be her superpowers?”
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Another tweeted: “Now @MarvelStudios …Yall know this ain’t it. What’s her super power going to be? Taking the super powers of every other super hero only to use those powers to attack innocent people that she claims are the “bad guys” while she turns around and plays the victim?”
It appears that Marvel needs a resolution to the Israel/Gaza war almost as much as Israel and Gaza does. One thing is for sure, Marvel is likely to upset both the left and the right of the political spectrum with the inclusion of Sabra. So get the popcorn ready, the sideshow may just be more entertaining than Captain America: Brave New World.
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