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Arnie Roth (character)

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Arnie Roth
Roth in Captain America #270 (June 1982)
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First comic appearanceCaptain America #268
(April 1982)
Created byJ.M. DeMatteis & Mike Zeck
In-story information
Full nameArnold "Arnie" Roth
Place of originNew York City
Team affiliationsAvengers
Supporting character ofCaptain America

Arnold "Arnie" Roth is a fictional character created by writer J.M. DeMatteis and artist Mike Zeck who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America #268, published in April 1982. Roth is a childhood friend of Steve Rogers, the civilian identity of the costumed superhero Captain America. Decades later, Roth became reacquainted with Rogers after being targeted by Captain America's adversaries Helmut Zemo and the Red Skull. Later in his life, Roth would assist with the "Captain America Hotline" created by Rogers to field tips pertaining to national security before dying of bone cancer.

Roth was the first openly gay character to appear in an American superhero comic. The character was conceived by DeMatteis as part of his effort to develop Captain America's supporting cast and explore how the character "had surrounded himself with people who represented American diversity", though as a result of editorial dictates at Marvel and the restrictions of the Comics Code Authority, DeMatteis was forced to communicate Roth's sexuality exclusively through imagery and subtext. Though the tragic bent of stories featuring Roth has been the subject of criticism, the character has been praised as a positive media representation of gay men in the context of a 1980s media landscape characterized by homophobia and backlash against gay men amid the HIV/AIDS crisis.

Fictional character biography

See also: Captain America § Fictional character biography

Arnie Roth was born in the 1920s on the Lower East Side of New York City.[1] A childhood friend to Steve Rogers, he frequently protected the weak and infirm Rogers from local bullies, though the pair drifted apart as teenagers.[1][2] During World War II, Roth joined the U.S. Navy while Rogers received an experimental serum that turned him into the costumed superhero Captain America. Though Roth was able to discern that the secret identity of Captain America was that of his erstwhile friend, he did not disclose it to others. Sometime after the war, Roth began a long-term romantic relationship with a teacher named Michael Bech, but also developed a gambling problem.[1][3]

Some time later, a middle-aged Roth is approached by Rogers' adversary Helmut Zemo with an offer to pay off his gambling debts in exchange for the identity of Captain America.[4] When Zemo kidnaps Bech to force Roth's cooperation, Roth appeals to Rogers for help, though in an ensuing confrontation between Rogers and Zemo wherein the consciousnesses of Roth and Bech are placed into mutates controlled by Primus, Bech is killed.[1][5] Though Roth recovers physically from the ordeal, he is soon targeted by the villainous Red Skull as part of a plot to destroy the lives of Rogers' closest friends. As part of his torture at the hands of Red Skull, Roth is dressed as a clown and forced to participate in a performance in which he disparages his sexual identity and Bech; Rogers intervenes and rescues Roth, and assures Roth that his identity and love for Bech are not shameful.[2][6]

Roth recovers but leaves New York to move to Florida, where loses the weight he has gained in his middle age, and one point works as a publicist for the Avengers.[1][7] Years later, an aged Roth returns to New York to assist with the "Captain America Hotline" created by Rogers to field tips pertaining to national security,[8] becoming the manager of a costume shop used as a front for the operation. After Rogers discloses that he is dying due to a breakdown of the serum that gives him his superpowers, Roth confides that he has himself been diagnosed with terminal bone cancer, and has little time left to live. Roth is hospitalized shortly thereafter; in their final moment together, Rogers kisses Roth on the forehead and thanks him for his years of friendship, and Roth dies.[1]

History

Context and development

See also: LGBT themes in comics
Picture of J. M. DeMatteis at Etna Comics in 2018
Picture of Mike Zeck at Wizard World in 2013
Arnie Roth was created by writer J. M. DeMatteis (left, pictured 2018) and artist Mike Zeck (right, pictured 2013).

Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter instituted a "No Gays in the Marvel Universe" policy in the 1980s, in response to public backlash against a scene in Hulk #23 (1980) in which Bruce Banner is accosted and threatened with rape by two men at a YMCA.[9][10] LGBT expressions in comic books were also restricted by the Comics Code Authority, a system of comic book content regulation.[11] Consequently, the sexual orientation of LGBT characters in comics published by Marvel could for many years only be communicated through subtext, as in the case of Northstar in Alpha Flight, and Mystique and Destiny in Uncanny X-Men.[10]

J. M. DeMatteis began writing Captain America in 1981, with Mike Zeck serving as illustrator. DeMatteis stated that he was interested in depicting "what's behind the mask" and exploring Steve Rogers as a man over the hero of Captain America, and to this end focused on developing the character's supporting cast.[12] Throughout his run, he wished to depict how Rogers represented the "broad tent of America"[13] and how he "had surrounded himself with people who represented American diversity", such as his Jewish girlfriend Bernie Rosenthal, and his African American friend and superhero partner Sam Wilson.[12] Reflecting on the creation of Roth in this context, DeMatteis stated that it "made sense to me that he would have a gay friend, too. I wasn't trying to hammer anyone over the head with it, it just seemed like a natural thing."[13] The character's name is likely a reference to cartoonist Arnold Roth.[1]

Owing to the restrictions imposed on him by Shooter and the Comics Code Authority, Roth's sexuality is never overtly stated within the text of comic itself.[2] Instead, DeMatteis was forced to make Roth's sexuality "clear in the context of the story"[13] through subtext and imagery, such as Roth and Bech sitting next to each other on a bed,[6], and Roth and Bech hugging when they are reunited.[3][11] By the climax of the story, the subtext is rendered almost overtly, with Rogers directly likening his relationship with Rosenthal to Roth's relationship with Bech.[6] According to DeMatteis, his original draft of the issue overtly stated Roth's sexuality, though the "powers that be" objected to the scene, and "a page or two of the story was rewritten by other hands".[12]

Publication history

Roth made his first appearance in Captain America #268 (1982) as an unnamed pedestrian who happens to see Rogers on a date with his Bernie Rosenthal. He is formally introduced in Captain America #270 (1982), where he is retroactively established as Rogers' childhood friend.[1][14] Roth departed Captain America in issue #306 (1985) and would not return until Captain America #431 (1994), written by Mark Gruenwald and drawn by Dave Hoover. The character would continue to make appearances in the comic until his death in Captain America #443 (1995). The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe speculated that the character's death was likely a consequence of Marvel's floating timeline, and the reality that it was increasingly implausible for a character born in the 1920s to be alive in stories set in the modern era.[1]

In 2013, Roth appeared in a flashback to Rogers' childhood in Captain America volume 7, issue 3, written by Rick Remender and penciled by John Romita, Jr..[1]

Reception and legacy

Arnie Roth was the first openly gay character to appear in an American superhero comic,[15][16] and has been praised as a generally positive representation of gay men in mainstream media of the era. Comics scholar Lee Easton writes that despite the "clichés of dead lovers and tragic endings" prevalent in stories featuring Roth, critics have nevertheless regarded the character as "quite progressive in the context of America in the 1980s".[17] Aaron Tabak of Geeks OUT writes that Roth represents "comic-book idealism at its best spirit, however imperfectly executed it may be", noting that while Roth is largely rendered as a passive victim who requires saving by the heterosexual Rogers, his story represents "as blatant a critique of homophobia and AIDS hysteria as mainstream comics could allow."[18] Eileen Gonzalez of Book Riot similarly characterizes Roth's story as "not perfect" in light of its focus on tragedy and reliance on subtext, but praised the depiction of Roth and Bech as "a down-to-earth, devoted couple without even a whiff of the stereotypes that still dictated how gay men were portrayed."[3]

Media scholar Richard A. Hall praised the "powerful" climax to the Red Skull storyline, describing it as "a cry, not just to Captain America, but to the readers as well. One would be extremely hard-pressed to find any example in all of 1984 American popular culture containing such a powerful plea to the heterosexual community."[6] Media scholar J. Richard Stevens noted how Roth's inclusion in Captain America added "context and depth to Rogers's character", as "the loyalty and devotion Rogers showed Roth demonstrated his unqualified acceptance and belief in freedom."[19]

Easton notes that the relationship between Roth and Rogers "reverses stereotypes while reinforcing those of hegemonic masculinity", noting that while as children Roth takes the traditionally masculine role as Rogers' protector, as adults it is the "soft, less fit, and more vulnerable" Roth who must be protected by Rogers.[20] Tabak similarly notes how this role reversal and Roth's subsequent awareness of Rogers secret identity repurposes "imagery and language of the closet and of coming out [...] towards a superhero's own 'closeted' identity", noting how "invoking that similarity between the superhero experience and that of gay men in America serves to enrich the bond between Arnie and Steve".[18]

DeMatteis stated that he personally regards the backstory of Marvel Cinematic Universe incarnation of Bucky Barnes, which re-imagines the character as Rogers' childhood friend, as influenced by Roth,[13][21] with some critics noting similarities between the characters.[3][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Norvo (March 30, 2023). "Arnold Roth". The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Stevens 2015, p. 141.
  3. ^ a b c d Gonzalez, Eileen (July 27, 2018). "Marvel's First Gay Couple, Arnie and Michael: A Love Story". Book Riot. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Andreakos, Jimmy (June 8, 2016). "Captain America May Never Have A Boyfriend, But He's Long Had A Gay Best Friend". Uproxx. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  5. ^ Walton, David (2009). "'Captain America Must Die': The Many Afterlives of Steve Rogers". In Weiner, Robert (ed.). Captain America and the Struggle of the Superhero: Critical Essays. McFarland & Company. p. 166. ISBN 978-0786437030.
  6. ^ a b c d Hall 2019, p. 30.
  7. ^ Fentiman, David, ed. (2006). Marvel Encyclopedia, New Edition. DK. p. 302. ISBN 978-1465478900.
  8. ^ Rizzo & Licari 2021, p. 100.
  9. ^ Mangels, Andy (2006), In and Out: A Brief History of Marvel's 2006 Gay Policies, Prism Comics, archived from the original on March 16, 2010, retrieved June 11, 2023
  10. ^ a b Hanley, Tim (2022). Not All Supermen: Sexism, Toxic Masculinity, and the Complex History of Superheroes. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 134. ISBN 978-1538152744.
  11. ^ a b Bramlett, Frank; Cook, Roy T.; Meskin, Aaron, eds. (2017). The Routledge Companion to Comics. Routledge. p. 297. ISBN 978-0415729000.
  12. ^ a b c DeMatteis, J.M. (July 3, 2011). "Stars and Stripes". J. M. DeMatteis's Creation Point. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d DeMatteis, J.M. and Tano, Duy (October 14, 2021). JM DeMatteis on Captain America, Spider-Man, Duality, and Progress (Video). The Comics Cube. Event occurs at 12:06. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  14. ^ Hall 2019, p. xvii.
  15. ^ Hall 2019, p. 29.
  16. ^ Roberts, Holly (March 7, 2022). "Queering Marvel's America: Arnie Roth vs the Censors". The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  17. ^ Easton 2017, p. 128.
  18. ^ a b Tabak, Aaron (June 3, 2014). "Forgotten Gay Characters: Captain America's Gay Pal, Arnie Roth". Geeks OUT. Archived from the original on April 15, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  19. ^ Stevens 2015, p. 142.
  20. ^ Easton 2017, pp. 119, 127.
  21. ^ DeMatteis, J.M. (April 27, 2016). "3001: A Space Oddity". J. M. DeMatteis's Creation Point. Retrieved June 12, 2023.

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

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