A Sikh Captain America? Why religious diversity matters in the comics
universe
[June 07, 2025]
By DEEPA BHARATH
“Captain America doesn’t wear a beard and a turban, and he’s white.”
Vishavjit Singh looked at the boy who uttered those words, and then he
looked at himself — a skinny, bespectacled, turbaned, bearded Sikh in a
Captain America suit.
“I wasn’t offended, because I knew that this kid was going to have this
image of me, a Sikh Captain America, forever in his mind,” Singh said.
“This image has so much power to it that it opens up conversations about
what it means to be American.”
Representation of non-Abrahamic religions and spiritual traditions,
particularly in the mainstream comics universe, is minimal. Even when
they are portrayed in comics, their presentation, as Singh and others in
the field point out, is often inauthentic and sometimes negative.
Recently, however, comic book writers and academics who study the
intersection of religion and comics observe a renaissance of sorts,
which they say is happening because people close to these faith
traditions are telling these stories with a reverence and sincerity that
resonate with a wider audience.
A Sikh superhero with a message
Singh’s journey to make that connection began after the attacks of Sept.
11, 2001, triggered anti-Sikh hate incidents. Having faced hate and
exclusion throughout his life, he decided to spread his message of
kindness and inclusion by capitalizing on the appeal of comics and
superheroes — an area where he found Sikh representation to be
“virtually zero.”
He suited up as Captain Sikh America in Manhattan for the first time in
summer 2013 — one year after a self-proclaimed white supremacist opened
fire inside a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six and
injuring four others.
New York's reaction to Captain Sikh America was joyous.
“Strangers came up and hugged me,” Singh said. “Police officers wanted
photos with me. A couple wanted me to be part of their wedding ceremony.
I felt I had a certain privilege I’d never had before.”
In 2016, Singh gave up his full-time job to travel around the country to
schools, government agencies and corporations to share his story and
educate youth about his culture and faith. He doesn’t speak directly
about religion but rather the core values of Sikhism.
“I talk about equality, justice and about the universal light being
present in every speck of creation,” he said.
Africana religions in comics
Marvel’s Black Panther heralded better representation for Africana
religions in the U.S., according to Yvonne Chireau, a professor of
religion at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. However what is seen in
Black Panther or other comics is a synthesis of different African
religions and cultural practices, she said.
For example, one page might talk about the Orishas, divine spirits that
play a key role in the Yoruba faith of West Africa, while another might
feature Egyptian gods. One of the first superheroes with African
religious roots, Chireau said, was Brother Voodoo, created in the 1970s
by Marvel publisher Stan Lee, writer Len Wein and artist John Romita. He
was the first Haitian superhero.
The turn of the last century was a time of revival for Black-centric
comics, she said, adding that immigration from African and Caribbean
countries, including Haiti, led to increased understanding of religious
practices originating in those places.
“It’s definitely gotten a lot better and much more authentic because the
people who are telling these stories care about those religious
practices,” she said.
Incorporating Black mythology and spirituality
Brooklyn-born Haitian American comic book writer Greg Anderson Elysée
said he didn't learn about African and Caribbean religious traditions
until he was a teenager. Elysée was raised Catholic, but he now
considers himself agnostic. For the past decade, he’s written comics
about Is’nana, the son of Anansi the Spider, the god of wisdom,
knowledge and mischief in the Akan religion of West Africa.
What drives his vision and his creativity, Elysée said, is the need to
see more Black mythology, deities and spirituality showcased with the
same level of respect as European fairy tales and Greek mythology.
“When I went looking for anything on African spirituality in the
bookstore, I found it in the occult section as opposed to the religion
or mythology section,” he said. Common depictions of African faith as
voodoo and witchcraft are colonialist narratives aimed at demonizing
Indigenous spiritual practices, he added.
“When I started going to ceremonies and rituals, I saw how much power
there is in it. When we know who we are — whether you believe in the
religion or not — it fills you with joy, a purpose and a sense of
being.”
Elysée is excited and relieved by the reaction to his work.
“While this is entertainment, you also don’t want to offend those who
believe in it and truly get so much power from it,” he said. “Some of my
portrayals of these religions in my comics may not be 100% authentic,
but there is a level of research and respect that goes into every piece
of it.”
Zen comics that heal, ground and center
Zen Buddhism has informed much of John Porcellino’s work. For over three
decades, he has produced and self-published King-Cat Comics and Stories,
a largely autobiographical mini-comic series. Porcellino was drawn to
Buddhism in his 20s after what he describes as a period of intense
mental suffering and health problems.
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Vishavjit Singh, who educates youth about Sikhism through his
Captain Sikh America character, poses for a portrait in costume at
home, in New York's Harlem neighborhood, Friday, May 30, 2025. (AP
Photo/Richard Drew)
 As a punk rock fan, Porcellino saw
commonalities between punk and Zen because “they are both concerned
with the essence of things rather than appearances.” Both are ways
of life — simple yet nuanced.
He gave the example of a wordless story titled “October,” featured
in King-Cat’s 30th issue, that shows him as a high school student
walking home one night from school. When he gets home, his mom asks
him to take the dog outside; as he steps out, he sees the stars.
“It’s the experience of being in everyday, mundane life ... and then
suddenly breaking through to some kind of transcendence,” he said.
Porcellino views these comics as a healing presence in his life.
“They are an important part of my spiritual practice,” he said. “Any
time I have a major crisis in my life, my first reaction is to sit
down and start making comics and put my focus into that. It just
helps ground me.”
Why representation matters for children
Teresa Robeson, who wrote a graphic novel about the 14th Dalai Lama,
said that even though her mother was Catholic and raised her in the
faith, her grandmother was Buddhist. She grew up in Hong Kong, with
memories of relatives praying to Buddhist gods, taking in the
fragrance of burning incense and the sound of Buddhist chants.
Though she practices neither Catholicism nor Buddhism at this time,
Robeson jumped at the opportunity to tell the story of the Dalai
Lama in graphic novel form because the book focused on a pivotal
moment in the spiritual leader’s life, when he fled Tibet for India
after the Chinese occupation.
Robeson liked the idea of representing a religion and culture that
do not get much attention in media.
“Children’s books are like mirrors and windows for kids,” she said.
“It’s helpful especially for children of immigrants who don’t often
see themselves in mainstream literature. They don’t see anyone who
looks like them or prays like them. At the same time, it also helps
kids who are not Asian or Buddhist to learn something about those
communities.”
The comics renaissance in India
Amar Chitra Katha was a comic book company started by the late Anant
Pai in Mumbai in 1967 as a way to teach Indian children about their
own mythology and culture. The first title was “Krishna,” an
important god in Hinduism and protagonist of the Bhagavad Gita, one
of the religion’s main sacred texts.
Pai was an engineer turned comic books seller who used varied
marketing techniques, including walking around with planks, nails
and hammers in his bag so he could build shelves for bookstores that
refused to display his comics because they lacked shelf space, said
Reena I. Puri, the company’s managing director and a 35-year veteran
of the business.
Pai started with Hindu mythology and gods but soon expanded to other
faiths, releasing a globally successful comic titled “Jesus Christ”
and others about Buddha, Sikh gurus and Mahavira, who founded
Jainism. Later came secular comics about historical figures and
folktales.
But religion remains the mainstay of Amar Chitra Katha, and books
that teach children about faith, history and culture are also the
most popular in the diaspora, Puri said.
“Most recently we’ve also portrayed (Indigenous) religions and have
gathered folktales relating to these traditions from all over
India,” she said.
Amar Chitra Katha comics faced criticism in the past for their
portrayal of gods as fair-skinned and “asuras” — often the
antagonists to the gods — as dark-skinned with demonic facial
features. But that has changed, Puri said.
“We’ve educated ourselves and realized that our ancient texts were
not as racist or colorist as we may be today,” she said. “We’re
correcting those misconceptions now.”
Atheism, paganism and ... Lucifer
British comic book writer Mike Carey is known for his 2000-2006 DC
Comics series “Lucifer,” which depicts the titular character’s
adventures on Earth, in Heaven and in various realms after
abandoning Hell. Carey counts himself an atheist who went to Sunday
school only “for the fun, stories and chocolate.”
Carey portrayed Lucifer as the “son of God, but as a rebellious
disobedient son who wants to find himself as distinct from his
father.”
He has also explored pagan themes, particularly what he called the
“weird interface between British folklore and British religious
traditions.”
Carey delved into the concepts of faith, God and morality in a
series titled “My Faith in Frankie,” which tells the story of a
teenager with a personal god called Jeriven who gets jealous of her
boyfriend.
Even though many of his comics and novels explore religion and
ethics, Carey said, he has never “felt any temptation whatsoever to
believe.”
“I’ve become more and more entrenched in that position, because
organized religions are like any organization that sustain
themselves, amass power, wealth and authority,” he said. “So I’ve
never really grappled with religious issues. What I do sometimes is
explore, play with and tease out moral issues that were important
and meaningful to me.”
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