Race, Gender, and Genre
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seem as though the people involved in the creation of the texts did believe in
“inferior races” to some degree.
Skytop is portrayed as a strong, enormous, lumbering alcoholic. He often
appears at rendezvous intoxicated, and each novel contains a scene depicting his
longing stare at a bottle of liquor. He is also shown to be stupid despite never
being described as such. For instance, when Sumo explains a new device to the
team, Skytop needs further clarification: ‘“All right. Tommy,’ Skytop boomed.
‘Let me in on it’” {Sonic 56). Although he is not said to have a position of power
within his tribe (with whom the audience never sees him), many characters call
him “Chief” He responds to Penny by saying, “‘You’re the chief” {Ecstasy 40)
and warns the others by claiming that “‘Nobody calls me Chief... Except the
chief” {Diamonds 27). Villains also call attention to his race: “‘Don’t get ftmny,
injun’” {Hard-core 145). Positive stereotypes are also called into play. When a
rope is needed, “Skytop’s wise Indian hands [get] busy” {Hard-core 208). When
an intruder is in his room, “his Cherokee instincts [alert] him” {Sonic 71). When
he is fighting assailants in the woods, readers are told that they “didn’t have a
chance in the world against a full-blooded Cherokee Indian in an outdoor
environment” {Ecstasy 140). The racial epithets used by both his teammates and
the villains they fight, as well as the use of stereotypes negates any positive
feeling gained by Skytop’s acceptance into the group.
As the only black characters involved in Coin-oriented NS A missions, Paul
and Yvette make an interesting pair. They are romantically involved and have
thus segregated themselves from the rest of the group. The Baroness goes one
step further. When assigning her teammates their parts in the missions, Paul and
Yvette are almost always given missions together. Thus, they are systematically
segregated from the rest of the group as well. On top of this, their covers (if
necessary) are often to work in menial positions. In Hard-core Murder, for
example, they go undercover as a maid and butler for one of the politicians
being extorted. Paul, as a former Black Panther, often makes comments on his
assignments. When told he will be acting as an archeologist, Paul asks, “‘Any
excuse to get a pick and shovel back in our hands, right?”’ {Sonic 52). As he is
the only one to ever bring up racial injustices within the group, the tone set by
Paul’s questions and proclamations is often seen as militant and obtrusive, the
same way many in the 1970s viewed the black power movement itself
Tommy Sumo, as the technological expert of the group, plays into the
stereotypical idea of Japanese superiority in the sciences. However, he is the
only one to use his status as a racial minority to his advantage. When the Red
Army overtakes Penny and her cohorts in Death is a Ruby Light:
she [flicks] her eyes over the milling Chinese soldiers. One of
them was a small, skinny fellow in an ill-fitting uniform,
marching stolidly with his AK-47... It was Tom Sumo (160).
While he serves his purpose as the gadget-maker of the group. Sumo is able
to do what the other team members cannot: look Asian. His race may be a