Will Eisner
A triumph of the mainstream over indie culture? For now at least: Eisner defeated Spiegelman 75% to 25%. Best known for his works The Spirit and A Contract with God, which helped cement the graphic novel as a respected form of literature. His books on the Jewish experience warned against the threat of antisemitism and prejudice. The comix industry awards (like the Oscars) are even named after him too. We connected him with real world organization The American Jewish History Society.
Magneto
When we matched up the list’s only two villains the lesser known Y The Last Man character Alter Tse’elon held her own against one of Marvel’s most popular super villains, but eventually succumbed, giving the Lord of Magnetism a 67% win over her 33% of the votes. When acting as arch-nemesis of the X-men Magneto rarely adheres to any semblance of Jewish morality, but his experiences as a Holocaust survivor left him with a deep sense of peoplehood (for Jews and for mutants). He hunted down Nazi Baron Von Strucker just like Wiesenthal caught Eichmann.
Was Magneto Jewish or Romani?
Matthue Roth over at MYjewishLearning questions whether the master of magnetism is in fact a member of the tribe…
Check out his blog post.