Last week we explored three Jewish comic book characters who would be excellent choices to be depicted in video game form. The response to that was incredibly positive and suggestions were given for more. Here now, we would like to focus on three more Jewish comic book characters who would be perfect for adaptation to video game form. We will look at some lesser known characters, as well as a character who helps break preconceived notions of what a Jew should look like.
Ragman
One of the Jewish characters in comics most proud of their heritage (albeit this was a retcon after the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths), Rory Regan, a Batman like figure. He wears a superhero suit stitched out of rags, each rag is the soul of an evil person defeated and absorbed into the suit. He can call upon the souls to empower him when needed and gain superhuman abilities. A video game starring him would be a smaller scale project that would model itself as a street level superhero game with mystical powers. Ragman would protect the people while taking out a mystical menace at the same time, the game could delve into Rory’s personal life and his Jewish roots.
He could also delve into the suit of Ragman itself, as in the comics the suit contains a limbo dimension containing the evil souls. Ragman would perhaps need to track down escaped souls, or ideally face off against Bagman, who is his opposite and drags souls into himself and suffocates people in the process. Ragman may be a minor character, but he has a lot that developers can work with.
Kasper Cole
Kasper Cole may not be the most well-known character in comics, but he is one I had to mention for a reason. Cole is one of the only Black Jewish characters in comics and he needs more attention. An associate of The Black Panther, Cole even briefly took up the mantle after gaining similar abilities to T’Challa by eating the sacred herbs. Cole later took on the identity of the White Tiger, being the third to do so, and the recent comics have T’Challa bringing him out of retirement and to take up a new identity unique to himself.
Cole would be best introduced as part of a Black Panther game as a supporting character there first, and later on as a secondary character in a potential sequel. I realize this is a bit of a stretch, but Cole is more of a supporting character than a headliner. He works best bolster The Black Panther but he would make a great second playable character in a potential co-op mode or DLC story that explores other characters within the Black Panther mythos. Not every character needs to be a headliner in a game of their own, but Cole could shine well as an ensemble character, or as part of a side story. He would be a great way to show how diverse the Jewish people can be and would be excellent for representation for Jewish communities that have long been neglected in the media. Kapser Cole could be a character to break the typical conception of what a Jew is supposed to look like, and that is why I want to see him represented in video game form.
Shadowcat
Kitty Pryde is probably the most well-known Jewish character in comics, and that is not an exaggeration. Kitty Pryde has long been the poster child for Jewish characters in comics, well before The Thing revealed his Jewish roots and ancestry. The character is a beloved part of the X-men and has the mutant ability to phase through solid objects. She can still be hurt though, and I feel there is potential that’s not really addressed with her when it comes to X-men games. In fact, Shadowcat has not really had a presence in the games, probably due to her powerset as it is not suited for action games. The thing is though, not all superhero games require every section to be action packed and full of fighting.
Kitty Pryde would work well for stealth game segments rather than action. She can phase through solid objects, so she would be able to do infiltration missions, but would still need to avoid being detected by the enemy. Her abilities would open up a variety of new ways for stealth missions to work, such as hiding within a wall, jumping quickly from room to room, and avoiding sensors specifically designed for mutants. The fact that X-men games have all been action games of sorts is rather boring if I am being honest, as there is a lot more than can be done with the franchise, and a lot of characters have simply not been used well as a result, such as Kitty Pryde.
As I said above, Kitty is one of the most well known Jewish characters in comics, and a game section that lets you play as a badass Jewish women using her powers to their fullest, would be great for representation for Jewish women. Her history from the comics could be explored, and even expanded on in new ways. There is so much potential, I am shocked no one has done much with it.