The Best Asian Superhero: Mulan

Umapagan Ampikaipakan asks how can the Asian comic superhero save the world and save face at the same time. Disney provides us with the closest example: Mulan.

While not a comic book superhero, she is the closest Disney “princess” to a superhero (note her costume, martial prowess, and dual life as “Ping” and “Mulan”). Mulan is able to take down the bad guy while bringing honor to her family. In order to do so, however, Mulan must beat the bad guys twice.

Her first victory, destroying the Mongol horde with a single rocket and then saving the life of her commanding officer (and love interest) is not enough to defeat traditional cultural values. In fact, her triumph proves to be her undoing. While being treated for an arrow wound she is exposed as a woman. Her crime, impersonating a man to take her aging father’s place in the military draft, is punishable by death. We are told explicitly that only the commanding officer’s guilt that Mulan saved his life compels him to save her life in return. One may speculate that had Mulan merely defeated the Mongol horde but not saved her boss’s life, she very might have been executed on the spot.

Thus despite her comic book victory, Mulan descends to her nadir, seemingly making Umapagan’s point: cultural values prevail over individual deeds no matter how great.

While returning home, a dishonor to both her family and the state, Mulan discovers that a small contingent of Mongol soldiers survived the battle and are secretly advancing upon the capital. Mulan’s success in thwarting this second attack leads to her recognition as a hero. However, her second rupture with traditional values is distinct from the first.

Mulan’s initial transgression, impersonating a man to save her father from the draft, was motivated by filial devotion. While a strong traditional value in itself, her actions did place the interests of her family above those of the state. As such she was punished.

Her second transgression, however, is motivated by her desire to save the state. As such, her actions are rewarded. That is to say, the state and her family are willing to bend. The emperor ignores Mulan’s previous crime and her gender and bestows upon her the highest honor in all of China. Similarly, Mulan’s father breaks away from traditional values in tossing aside the material honors Mulan presents him and states that his highest honor is having her for a daughter.

The story concludes with Mulan returning to her place in the home and in society at large. Thus we can see that superheroes and Asian values can coexist if heroines are willing to work twice as hard and return to their place in society when the danger no longer lurks.

Umapagan Ampikaipakan asks how can the Asian comic superhero save the world and save face at the same time. Disney provides us with the closest example: Mulan.

Mulan is more of a superhero than Disney princess (note her martial prowess and dual life as “Ping” and “Mulan”). In order to do save the world and save face, however, Mulan must beat the bad guys twice. Mulan’s initial transgression, impersonating a man to save her father from the draft, was motivated by filial devotion. While a strong traditional value in itself, her actions did place the interests of her family above those of the state. Despite her single-handed victory over the invading Mongol horde, she was punished.

Her second transgression, refusing to return home and instead traveling to the capital to save the Emperor from execution by Mongol assassins, is motivated by her desire to save the state. As such, her actions are rewarded, and Mulan subsequently returns to her place in the home.

Thus superheroes and Asian values can coexist if heroines are willing to work twice as hard and return to their place in society when the danger no longer lurks.