WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 1 of Hunters, “In the Belly of the Whale,” now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Amazon's Hunters charts the exploits of a group of vigilantes hunting Nazis in 1970s New York. The show’s protagonist, Jonah Heidelbaum (Logan Lerman), is a young Jewish man who joins the Hunters after learning his murdered grandmother was a part of the team, and Nazis were responsible for her death. One of his defining characteristics on the show is his love for superheroes and comic books. It’s the lens through which Jonah tries to understand the world he’s living in.
The connection between Jonah and comic books is very fitting and wholly deliberate. This creative choice was not some form of simple fan service, but rather it serves as an opportunity to highlight the considerable, and sometimes overlooked, contributions to comic books the Jewish people have made. A large swath of today’s most popular superheroes was either entirely or partly created by Jewish writers and artists.
In fact, the birth of the entire superhero genre can be credited to two Jews from Cleveland named Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. In June 1938, Action Comics #1 was released and introduced the world to its most lasting and beloved creation: Superman. There is a reason Superman is from Krypton, beyond the fact that aliens are cool. Kal-El is an immigrant, just like Siegel and Shuster’s parents, and the early characterizations of Superman frequently involved the Man of Steel fighting social injustices on behalf of the underprivileged.
The Golden Age of comics saw the birth of many iconic superheroes created by Jews. Batman and his home of Gotham City partly owe their existence to Jewish artist Bob Kane, with help from co-creator Bill Finger. Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (born Kurtzberg), both Jews from New York, were responsible for giving us Captain America and Bucky. For those two, the famous cover of Captain America Comics #1, which depicts Cap decking Adolf Hitler, was deeply personal.
It also proved to be incredibly controversial at the time, with Joe Simon noting that he and Kirby were sent death threats and hate mail. Things got so tense for them, police protection was required outside their building to keep back groups of people who were waiting to accost them. Simon and Kirby were even personally contacted by New York City Mayor, Fiorello La Guardia, to give his support and ensure their safety.
The Silver Age saw inarguably one of the most prolific and influential pairings in comic book history — Jack Kirby and Stan Lee (born Lieber). Most of the heroes we cherish in the Marvel Cinematic Universe originated with this partnership. The two created Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Ant-Man, Scarlet Witch, the Silver Surfer, the Inhumans and the original X-Men. Along with Steve Ditko, they also created your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Apart from each other, the two continued to make an impact. Lee is also responsible for the co-creation of Doctor Strange, Daredevil, Black Widow and She-Hulk. Kirby went on to create the Eternals for Marvel as well as Darkseid and the New Gods, Etrigan the Demon and Kamandi for DC.
Jewish influence in comics has continued to this day. Through the 70s and 80s, Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan created Blade the Vampire Hunter, the New Teen Titans and, working with George Perez, the legendary Crisis on Infinite Earths event, which was recently adapted in the CW’s Arrowverse shows. Gene Colan would also go on to co-create Falcon and the current Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers.
More recently, Jewish writer Peter David is responsible for a highly regarded twelve-year run on The Incredible Hulk, creating Spider-Man 2099 and making Aquaman cool for the first time ever. Jason Momoa’s well-received interpretation of the character owes much to Peter David’s work. In addition, Brian Michael Bendis, born and raised a Modern Orthodox Jew, co-created new fan favorites like Miles Morales and Jessica Jones.
The Jewish people have left an enduring legacy in the world of comics. Hunters embraces that legacy not only through protagonist Jonah’s love for superheroes but in the very structure of the show itself. The pilot episode follows all the familiar beats of a superhero origin story. Fueled by the loss of a loved one and burdened with guilt, a determined youth sets out to take justice into his own hands. Al Pacino’s Meyer Offerman is a man of incredible wealth who hides a secret lair in his home filled with weapons and tools to aid him in his secret crusade. To comic book fans, these tropes should feel very familiar. It certainly was for Jonah, who mocked Meyer by calling him “Bruce Wayne.”
Hunters goes out of its way to recognize the contributions of Jews in comics, but it also goes one step further. After decades of creating non-Jewish characters adored by millions worldwide, a show like Hunters finally allows them to be the heroes of their own story.
Hunters is available now on Amazon Prime and stars Logan Lerman, Jerrika Hinton, Lena Olin, Saul Rubinek, Carol Kane, Josh Radnor, Greg Austin, Tiffany Boone, Louis Ozawa, Kate Mulvany, Dylan Baker and Al Pacino.