Marvel confirmed that the name of a femme fatal in King Conan #3 who bore similarities to Pocahontas would be changed in future printings, following backlash that the character was disrespectful of the real-life Indigenous woman.
In a statement given to CBR, the company said the character, known as Matoaka, would be changed in all upcoming issues, digital editions and reprints of King Conan #3. Matoaka is the real historical name of Pocahontas, who is more widely known by her nickname -- an Algonquian phrase meaning "playful one." Marvel also stressed that King Conan's Matoaka was not based on real-life figures or culture.
Jason Aaron, writer of King Conan, also issued an apology. He said Matoaka's sultry design would be altered and admitted that giving the character the same name as Pocahontas was an "ill-considered decision."
"This new character is a supernatural, thousand-year-old princess of a cursed island within a world of pastiche and dark fantasy and was never intended to be based on anyone from history," Aaron said. "I should have better understood the name’s true meaning and resonance and recognized it wasn’t appropriate to use it. I understand the outrage expressed by those who hold the true Matoaka’s legacy dear, and for all of this and the distress it’s caused, I apologize. As part of that apology, I’ve already taken what I was paid for the issue and donated it to the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center."
Matoaka received an instant backlash after she was revealed in King Conan #3's "The Princess of Golden Ruin," and readers condemned Aaron and artist Mahmud Asrar for the character's sexualized design and her backstory, which appeared to incorporate aspects of Pocahontas' mythologized life.
Within the issue, Matoaka and Conan are both prisoners on a mysterious island. Matoaka tells the Cimmerian that she originally came from a land far to the west -- depicted in Asrar's artwork as vaguely Mesoamerican - and fell in love with an explorer from Acheron. After the explorer and his fellow colonizers ransacked her home, Matoaka "learned the dark truth of human lust," and killed her lover. This act of repentance was not enough for Matoaka's father, who exiled her. Unable to leave the island of Golden Ruin, Matoaka was cursed to "protect her people's land from all would-be invaders by luring them to their undead slaughter." She attempts to seduce Conan before plotting his demise, claiming that the barbarian king is no different from the men who attacked her land.
Matoaka's ill-fated love story bears similarities to the plot of Disney's 1995 animated movie Pocahontas, where the titular main character fell in love with Virginia Captain John Smith and defended him from her father, Powhatan. In real life, Pocahontas was only 12 or 13 when she first encountered Smith. The two were friendly but never lovers, and Pocahontas was eventually taken captive and raped by colonists, according to Native American accounts. She died in England at the age of 20 or 21 after marrying tobacco planter John Rolfe and converting to Christianity.
The new name for Matoaka -- as well as how she will change in future issues of King Conan -- has yet to be revealed. King Conan #3 is currently on sale from Marvel.
Source: Marvel