Matoaka, a character in King Conan #3 who bears similarities to Pocahontas, will receive a changed name and design in future issues of the series.
Writer Jason Aaron apologized after he received backlash following the introduction of a character in King Conan #3 who appeared to be based on Pocahontas.
“In King Conan #3, I made the ill-considered decision to give a character the name of Matoaka, a name most closely associated with the real-life Native American figure, Pocahontas,” Aaron said in a statement. “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. 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. The character’s name and appearance will be adjusted for the rest of this mini-series and in all digital and collected editions.”
Marvel told CBR that the character was not intended to be based on any real-life figures or cultures. The company echoed Aaron’s statement and confirmed a change for Matoaka’s name and design in future printings and digital editions of King Conan #3, as well as upcoming issues.
Depicted as a femme fatale by artist Mahmud Asrar, Matoaka greets Conan after the barbarian king finds himself trapped on an island. She reveals that she comes from a land far to the west and was exiled from her kingdom after she fell in love with an Acheron explorer. After the explorer and his people ransacked her home, Matoaka’s father placed a curse on her and forced her to stay on the island alongside a huge treasury of gold, forever acting as a temptress to lure future colonizers away.
King Conan‘s Matoaka garnered ire across social media, particularly among Indigenous readers, who admonished Aaron for using the historical name of Pocahontas and sexualizing her. In real life, Pocahontas — an Algonquian nickname that roughly means “playful one” — lived from 1596 to 1617, and her mythologized interactions with Virginia Captain John Smith occurred when she was only 12 or 13. While historians generally agree that Pocahontas and Smith were friendly towards each other, Native American oral accounts state that Pocahontas was captured by other colonists and raped. She eventually married tobacco planter John Rolfe and moved to England, where she was praised as a Native American who chose to convert to Christianity. She died at the age of 20 or 21.
Aaron’s apology received mixed reactions on Twitter, with some voices arguing that Marvel was still at fault for greenlighting the character’s name and design in the first place. Others called on comic readers to buy stories by Indigenous writers instead of King Conan.
it’s not just jason. it’s the pipeline. it’s every person along the way who agreed this was fine. it’s negligence, it’s racism, it’s profoundly harmful – and will continue, without proper effort.
why this came down to me and my tweets, I’ll never know. but thank you for sharing
— Kelly Lynne D’Angelo ✨ (@kellylynnedang) March 3, 2022
I was reading the article (that has the apology) https://t.co/1Zwc9cFa1x which has a summary of her story (she falls in love with a conquistador, bleugh). Marvel won’t cancel the book. Jason Aaron will probably go on to write about natives. Does anything really change?
— Kayla-Wayla (@KaylaWayla20) March 3, 2022
Its 2022 and Indigenous ppl are making their own narratives on their own terms to great success. We need to support them instead of giving $ and accolades to companies that could care less about us. Because we’re only going to get more situations like the Conan one.
— Kayla-Wayla (@KaylaWayla20) March 3, 2022
In lieu of the demeaning, harmful representation of Matoaka in the current Conan book & the superficial bandaid apology, I encourage you all to SUPPORT Native Comic Book artists who self publish, write and draw their own stories: A THREAD
— Weshoyot Alvitre (@weshoyot) March 3, 2022
If Marvel actually hired Natives and got over their baked in racism, they probably wouldn’t have white guys writing shit like “super sexy bikini clad femme fatale Matoaka” that thought they were SUPER CLEVER by using her real name but ignoring the reality of her real history.
— Adam Windstorm (@neo_humanoid) March 3, 2022
King Conan #3 is now on sale from Marvel Comics.
Source: Marvel, Twitter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
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