Amid the frenzy surrounding the release of the first trailer for Captain America: Brave New World, Marvel Studios has quietly confirmed some key details about the inclusion of the controversial character from the comics.
The official article published on Marvel.com contained the following information about the loose bat Seraph, who was already confirmed to be appearing in the MCU in 2022:
New to the cast is Shira Haas as Ruth “Bat Seraph,” a former Black Widow who is now a trusted US government official under President Ross. Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler and Sorcha Roquemore also star in the series.
This new information confirms some significant changes from the comic book version, in which Ruth is a mutant named Sabra, an Israeli superhero and an agent for the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. The character has long been controversial due to her association with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has recently taken on even greater significance due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The role of Ruth will be played by Israeli actress Shira Haas, who was first cast in the role in 2022. She has previously appeared in films such as Asia and The Zookeeper’s Wife, as well as the Netflix series Bodies.
When Marvel announced the casting in 2022, a representative said: variety “Our characters and stories are inspired by the comics; they are constantly reimagined for the big screen and modern audiences, and the filmmakers are taking a new approach to a character named Sabra, who first appeared in the comics more than 40 years ago,” the company said in a statement.
Notably, Marvel’s description explicitly refers to the character as Ruth, not Sabra. The New York Times, etc. The change I pointed out is a reference to the refugee camps in Lebanon where thousands of Palestinian civilians were massacred in 1982. One Reddit commenter who highlighted the change asked, “So if she’s not playing Sabra, why did they use an original character instead of Ruth? That would have saved them a lot of headaches.”
IGN has reached out to Marvel Studios for comment.
Other notable details revealed in the Captain America: Brave New World trailer include the first appearance of Red Hulk. Giancarlo Esposito’s MCU roleFor more information, The rest of Marvel’s projects are scheduled for 2024 or later.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director and co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? DM @the_katbot!
