Meta-y question

[sylph_fics]

Okay, I know I have at least a few international people on my flist. This question is actually for all y'all, or anyone else that wants to weigh if you've got something to add.

I love DC comics (or at least, I love the DCU [current editorial and I aren't talking]), but some days the gaps in how the mythos is set up gets really exasperating, and I'd like some help figuring out how to fill in a particular set of those gaps.

Over in the 'Uncle Sam' corner of the DCU, we've got Uncle Sam and Columbia (at least currently. Billy Yank and whoever 'Bea was then, and Johnny Reb and Dixie... they went back to sleep a while back). The UK, they've got Britannia and have for a real long time (Canada too? Or do y'all Canadians have your own? for that matter, Australia?). France has Marianne, even if supposedly she's very weak. Russia has the Bear -- and Mother Russia, come on, DC, get it right, would you? Italy should have Italia (Roma Mater in a new guise), not that we saw that.

But, um. There's rather a lot more countries than that. So any of you from places not the USofA... What would yours be? (ETA for clarity: What would your national personification be? I can hunt wiki for DC heroes of various nations, I don't trust it for a second to get national mythologies right.)

Or, even if you are US based, anyone know enough other national mythologies to lend me a hand?

Comments

[slipstreamborne.livejournal.com]

Don't know that this is what you're exactly looking for, but DCU did a mini of "DC around the world" type comics (Planet DC, google tells me) a few years ago where US-centered heroes visited a bunch of other countries and had adventures with those countries' heroes. The only one I can remember was Batgirl in India, where she and Batman teamed up with Aruna, a shape-shifter, in a pretty cool story.

[ilyena_sylph]

Cool, but no, that's not what I'm looking for.

I'm looking for the national personifications, not so much the heroes.

[slipstreamborne.livejournal.com]

Figured but thought I'd give it a shot.

Hmm... I'm almost certain there are more specifically from the WWII era (esp. from other companies that DC has bought up over the years) but I'm completely drawing a blank.

[ilyena_sylph]

+grins+

Oh, there are. Germania and Helvetica and the Maiden of Finland and a whole host, I just don't know if those old symbols are still the ones that matter to the people that live there.

And I'm really curious about the Asian countries, since I really don't know enough there. I can get to most European nation's figures, I just don't know that area at all so I don't even want to guess.

[slipstreamborne.livejournal.com]

This may be a long shot, but if you're not too tied to figures appearing in comics specifically you may want to look into resources on Editorial Cartoons around the world, as that may turn up some other national personifications.

[ilyena_sylph]

+laughs+ that's actually a really good thought, and I know a lot of what I want to know hasn't been in DC comics, DC seems to think that the entire world is the US, except when other bits of it are useful.

That'd be a real good place to start, though, thanks! Not a long shot at all.

[shardsofblu.livejournal.com]

As far national personification goes (I think it's what you're referring to...?), for us it would be the Harimau Malaya. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harimau_Malaya)

[ilyena_sylph]

That is exactly what I'm referring to, yes!!

Wow, cool! Thanks!

[museofspeed.livejournal.com]

Doesn't Russia also have the Rocket Reds?

[ilyena_sylph]

That's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for the national personifications, not the mortal heroes.

But thanks! The 'Reds would be a great source of power for any of Russia's spirit-selves, though.

[museofspeed.livejournal.com]

Ahh gotcha.

Hmm...I'll tell you if I think of any.

[icarus-chained.livejournal.com]

*smiles sheepishly* Well, I'm actually named for ours, sort of. In Ireland, there is a kind of poem called an 'Aisling', where the spirit of Eire appears to the poet as a fairy woman. An Aisling is a kind of patriotic vision, and Ireland is personified in it as Eire, the fairy woman. This kind of poem was pretty popular in the early twentieth century in particular, when the independance movement was in full swing, and the mood could be mournful, regretful or stridently hopeful, depending on when exactly you're catching the poet in question. Eire is beautiful, wise and longsuffering, with a hint of mischief.

*blinks* What do you know? Those Irish lessons actually came in handy!

[ilyena_sylph]

+grins+ Awesome! Thanks, honey!

[amarin-rose.livejournal.com]

Wow. And here I thought aisling was Gaelic for bullshit or similar. :P

[icarus-chained.livejournal.com]

*grins* The direct translation would be 'dream/vision', so ... close enough, actually.

[sanstexte.livejournal.com]

I'm always finding the 90s version of Captain Canuck (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Canuck) at Children's Hospital Book Faire. But I'm blissfully ignorant of any Canadian Superheroes. Then again, I was also blissfully ignorant of Captain America for a while too (and I didn't even know about DCs Uncle Sam until last year!).

Or the classic, a lot of people think of Mounties when they think of Canada. Or beavers.

[ilyena_sylph]

+grins, follows link+ Coolness!

Captain Canuck is much closer to what I'm looking for than any of the Canadian heroes might be, because I'm looking for the national personifications. Awesome, thanks! +grins+ Well, yeah, those too, but they're not exactly what I'm looking at.

+laughs+ Oh, I knew about Uncle Sam, obviously, but I was Floored and delighted when I found out about Columbia.

[gottaluvit123.livejournal.com]

Boy, I fell unpatriotic because I can't think of anyone thing that we have like that. Maybe Matilda the kangaroo, Kenny Koala. :) Or maybe my brain is not working at this early in the morning lol.

We tend to focus more on floral and fauna emplems as our national personification. There are a bunch of people or animals we hold in high reguard, but nothing stands out like 'Uncle Sam' does.

[gottaluvit123.livejournal.com]

I should also maybe have mentioned our ANZAC troops, the 'bronzed Aussie digger'.

[ilyena_sylph]

The one that I found in my research was 'Boxing Jack' the kangaroo.

That's really interesting, and it makes me kind of curious. Thanks for sticking your two cents in, hon!

[gottaluvit123.livejournal.com]

Lol. Boxing Jack is such an icon that my kids have never heard of him. I'm going to have to correct that.

[mithen.livejournal.com]

The closest I can think of for Japan is Momotaro, the Peach Boy. During WWII he was used as an avatar of "Japan" in things like propaganda posters and such--Momotaro brings together three animal helpers to crush the evil demons, and in propaganda posters the helpers were other Asian countries and the demons, of course, were the West.

Not surprisingly, this doesn't get used in modern Japan, but I can't come up with a modern personification symbol of the country anywhere anymore...

[ilyena_sylph]

Huh. Fascinating. +goes and wikis+

Wow, he does have a lot of story... I'll keep him in mind.

Japan was one of the ones I'm having the hardest time figuring out, so glad to know it's not just me!

[thessalian.livejournal.com]

The UK's got Britannia, if that helps. Generally an Athena-type personification thing. And you might find this helpful: the Wiki page on national personifications (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_personification).

[ilyena_sylph]

*laughs* Britannia actually is in the post (and a major character in the comic in question).

*wry chuckle* I've been spending two tons of time on Wiki looking at that page, but I figure people that actually live around the world can tell me more accurately than a resource I know better than to actually trust.

Thanks, though!!

[thessalian.livejournal.com]

...Wow. How I missed that, I dunno. I read the post over, like, twice. *headdesk*

[swingandswirl]

For India it would be Bharat Mata (Mother India.) She's a mother goddess-type figure who is supposed to embody the ideals our nation is founded upon. There's quite a bit of history and folklore surrounding her- if you need any more info, let me know and I'll see what I can dig up.

[amarin-rose.livejournal.com]

Wales - Red Dragon
China - Emperor Dragon
South Pole - Penguins
Canada - Geese
Egypt - Sphyinx