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This past decade has been a transformative time to watch unfold as an Asian American and Pacific Islander pop culture fan. Ten years ago, Emma Stone played a half-white, half-Chinese, and Native Hawaiian woman in Cameron Crowe's film, Aloha, prompting me to stand in front of a mirror wondering if I was an alien from Star Trek or a mythical creature in Crowe's mind. But last year, I and the rest of the folks in my 4DX screening of Lee Isaac Chung's Twisters screamed in terror as Sasha Lane's character held onto Glen Powell's hand, a tornado raging around her during the climax of the film. And of course, how could I forget that Aquaman's human family was Māori in James Wan's two DCEU films? Or the proliferation of Taika Waititi's career in Hollywood? 

Still, while I'm glad that Pacific Islanders are more visible than ever in pop culture, and that celebrating AAPI Heritage Month is a more widespread practice now, I can't help but notice when corporations leave out the 'PI' part of the acronym in their festivities. Most notably, Marvel Comics. 

Marvel prides themselves on diversity and inclusion, evident in their line of Marvel's Voices anthology specials, but each AAPI Heritage special has failed to include Pacific Islander creators and characters in the stories. Don't get me wrong, I'm also Asian American, and I have been a rabid Lin Lie fan since his Sword Master days - I want to see Asian and Asian American characters and creators get the spotlight! But it's a huge freaking bummer for me as a Polynesian, too, to see such a one-sided celebration of my community. Once again, I feel like I'm invisible. 

To their credit, the AAPI Heritage Month covers from 2022 by artist Dike Ruan did feature one of Marvel's only Pacific Islander heroes: Generation X's Mondo. But Mondo, and the small handful of other Pacific Islander characters from the House of Ideas, were absent from the AAPI Heritage Month covers the next year. In 2023, Loa got the chance to grace her own Heritage Month cover drawn by Lee Inhyuk. But in 2024, Marvel didn't put any AAPI Heritage Month variant covers at all.

Let's also remember that Mondo debuted in 1994, and the depiction of his Sāmoan heritage hasn't aged all that well. He wasn't alone in this - Banshee's dialogue in Generation X feels more Scottish than Irish - and it's all part of a larger tradition of white American writers doing their best to be inclusive during a less enlightened time period. Even if they miss the mark, I'll never fault them for trying. 

So all of this is to say, it's time for Mondo, Loa, and other Pacific Islander characters like Kiwi Black (is he even canon anymore?) to get a culturally-accurate update. It isn't 1994 anymore, y'all. Years ago, Sāmoan artist Michel Mulipola drew his own Marvel Voices anthology cover to reflect a more accurate vision of Mondo, Loa, and Kiwi Black, and it looks great! At the same time, I don't want PI characters popping up only during one month of the year, nor do I want to see PI creators siloed into writing "their community's" characters for the occasional 5-issue miniseries. If Marvel really cares about its mission to represent "the world outside your window," then they've got to consider whose window they're looking out of in the first place. 

Look, there's a lot going on in the world today. A corporation's inclusion of Pacific Islanders isn't going to change the fact that humanity is still in imminent danger from the climate crisis. However, let's also remember that X-Men comics in particular have depicted the struggle for a more equitable present and future for more than half a century now. Contemporary problems have often formed the basis for the X-Men's adventures, and it's time to recognize the Pacific's. 

If Marvel wants to seriously give Pacific Islanders a seat in this tradition with a sense of dignity, then the company must also respect our history. Pacific Islanders have intimately felt the effects of the climate crisis, settler colonialism, deforestation, and pollution. The Marshallese of Enid, Oklahoma were relocated from their homes in the Pacific after the US military used the area around the Marshall Islands as a testing ground for nuclear bombs. The nuclear radiation from the tests poisoned not only their lands and wildlife, but the bodies of the Marshallese themselves. Similar stories can be found across the Pacific Islands, like in Tahiti, where French nuclear tests contaminated an estimated 110,000 people. 

The specific issues facing Pacific Islanders in Hawai'i, Guam, American Sāmoa, and beyond are part of the world outside our windows. At their best, Marvel's comics have fostered a sense of empathy and awareness for the plight of marginalized groups. So bring us in, Marvel. There is a lot that needs to be said.

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.