In the latest supposed deviation made by the Marvel Cinematic Universe away from its original comic book source material, a leak of Captain America: Brave New World merchandise has revealed that the film will apparently refer to Jewish superhero Sabra not by her actual codename, but rather her regular, given name, Ruth Bat-Seraph.
This potential name change for the fictional Israeli government agent – introduced in 1968’s The Incredible Hulk #250, Sabra is a mutant member of the Mossad (Israeli Secret Service) who possesses a number of superhuman abilities including a superhuman physique, a regenerative healing factor, and the power to transfer some of her own life energy to her injured allies – first raised to the public on April 18th courtesy of a leak of the film’s upcoming McDonald’s Happy Meal tie-in toy line.
Per a Portuguese-language image of the line’s offerings published online by fast food toy-centric social media profile Colecionáveis Fast Food, while the film’s other costumed characters are all referred to by their superhero names, including Captain America, The Falcon, Red Hulk, Diamondback (her name translated to the generic Portuguese word for ‘rattlesnake’), and even Sam Wilson’s robotic companion Red Wing, Sabra is referred to by her first name, Ruth.
As of writing, no reason has been given by either Disney or Marvel as to why they chose to strip the heroine of her codename.
However, given that the word ‘Sabra’ is also a Hebrew term used to refer to any Jewish individual born in Israel, an educated guess suggests that the decision was made in order to prevent the film from drawing the ire of pro-Palestine activists, their calls to such actions as protests and boycotts having become even more hair-trigger than ever following the onset of the currently ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Lending credence to this speculation is the fact that the House of Mouse has already run aground of the various discourses surrounding the conflict, with many having taken the studio’s decisions to both include Sabra in the film and cast Israeli-born actress Shira Haas in the role as them tacitly indicating their support for Israel.
Notably facing such accusations regarding Haas’ casting even prior to the onset of the war, Disney issued a public statement via Variety informing their critics that “While our characters & stories are inspired by the comics, they are always freshly imagined for the screen and today’s audience, and the filmmakers are taking a new approach with the character Sabra who was first introduced in the comics over 40 years ago.”
To this end, given that the film has already undergone a number of drastic, plot-changing reshoots, one wonders if Brave New World will make any reference Ruth’s Israeli heritage or associations or choose to err on the side of caution and instead portray her as nothing more than a generic, superhuman ally of Sam’s.
Ultimately, the answer to this question will be answered when Captain America: Brave New World spreads its wings on February 14th, 2025.
