Whenever one is about to read a comic that deals with Native Americans, it is wise to take a deep breath and just accept that it's going to get patronizing and cliched.
I am so very happy to report that, with this comic, it's not the case. I'm honestly shocked at the fair and decent treatment given not only to the two main Native American characters in the comic, but to the larger issue of land disputes and of spiritual beliefs. In fact, ironically, it's the usually pretty open-minded Thing that has some of the most deplorable dialogue in the comic. For someone whose life is defined by how he looks, defined by an inability to fit into mainstream Western culture, you'd think he's be a little more accepting of both the Native legend of the two brothers that Wyatt Wingfoot recounts, and of the American Eagle more generally. But it serves an interesting purpose, and one that I'm going to give Doug Moench the benefit of the doubt for as to it being intentional. Grimm's hypocrisy is so very blatant. He dismisses Wingfoot's legend, though the story is only as fantastic as his very own origin story. He treats American Eagle with the same insulting parental attitude that was responsible for residential schools and cultural genocide, even though he is treated as an outsider and freak by just about everyone else in the Marvel U. I'd say that this behaviour is out of character for Ben Grimm, but as a cipher for the treatment of Native American's by the mainstream, he's spot on. And through it all, Jason Strongbow, aka American Eagle, maintains a cool head and a dignified attitude.
This was a good comic. I'm not sure I'd say it was a good Thing comic, because much of his behaviour really seemed to be out of character. But as a piece of social commentary, from a nation just entering the Reagan years, it's a gem. Well worth a read if you can track it down.
Onward!
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