Four diverse heroes were added to Super Friends in 1978. The intent was well meaning then, even if it seems especially ham-handed now: Apache Chief (Native American), Samurai (Japanese), El Dorado (Mexican) and Black Vulcan (one guess). The show rarely depicted their civilian lives, so viewers never learned much about them.

The world of comic books, though, was more lacking. The first Latino hero I met was Vibe, a Justice Leaguer who premiered in 1984. Out of costume he was Paco Ramone, a Puerto Rican break dancer. His first page has cringeworthy dialogue: He says “fresh,” “chill” and “wack,” and uses “chu” (instead of you) a lot, but a few pages later, we learn that this is largely posturing. Among his large, close-knit family, he drops his accent and pretense.

Later that year I met Yolanda Montez, who would become Wildcat II. She was of Mexican descent and added some diversity to her team, Infinity Inc. Yolanda came with an odd tick: Her thoughts and speech were often expressed in Spanish and English. This helped readers who were not bilingual, but made me wonder: Why is she always repeating herself — and in two languages?