Rethinking Racial Ontology through McDuffie's Deathlok

ABSTRACT:This paper examines the philosophy of race through critical engagement with Dwayne McDuffie's run on Deathlok. After setting out some foundational puzzles regarding the projection of racial categories onto fictional characters, we examine the patterns of racialization of the character Deathlok, as written by Moench and Buckler and in McDuffie's subsequent revamping of the character. We conclude by investigating how Hardimon's recent work on the philosophy of race sheds light on the metaphysics of racial projection under the conditions of fantastic transformation.