Why Miguel O'Hara Is Marvel's Most Important Hispanic Character

In addition to the trope of Hispanic characters coming from a crime-ridden backgrounds, there are numerous other Latino stereotypes out there that the character of Miguel O'Hara pushes back against. One major example is is views on religion.

Whereas most Mexican-Americans are portrayed as being devout followers of Christianity (usually Catholicism) who never bother to question the beliefs they were brought up on, Miguel is openly critical of religion and tends to embrace enlightenment values, despite himself being raised Catholic.

Of course, this doesn't automatically make him better than Hispanic characters who embrace their religious upbringing, but it does provide yet another example of Miguel challenging tradition and being savvy to cultural shifts in the real world. After all, this day and age, more and more people are beginning to step away from organized religion, due in large part to antiquated practices and values.

Mind you, characters from innately religious cultures who stand by their faith do still have their place, so long as their portrayal is nuanced enough, with Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel being great examples.

However, by distancing himself from religion entirely, Miguel further embraces his role as an educated Hispanic person being ahead of his time. More importantly, it sends the message that the things that were preached to you while you were young do not have to dictate who you become, nor does questioning those things (and outright renouncing them, if need be) disconnect you from your heritage, in spite of what some may say.