Race was often drawn in a swimsuit so his massive muscles were visible. Here he stains himself with purple berry juice to convince the savage Po-Po Indians that he is a god.
Hadji is presumably Hindu, although the turban suggests Sikh (in the 1990s series, his full name is Hadji Singh). So why is his name an honorary title given to Muslims who have completed the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca?
He was one in long line of South Asian boy-adventurers such as Sabu (left), Kim in the Corentin series, Gunga Andy's Gang, and Raji on Maya (below) .
More after the break
We see in him the feminization of the Colonial Other as dark, mysterious, intuitive, and sensual, and a none-too-subtle masculine-feminine dynamic in his interaction with Jonny. The intensity, physicality, and sheer heat of their interactions make them seem more lovers than foster brothers. At playtime nobody wanted to be Hadji, but everyone wanted to rescue him from bad guys and carry him off in their arms.
No word on whether Hadji resented being replaced.
More recent adult parodies have denied or closeted the gay subtexts.
In Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (2000-2007), various Hanna-Barbara characters have legal problems. Shaggy from Scooby-Doo is accused of marijuana possession. Boo-Boo is accused of terrorism. And Race Bannon sues Dr. Quest for custody of the boys (they aren't actually in a relationship, although Dr. Quest has a closeted interest in muscular men).
In The Venture Brothers, which parodies Jonny Quest and The Hardy Boys, the dying Race Bannon says "Tell Jonny I love him." It is unclear whether he means as a son or a lover, but the adult Jonny is a drug addict given to violent paranoia.
In Jellystone (2021-25), which moves all of the Hanna Barbara characters to the same small town, Jonny and Hadji do not speak, but run a bowling alley together, appear at community events, and are killed along with everyone else in the opening sequence (so, the "everyone dies" is a spoiler for the series finale?). The writers tweeted that they couldn't be explicit about the couple, but "in our minds they are happily married." So you can have gay characters as long as no one watching the show has any idea that they are gay.
