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Nerd Fight: Is Replacing A Character With A Minority Substitute A Viable Solution To The Lack Of Diversity In Mainstream Comics?

nerd-fightMarco Lopez writes,

Marco Lopez writes,

Welcome to Nerd Fight, where we aim to discuss the hard-hitting (and sometimes the not so hard hitting) issues that plague the comic book industry and the books we love to read. Our goal, to tackle these topics head-on and let you, the fans, decide.

Today we will be discussing an issue that has angered many a nerd for the right and wrong reasons.

Is Replacing A Character With a Minority Substitute A Viable Solution To The Lack Of Diversity In Mainstream Comics

ROUND ONE: FIGHT!

Gene: As a huge fan of Iron Man and Green Lantern, some of the books I own feature James 'Rhodey' Rhodes and John Stewart in the titular roles respectively. Both characters had their similarities and differences. I leaned more towards Rhodey as he had been a staple in the Iron Man comics for several years prior to donning the armor. But I enjoyed seeing someone with a different worldview (Stewart) in the role of Earth representative for ring wielding space cops of the GLC. Replacing characters in comics with a minority or female lead has been one of the most consistent ways of getting stubborn fans who refuse to read anything out of their tiny sandbox of characters to actually try something new. Look at the last few decades of sales data. When did the last time a character from the big two become a huge sensation that was not intrinsically tied to another hero (Miles Morales Spider-Man, Spider-Gwen) or villain (Harley Quinn), etc? It was Deadpool…who debuted in 1991. Unless you're a fan of the "popular stuff" (Spider-Man, Batman, X-men, Justice League), you have to deal with the books from Marvel or DC that you love suffer cancellation after cancellation. Maybe if fans weren't so stubborn and tried out characters other than that top 3%, then maybe these "forced" replacements wouldn't occur.

Marco: Here is my problem with the ethnic replacement, ethnic sidekick or ethnic legacy characters. Whether it's a Caucasian writer, African American writer, Hispanic writer, etc., it still doesn't change the fact that it's an ethnic character who is not standing out on his or her own but who instead is under the shadow of the Caucasian hero. It's basically saying these ethnic characters look up to these Caucasian heroes and want to be just like them and not their own person. And there is nothing wrong with an ethnic character looking up to a Caucasian hero, but why is this character not being their own hero? I get the whole it's easier to sell people on a new version of something that's already been popular for years. But imagine if Luke Cage wasn't Power Man but instead became black Thor. Or if Black Lightning was instead Black Superman. There is already a whole can of worms when it comes to bringing in an ethnic replacement, but now you're adding on that layer of ethnic groups needing white approval and not being able to do anything without treading behind the more successful white group. And here is the thing I feel the same way when it comes to a Hispanic character taking on the mantle of an Asian character, or a black character taking on the mantle of a Hispanic character. Unless these characters that are introduced to replace these heroes were there for a long period of time as supporting characters and they weren't the only specific type of minority in this group of supporting characters for years then I would be more accepting. But when you do this out of the blue you're not doing it because you want to create more diverse characters for a more diverse readership and to give heroes for ethnic groups to look up to. You're doing this for one reason and one reason only. You don't want to get left behind by others already beating you to the punch and you just wanna make more money off of a diverse readership. You're seeing nothing but dollar signs. So your answer is why not repackage that hero in an ethnic skin.

ROUND TWO: FIGHT!

Gene: I honestly don't disagree with you. Every single one of your points is valid. But WE KNOW how the majority of the current mainstream big two readers act. Not saying that they are all racist (even though a good portion of them are). Many of them, however, are stuck in their ways about "I want the same Justice Society I've been reading since the Golden Age" or "I want the Avengers I read in the Silver Age". They want the universes the way they were at the dawn of the DC and Marvel universes. But guess what, the majority of those characters and teams are straight white males (with the occasional damsel in distress or token minority sidekick). They want their comic world to reflect a "better time" when writers didn't add those pesky minorities or strong women or LGBTs. Well, that time may not be better to EVERYONE ELSE. Unfortunately, those fans are likely the majority of big two purchasers and don't give newer characters a chance. The only chances for survival of characters that don't sit at the "big kids table" popularity wise are initiatives like this.

Marco: And I don't disagree with you on that but it still doesn't mean that Marvel and DC should be wheeling out the token replacements followed by a pat on the head and a see we do care about you minorities. I'm not saying their intentions aren't earnest but if you want to introduce more ethnic characters especially in this day and age where readership is growing at a rapid pace among minority groups then give me some originals and how about using more of the originals you do have. And they have here and there but it's never with the full support they give a spider-man, or iron man or superman or batman. And I know people will reply what about this character or that character but then think to yourself how long of a run has that character had. I don't want Riri Williams replacing Tony Stark. I want Riri as her own bad ass hero and not part of Iron Man's legacy. The thing that still bugs me today about Kamala Khan is did she really need to be a legacy hero. Does Moon Girl really need to be a legacy character to Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy? Why can't we have these characters stand on their own and create NEW LEGACIES that can stand by side with those other great heroes? They don't need to be in the shadow of those heroes. But not all is lost. I'm looking forward to Marvel's upcoming character Mosaic. They're getting it right with that and with bringing back Night Thrasher and DC is really pushing Cyborg but then taking a step back with Duke Thomas. I understand he's not going to be a Robin now but he was introduced as one and he's still bat's sidekick on the side. Why can't Duke have trained with Black Lightning or Mr. Terrific? Just because he starts in a Bat world doesn't mean he has to stay in that world.

THE WRAP UP:

Gene: While it looks like we do agree that more minority/female/LGBTQ characters are needed to reflect the real world, the only thing we disagree on is how the big two is executing it. I do feel that they sometimes pat themselves on the back a bit too much when they do some of these initiatives, but it is a necessary evil. If Marvel and DC didn't do stuff like this, which gains them mainstream media attention, do you think they would give two craps about making their universes more diverse?

Marco: They probably wouldn't care at all but honestly I don't think we should be looking to Marvel and DC comics for diversity and to broaden the readership of comics. At one point we needed them for that but the landscape of comics is changing so much and at such a rapid pace and not because of them or anything they have done. Some will argue with me on that and I'm not saying they haven't contributed but from the time the industry bubble burst to today independent publishers, self-publishers and new publishing imprints and webcomics have done more to diversify the superhero genre and comic books in general. If it wasn't for these companies and this diversity, we probably wouldn't be the only or one of the only few print industries that year after year is on a continuous upward trend. The fact is I don't care whether Marvel or DC have a diverse line. Because fifty percent of the time, they get it wrong. With the industry today if a kid or an adult minority came up to me looking for a comic that reflected a genre they loved and themselves I wouldn't give them anything Marvel or DC. I would give them Lion Forge, Image Comics, Oni Press, Boom! Studios, IDW, Valiant, etc. Or tell them to check out the work of the Operative Network (http://www.operative.net/) creators such as Hannibal Tabu and Damion Gonzales or DMC (http://www.dmc-comics.com/) or Ale Garza bringing back Ninjaboy or Joe Benitez and his self-published efforts and if you wanna get a bit obscure (to you, not me) how about Adrian Thomas Engmann and Kung Fu Skratch! (https://www.comixology.com/Kung-Fu-Skratch/comics-series/10218) And Mikhail Sebastian of Mythallica: Lux Nova (https://www.amazon.com/Mythallica-Lux-Nova-Mikhail-Sebastian/dp/0996740007). That's where the real diversity is at. That's where they get it right and that is what is shaping the future of the industry. As Magneto said in the first X-men film and I think it applies here. "We are the future, Charles, not them. They no longer matter."

GAME OVER!

We hope you all enjoyed this second episode of Nerd Fight. If you liked it, if you loved it, or if you thought it was meh or complete crap (and let's be honest, some of you are saying this to yourselves right now) then comment below and tell us what you think. But don't forget to join us next week when we discuss renumbering books back to issue one. Dear God not again. I will be speaking for it and Gene will be speaking against it.

Marco Lopez (marco@atomicrexentertainment.com) and Gene Selassie (eugene@atomicrexentertainment.com) are the co-owners of the website Atomic Rex Entertainment. Where you can find the ongoing weekly webcomic Massively Effective, that Marco describes as Abbott and Costello in tights. Along with the first issue of Gene's comic Rock Paper Scissors that he describes as Goodfellas with powers. Also hosted on the site is Marco's web strip series Orion's Belt that follows an Afro-Latino family of adventurers in space and their anthology series A Shot of Whiskey.

Marco has also written for Zenescope Entertainment and Lion Forge Comics.


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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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