Anonymous asked: Do you have anything to say to those who think Marvel is doing diversity wrong by using derivative and replacement characters instead of creating new original (diverse) characters from the ground up?
Yes, I think people who are worried about “doing diversity wrong” either have too much free time on their hands, or aren’t really concerned with that issue at all, but are just unhappy that we’ve changed something that they liked the way it was.
I enjoy Marvels more recent pushes for diversity. We are a long way from it being perfect but it is positive advancement that I hope continues. I love the idea of introducing new characters AND changing established ones into something new. These changes alter the perspective and view of what we see as established groups in positive ways. Nothing that they are doing is currently wrong.
That being said, the reason I am weary to get behind changes that have been done lately is because I fear they will be disposable and reversed quickly. Comics do not have a great history of making changes that last. Death is meaningless and characters gain and lose powers every few months. Will the events that created the new Thor and shifted the Captain America mantle to Sam Wilson be any different?
With the characters being Thor and Captain America, I can’t really help but draw parallels to those characters histories. Steve Rogers died only to be replaced by his sidekick Bucky Barnes. In two years, these changes had been reversed and we had Bucky returning to The Winter Solider and Steve Rogers as Captain America.
Thor was briefly banished and replaced by Eric Masterson as being the worthy successor. In under two years, they brought back Thor Odinson and made Masterson into Thunderstrike.
I hope that these changes are not repeats of history because these changes will only matter if they have lasting effects. If they were to switch back quickly they would have the potential to feel cheap and pointless. The only thing that we can really do is show Marvel that these are the changes that we want and that these are the changes that matter to us. This can be done by starting civil conversations with the creators and editors and supporting the books you like by buying them.
TL:DR? Support the changes you want to see and don’t be a jerk about it.
