Marvel and D.C comics new diversity trend

[old lady]

I like it a bit and dislike it a bit. It is great to have new stories, artists and characters but changing original characters gender or sexual orientation or race seem to defeat the purpose of diversity. Having Green Lantern turn into a gay man or black man or both doesn't seem right. Being a woman of color,and supporter of LGBT crowd, it doesn't seem fair to anyone to make straight characters, men, or white heroes into gays .etc.? I would like characters who are meant to be gays or straight or women or men or black or whites or Asians.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

Comics have a long-standing tradition of having different people take up the mantle of popular heroes. It stems from the fact that they love to kill people off and then bring them back to life and/or use them in alternate universes.

 

[MetalMasterC]

I quite remember Firestorm (DC Comics) having a black man in the role, but I wouldn't go as far as suddenly changing it. I don't read many comics these days, but the ones I do know, they don't change the character all of a sudden. They just put someone else in the role. (Exception: the whole Captain America Hydra controversy.) Comics have never been known for consistency anyway. Besides, change does happen. Beyond that, I'm glad they are creating diversity in their respective universes. I would like to see more unique roles for a vast world of people.

 

[DisneyMarvelStarWars]

I like it a bit and dislike it a bit. It is great to have new stories, artists and characters but changing original characters gender or sexual orientation or race seem to defeat the purpose of diversity. Having Green Lantern turn into a gay man or black man or both doesn't seem right. Being a woman of color,and supporter of LGBT crowd, it doesn't seem fair to anyone to make straight characters, men, or white heroes into gays .etc.? I would like characters who are meant to be gays or straight or women or men or black or whites or Asians.

Do you read the comics? Have you followed the various EUs, AUs, or follow the Multiverse? There are actually several Lanterns. They are not rebooting one and changing his ethnicity or race. There are also other color lanterns, each color representing a different power with its own oath.

Have you read the Captain America comics? Steve Rogers dies. And two different characters have become Captain America. Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes both replaced Captain America, inherited the shield. Steve Rogers did not change. So in the MCU if he is replaced by Sam Wilson, it is not because Marvel is now trying to be PC by making the next Cap a black character. They would be adapting directly from the story.

 

[Jason_V]

I'm not a hardcore comics guy (but I do enjoy all of the movies) and I've gotta say...who cares? These characters evolve and change over time. All things have to in order to survive. Wouldn't it be terrible if Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Captain America, Iron Man, etc. all stayed exactly as they were in their first appearances?

Wonder Woman would still be a secretary for the Justice League, for example. Captain America and Superman would remain "boy scouts"...that's boring to write and read for 50+ years. Kid Flash has historically been white until The Flash made him a black character. And guess what? No one really cared. Is the character written and acted well? That's all that matters.

So no, I don't see it as a bad thing. Having one less white straight male superhero and one more hispanic bisexual female superhero isn't going to hurt (for example).

 

[BrianL]

I think the trick with this is to do it in an organic, story-driven way. I have no problems when a new hero takes up the mantle as long as the new character/creative team is respectful of the previous version and the new character was introduced through a good, well-thought out story. What I find problematic is when they make these changes abruptly. That's when it seems like they are doing it just because or diversity or whatever, instead of to tell a great story, one that can benefit form a different perspective, but is still cognizant of its roots. Comics do it both ways all the time, but it really rankles the fans when it feels forced.

 

[BrianL]

Have you read the Captain America comics? Steve Rogers dies. And two different characters have become Captain America. Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes both replaced Captain America, inherited the shield. Steve Rogers did not change. So in the MCU if he is replaced by Sam Wilson, it is not because Marvel is now trying to be PC by making the next Cap a black character. They would be adapting directly from the story.

Right. And one thing about Sam Wilson as Cap is that he has been Steve's sidekick for like 40 years now. The evolution made sense (actually far more sense then when Bucky took over). What they did with Iron Man recently was replace Tony Stark with a young female character, but the character had never appeared before and was abruptly wedged into the role. The story has suffered for this. She could become a great character, but as it stands she is one-dimensional (young, female, smarter than EVERYBODY) and feels forced into the role.

Kid Flash has historically been white until The Flash made him a black character. And guess what? No one really cared. Is the character written and acted well? That's all that matters.

Well, lots of fans cared. So much so that they brought back the original Wally West (kid Flash) in addition to this new one (so they are now separate people, not a rebooted version of the same person). Older Wally is just Flash, and younger Wally is Kid Flash, and they are a generation apart. This would be an example of a change made just to do it with no thought as to the story (like most of the DC reboot of six or so years ago).

 

[Airship Ariadne]

Having Green Lantern turn into a gay man or black man or both doesn't seem right.

You do realize the Green Lantern being a black man first happened in 1971? This is not a new thing. It is what comics do.

 

[Jason_V]

Well, lots of fans cared. So much so that they brought back the original Wally West (kid Flash) in addition to this new one (so they are now separate people, not a rebooted version of the same person). Older Wally is just Flash, and younger Wally is Kid Flash, and they are a generation apart. This would be an example of a change made just to do it with no thought as to the story (like most of the DC reboot of six or so years ago).

Fair enough. Won't argue that point. Though we could say fans are so beholden to one version of a character they can't accept change, too, whatever the reason.

 

[BrianL]

Fair enough. Won't argue that point. Though we could say fans are so beholden to one version of a character they can't accept change, too, whatever the reason.

You are right about the fans, in general. They do resist change. I've been accused of it myself. I think the reason why though is that so often when they make drastic changes they throw out the previous concepts with disregard. Fans do get attached to certain characters. I find, at least for myself, when a change is organic, well thought out, and respectful to what has come before, I am more than willing to give it a chance and embrace the concept. When they disregard the previous version, and the previous fans (sometime going so far as to denigrate the previous version and those fans tastes), that's when I get upset about it.