Marvel's Black & Minority Characters: Roundtable Discussion

[deemar325]

It irks me that the comic community is sorely lacking in Asian superheroes. Bad enough Asians get typecast as martial artist but even in that category our representative is surpassed by a white dude. I'm really not that up to date with current superheroes but the last Azn I know of other than Sang Chi was Jubilee and she sucked ass.

I totally agree man, it's what I call the 'Tarzan effect' Take movies like 'Last Samuri' ,'8 Mile' or even the third Blade movie, at some point the white character has to become superior or take center stage over the minority character.

I like Iron Fist, but really that should have been a asian hero.

 

[deemar325]

Super Pimps, wow I don't know what to think. I'm kinda offended, but at the same time it looks pretty cool.

Oh..it's a difficult thing to be a blackman.

 

[terry78]

Super Pimps, wow I don't know what to think. I'm kinda offended, but at the same time it looks pretty cool.

Oh..it's a difficult thing to be a blackman.

Or in black speak, it's hard out here for a pimp.

 

[deemar325]

Fo'Real!


Seriously, I'm kinda intrigued by the premise yet my gut feeling is to hate it.

 

[T'Jai]

Gauntlet was frackin hilarious in AI#1 anyone else get/pick up/read?

nicely introduced and nicely placed looking forward to learning more

 

[LouFerignoDemon]

I liked Gauntlet.

"You! Emo boy! Your mama want a girl? Is that it? Tghat why she dressed you like that?!"

"My mother... My mother's in a mental ward, sir."

"Oh, Cry me a ****ing river, boy!"

 

[deemar325]

Hell yeah I like Gauntlet he's like Luis Gossett Jr. and Major Payne with super powers.

 

[Zoken]

I actually dislike Guantlet, but I dislike him as a person, not a character. I think that's a mark of a good writer, that while you dislike characters, you like the story.

 

[Varient]

I actually dislike Guantlet, but I dislike him as a person, not a character. I think that's a mark of a good writer, that while you dislike characters, you like the story.

Point.

My dislike is this "Giant robo-hand" Superhero thing / Kick Marvel is into right now.

I'm Waiting for characters with "Giant robo-Foot" or some "other" body parts.

HEH.

"Oh no! It's the Feminazi's ,.. Put out the call for Gimpy the Three legged man with his Telescoping action!"



As Characters Go,... He's "Standard DI,...."
75% of his tude is an act he turns off when he goes home.

 

[Yonel]

I really, really want Djimon Hounsou for Black Panther. He really doesn't get enough parts in Hollywood for such a talented actor.

To me, he's a bit 2 old.

 

[Yonel]

Yo, that was really cool, where'd you get that? Is there more?

 

[deemar325]

I'm digging Gauntlet, we'll see how he developes under Slott.

 

[Kitsune]

Personally I think Gauntlet so far is a 2dimension stereotype. I'm still waiting for him to make the "Steers and queers" comment.

 

[deemar325]

I've served in the military(8yrs/retired/E-6) and guy it's the Drill Instructor's play book to break down the recruit to insult them and slow chip away their individuality so as to build a better soldier.

It's not that Drills are malicsious and evil people, but they have to shock the recruit into the seriousness of the situation. Hell several of my closest friend are Drill Instructors and it's part of the structured training. How can you trust someone in a combat situation if they can't do their job under pressure? If an insult from a Drill is gonna keep you from being a becoming a soldier then you never had the potential to be one anyway.

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

So is anyone feeling BP and Storm as members of the Fantastic Four?

 

[Muze]

So is anyone feeling BP and Storm as members of the Fantastic Four?

i'm liking that McDuffie is writing this. the two characters are a natural fit though; meeting the 'family' aspect of the Fantastic Four.

Hell yeah I like Gauntlet he's like Luis Gossett Jr. and Major Payne with super powers.

i like him. he's a stereotype but not a negative stereotype. and, for once, he's a black character with some status. the military obviously thinks high of this guy; attitude and all.

I totally agree man, it's what I call the 'Tarzan effect' Take movies like 'Last Samuri' ,'8 Mile' or even the third Blade movie, at some point the white character has to become superior or take center stage over the minority character.



I like Iron Fist, but really that should have been a asian hero.

why? Shang Chi is the #1 asian martial artist. it'd be kind of stingy to deny white people Danny Rand. afterall, black people have Abe Brown. latinos have both White Tigers. etc.

 

[Démon]

Vie geht es Inehn?

"Wie geht es Ihnen?". Ich studiere Deutsch. t: Taking up Russian next semester, too.

 

[sandwraith]

I'm guessing by this point in the thread the issue of Hispanic and Muslim characters has been disscussed?

As for the Asian bit...When the West thinks Asian I notice the first thing they imagine are Japanese, Chinese, Korean guys/gals. Thais maybe, Vietnamese only in comic books like The 'Nam or Punisher Born and Central Asians, South Asians and such never. Okay fine, South Asians were never noticeable to begin with but it be nice to see Asians which are NOT from the aforementioned countries. Heck a Vietnamese supercommando this side of Frank Castle should exist. The Vietnamese fought the French, the Japanese, the Americans and later thanks to Pol Pot, the Chinese and the Cambodians. If that ain't tough I don't know what is.

 

[Zoken]

I believe the X-Men "New Mutant" named Karma is vietnamese

 

[sandwraith]

As was Flash Thompson's Vietnamese lover and Karma's brother but they never evolved beyond the point of being plot devices. They were Vietnamese because of the era. When that era faded from the minds of Americans they became less than second stringers. Moreover, writers tend to dwell on the sexual attraction of Asian women rather than build a working Asian character. Just look at characters like Mantis, Cheshire, and as you mentioned, Karma. Its like all Asian men beat their wives and rape women or something.

However...a character like Bengal might change that. Might. Very unlikely but might.

 

[Zoken]

You know, I think I figured out the cause of them getting left out... I know what is cuasing Marvel comics to neglect the creation of Heroes from these countries and minority heroes in general...

....

wait for it...

...
Marvel comics is run by Americans.

More than likely, MALE Americans.

And with a good chance of them being WHITE MALE AMERICANS.

We tend to be a rather short sited group, ignoring a lot of the world around us for what we WANT to see.

 

[terry78]

^Better watch it, you'll get blasted for being a victim of white guilt.

 

[Memphis Slim]

Where Black Panther is concerned........

I like this character. But he is just a human being. A very smart and very athletic "human".

Yet I just read FF#545 and I'm still like .....PUHLEEEZZZ!!! T'challa has the Silver Surfer in a wrestling hold???

And the Surfer can't break free??? And how the heck is he gonna tear off the Surfer's arm??? Wouldn't that mean that some how the Panther can rip thru the Galactus- created silver coating that keeps ol' Norrin's limbs attached in the first place?? As he has to be rescued by Star Dust??

Look...I know that since Hudlin took over the Panther, there seems to be an all out effort to up his cred to new heights. I'm okay with that. But only to a point when it just looks silly or forced.

There is no way in the universe that should have happened. No way. The Surfer could have just given off a force field to repell him or super heated or turned the Panther into atoms .........etc etc.........


Am I the only one to see this??

 

[Zoken]

^Better watch it, you'll get blasted for being a victim of white guilt.

Okay, NOW I'm confused.

"White Guilt". You mean I'll be accused of feeling guilty because I'm white? No, I'm just making a broad sweeping generalization that couldn't be any more true than if I said "Blacks are over sensitive regarding racial issues". Sure, maybe I could find a great deal of them who are, but it would prove nothing other than I went looking for black people who were over sensitive to racial issues... and that I had FAR too much free time.

I just tend to look at the world and make observations. Americans, on the whole, are fairly unconcerned with what happens outside of our country. Men have a poor attention span as it is, so that only increases that fact. and Whites... well, we tend to see things through rose colored glasses when it comes to racial issues, so we obviously ignore a lot of things.

 

[RockSP]

why? Shang Chi is the #1 asian martial artist. it'd be kind of stingy to deny white people Danny Rand. afterall, black people have Abe Brown. latinos have both White Tigers. etc.

Come on...Abe Brown might as well not exist. If you count him then you have to count Bob Diamond for the whites, too. And lol at "denying" white people anything in a Marvel or DC comic where 99.9999999% of the characters are white.