TheCorpulent1 said:
I wouldn't either. I would mind if I were Asian and almost every single other Asian hero were named something similarly martial arts-themed, like "Karate Kid" or "Bushido," though.
That is exactly what I mean.
I don't
mind when Asian characters have to draw upon their Asia-ness in order to have any personality at all, but sometimes it feels like creators
can't write any Asian characters without having them draw upon ancient secret martial arts dragon fu jade power amulet chi tomfckery. Don't get me wrong; off the top of my head, I can name Nico from the Runaways, Dr. Light, Batgirl, and Surge from New X-Men who don't rely on that sort of gimmick, so it's not like those characters don't exist at all. But in general, it feels like creator thought processes go like this:
Jubilee - Gee, Chinese people invented fireworks, so let's give her fireworks powers!
Sunfire - Japan is the land of the rising sun? This practically writes itself!
Hisako from Astonishing X-Men - ...ah, well, she was doing just fine in this department until Joss made it so that her power stems from the ancient protection of her ancestors. Not that it doesn't make her more interesting, mind you, but come on.
At the least, if the Atom is Asian, there'll be another character without that sort of gimmick. And I'm pretty sure he's gonna end up knowing kung fu at some point anyway.