JimB said:
Of course not, but comic books aren't language. They're an art form with rapid turnover on creative teams, each creator bringing in new ideas and new viewpoints...and you'll never catch me saying the industry is all the way where I'd like to be, but things are improving. Things are better than they were even in the nineties when I first got into the hobby, and the characters have evolved a lot. Real effort has been put into making the characters more than just "[animal or adjective]man with tits," and that effort shows.
Having grown up on comics from the 60s and 70s in the 80s (which I also read), I'm not particularly sure that's the case. I mean, yeah, we've come a long way from the times where Supergirl was simply looking for the right man, but I'm not sure most of these characters have ever specifically evolved out of being "[character] with tits."
The standout example still seems to be Barbara Gordon, an example that's almost 30 years old now, and that actually hinged on her becoming a paraplegic and ditching the costume. In fact, that seems to be a minor trend now, too. Don't make X-Girl better, have her drop her costume/become depowered and become someone else. If the primary way to distinguish them is to take away the X-girl name, then I'd say we still have a pretty big problem.
I mean, there's progress on female characters in general, but not so much that Captain Marvel being Carol Danvers and the new Ms. Marvel didn't cause shitstorms.
If you say so. I kinda stopped paying attention to anything he said after the whole "I'm a lesbian trapped in a man's body" thing. I'm sure such people exist, but I don't trust that sentiment coming from someone who frames women the way he does.
I didn't know he said that. Or my last run at the angry dome caused a state of memory loss.
WinterWyvern said:
Well, I also think that "black Spider-Man" is a ridiculous publicity stunt.
Does that make me a racist?
Well, I think it's incredibly puzzling that you go from "statement x is bigoted" to "statement X makes me a bigot." This is the same thing people generally say about feminist critiques, mind. The minute something is mentioned as in any way not totally acceptable, we are calling them sexists or misogynists. I think this is at best reductive and counterproductive and at worst indicative that one might actually see themselves that way.
And I might add that this sounds a lot like what Joss Whedon does with criticism, the thing I was describing to JimB above before that lesbian comment sent me to the angry dome: the minute he's not held up as a God-king for saying women are awesome for being able to endure rape, he takes umbrage. Rather than address that some of his ideas might not be...productive/helpful/correct/supportive/insertwordhere, he takes offense and views it as a character judgment. Which probably speaks more to his character than calling any one thing he says or does sexist.
I also think you're incorrect, but that's another story:
Black heroes deserve a character who happens to be black, NOT a recycled white hero.
And that's the story.
Black people asked for a black Spider-Man. Marvel actually gave them what they wanted in Miles. This hardly seems like a PR stunt or pandering or whatever any more than any other character already is. Christ, nobody even noticed that Miguel was half-hispanic until he came back as part of the Marvel Now! line. Further, are you honestly going to tell black people they're wrong to want a black character as Spider-Man?
Saying they deserve a black hero who is a hero is a completely different question. It's like asking if someone likes spaghetti and getting an answer about the merits of salad. They're both food, but where you stand on salad doesn't directly impact your spaghetti choices. There had been a number of requests for a black Spider-Man. They got their wish. This stands regardless of whether or not there are or should be black heroes. And you're answering a question that I'm not disputing. There should be black characters that stand on their own. And women, too. That doesn't mean Thor and Spider-Man are in any way a problem. At worst, this is the same lazy writing that leads to the other Spider-Man/Thor replacements, which doesn't change because Thor is now a girl.
the answer, as said by a little biracial girl who also kicked up an online shitstorm, is "why not both?"
Can you give me a single good reason I can't be cool with [REDACTED] as Thor and want more unique female superheroes? You may have noticed, but my conversation with Jim ain't exactly saying the status quo is good.