Originally posted by Piedmon
It really warms my heart that such considered and thoughtful discussion can spring forth from these boards....But seriously, there is a huge imbalance favoring Anglo/Germanic superheroes. It's a shame that a black, latin, or asian characters are such a rarity in comic books. If I made a new superhero for a mainstream universe--Marvel or DC--and I made him black, I bet you a large number of readers would, even if they didn't admit to themselves or others, wonder if I was trying to make a "statement."
This other thing that really disturbs me is why marketers or editors seem to think "ethnic" characters will only appeal to their "demographic." What, exactly, keeps a white reader from relating to Luke Cage? I've known lots of black kids who thought Batman and Wolverine were the shit, there doesn't seem to be any such "barrier" in that direction.
But that mentality leads to ethnic characters that are little more than stereotypes. Christopher Priest talked about this sort of thing on his website, and it's a really telling examination. You have these middle-aged white writers trying to write a "credible," black character that the "black demographic" can relate to, and the results are jive-talking "street tough" blacks. This isn't to knock Luke Cage, who's come a long way since his somewhat kitsch origin, but think of the lamentable "Snap Wilson" story--stuff like that is not needed anywhere, where you take a black character who was meant to stand for something better (Sam Wilson's original origin was a social worker) and turn him into a Blaxploitation archetype. That story ruined The Falcon, and the character's never recovered. That's exactly what the comic industry DOESN'T need.
I want more color in my comics.
I think you can blame the imbalance of character color on the discrimination that black (as well as women) writers, artists, and editors faced for much of the 20th century. While the comic industry experienced its golden age when many of its classic heroes where created, black voices were muted. Hopefully today with many of thoes barriers destroyed we will begin to see a more diverse talent pool inside the industry and thus more diverse characters. But I think it will take some time as thoes classic (mostly white) characters have become the largest icons in the industry.
Personally, I want quality in my comics. I want the most talented individuals creating new and interesting stories with fresh takes on the classic characters and new diverse characters. I espically like the fact that Marvel introduced a character like Dust (formally in the Hellions). She allows new stories and issues to be delt with and that is what comics need. They should reflect, to some degree, the world and all of the people in it so that they stay relative.
Also, John Stewart and every other green lanter should take Superman down easily as their rings can produce kryptonite radiation.
I think there might be few black superheroes for the following reason as well. There are already tons of black superheroes in real life! Go turn on almost any sports channel and take a look at allll the color. These sports figures are worshipped as much or more than comic book heroes. It might seem like overkill to comic book readers to see the overflow from the sports side (where blacks tend to be the majority) to the comic side.
Basically, I think they create characters based on demand. They're in it to make the $$$ after all.
Very surprised this thread lasted this long...no black characters can beat superman, apoco has a good chance and he is egyptian and most likely had black parents, Aristotle and Diodorus Siculus said "that the ancient Egyptians were ‘black-skinned'...still i dout apoc can beat sups, he has a good chance though...
Originally posted by jgiant
Very surprised this thread lasted this long...no black characters can beat superman, apoco has a good chance and he is egyptian and most likely had black parents, Aristotle and Diodorus Siculus said "that the ancient Egyptians were ‘black-skinned'...still i dout apoc can beat sups, he has a good chance though...
it'd be the "battle of the guys with a lot of powers"
Originally posted by TwisterGameX
😂 😈Yeah I observed dbz and their counterparts and
Piccolo is white
Vegeta is a punk rocker
Goku is a surferSonic is japanese/white
Tails is 110% white
Knuckles is 80% whiteSuperman is a freaking ALIEN like some others
Knuckles is totally black. No doubt about that in the slightest.