You do know that Marvel was the first to have black superheroes and black people in their comics, right? And that Nick Fury was white in the comics originally? As a black woman I’m all for more representation, but you have to acknowledge what has already been done and who is responsible for it before complaining. This should read: Why hasn’t a Black Panther movie been made? Let’s push for that.

It took me awhile to realize this is probably in response to the Andrew Wheeler quote about Marvel Studios’ lack of diversity that I tumbl’d ages ago. While I’m fine acknowledging what’s already been done and who’s responsible for it, I’m not sure why that means that Marvel Studios should be let off the hook for having an absolutely appalling record of diversity in their movies. Is the logic meant to be “Well done, the Black Panther means you get a pass for awhile?” That was done almost 50 years ago by a company that, to all intents and purposes, is entirely separate from Marvel Studios.

(Also, for what it’s worth, while I’ll give Marvel credit for having the first mainstream black superhero with the Black Panther, it was neither the first to have black superheroes — that’d be All Negro Comics’ Lion-Man, back in 1947 — nor “black people in their comics,” which is just crazily off-base. Hell, a year before Kirby and Lee created T’Challa, Dell had Lobo, the first U.S. comic with a black male solo lead.)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload the CAPTCHA.