Thought On Flawed Inclusion In Marvel Comics

Introduction

With films becoming more inclusive and audiences rewarding many of these movies at the box office I have been thinking a lot about inclusivity in art. Examining 4 of my favourite black Marvel characters seems to show a positive outcome for representation even if their early depictions (and perhaps some of their modern ones) have their flaws. Specifically, Black Panther, Blade, Storm and Miles Morales were all flawed or controversial depictions of black characters mainly created by white men, but overall these creators were successful in their goal of adding some diversity to the Marvel universe.

Black Panther (T'Challa)

First published in 1966, there is debate on whether or not Black Panther was created by Stan Lee or Jack Kirby. Regardless Black Panther is considered by many to be the first mainstream black superhero and both claim that they were inspired to include a black hero in a space that was almost exclusively white. There was fear that there may be pushback towards including a black hero in Marvel comics. The creators even caved by changing T'Chala's mask which showed he was an black man to one that covered his face entirely. Marvel even changed Black Panther's name briefly to avoid connection to the Black Panther Party. Despite not going all out and standing by their first black superhero I think introducing T'Chala was a step in the right direction in a time when black writers and artists were not in prominent positions at Marvel Comics.

Blade (Eric Brooks)

First published in 1973 and created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan, Frank Blade (later renamed Eric Cross-Brooks) was another attempt to bring more black characters into Marvel. Like with Black Panther, these were white men creating a black character to to better reflect the people around them. Yet Blade's first set of appearances was somewhat short lived. Marv Wolfman stopped including Blade for a few reasons, but one of these was that he feared he couldn't authentically write a black character. He feared that early attempts at Blade's dialogue was coming off as a caricature of black stereotypes. Wolfman reintroduced Blade about a year later feeling more confident he could write Blade with more nuance. I'm sure wether he was successful is up for debate, but it seems the intent was there to have a positive impact on diversifying Marvel.

Storm (Ororo Munroe)

Debuted in 1975 as part of a new X-Men lineup, Storm was created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. Storm is considered by many to be the first prominent black woman superhero but there are some controversial aspects about her creation. Like the other characters in this article there is always the question of can or should two white men really write this character. Beyond that, some would see Storms inclusion as a half-hearted attempt at inclusivity base on how she's portrayed. Regardless of the intent, critics could say that Marvel is only willing to be inclusive when the character is a beautiful woman. Furthering this concern is that her light hair and eyes would be more associated with white beauty standards than black ones. I hope the choice to have light hair and eyes for Storm is more to do with how her powers are somewhat supernatural but I could see how people could worry that it sends the message that black women are acceptable when the conform to certain white beauty standards.

Spider-Man (Miles Morales)

First appearing as Spider-Man in 2011 Miles Morales was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli, with input from Axel Alonzo. Peter Parker's Spider-Man is one of the most relatable superheroes, he may be a man with spider themed powers but often he struggles with paying his bills, relationships and sick family members like a normal person. The choice to have Miles as a new Spider-Man was an attempt to make a Spider-Man more easily relatable to black folks. Some regarded it as lazy, or insincere to create a black Spider-Man rather than an original black character but it is hard to argue that Miles Morales hasn't been successful in winning people over.

Conclusion

Looking at Black Panther, Blade, Storm and Miles Morales, it seems to me that their creation has helped to make Marvel more inclusive to black fans, even if some aspects were flawed a long the way. As it stands they are now some of Marvel's most popular characters and anecdotally I've seen them been strongly embraced by black fans. That said, I'm sharing my thoughts but I'm far from an expert or authority on diversity. However I'm hoping we are now in a place where white creators should be open to critique if they are trying to create black characters and are simultaneously making sure black creators have opportunities to tell the stories they want to.