Marvel Movie Character Treatment
Matt
Posts: 4,457
Recently, someone tried to convince me Marvel treats its female & non-Caucasian males as second class characters & sidekicks; specifically noting Falcon & Nick Fury. Ultimately, the guy admitted he just doesn't like Marvel movies (a DC diehard.)
This led me to ponder, is Marvel not treating its non-WASP males as equals?
M
This led me to ponder, is Marvel not treating its non-WASP males as equals?
M
Comments
DC's heroes are also all white, and male. And whites are still the leads in most movies. Not sure why Marvel is singled out for criticism.
But seriously, after Black Panther who would even get a solo movie? Luke Cage got a show. Neither company has a great roster of minority characters with lead potential. Still waiting on an announcement of a Black Widow or Captain Marvel movie... And let's not ignore the fact that there has never been a Wonder Woman movie, not even taking into account the modern era of superhero movies. You're telling me that in the last 35 or so years since "Superman" no one has come up with a single workable script for Wonder Woman? If that's the case I'd just as soon say it's impossible.
As usual, it comes down to money. White male leads sell more tickets in more places around the world. We talk about the desperate need for greater diversity in comics and in the media in general a lot around here but we rarely bring up the lack of incentive beyond moral conviction. That when it comes to making extremely expensive tentpole movies making money is always the priority.
Maybe I confuse "sidekicks" with "partners." I didn't see Rhodey or Falcon as a sidekick. I thought both Stark & Cap treated them each like equals.
Granted, neither starred in his own movie, but while watching the movies I never thought they were less worthy then the central character.
I do argue about Fury. He's been the linch pin of the MU since Iron Man.
Fox's character was actually revised to give the character weight. Until Nolan's movies, Fox was barely a footnote in the comic books.
Thanks for the input.
M
What were your friend's examples of the stellar way DC treats its female and minority characters? Especially on film?
http://comicbook.com/blog/2014/07/14/marvel-comics-to-announce-new-title-on-the-view/
"Marvel Comics To Announce New Title On The View"
The response back was "you have your opinion and I have mine. I don't like Marvel's movies." Which lead me to believe exactly what I told him "you're crowbarring a reason to justify your opinion about Marvel movies."
And he completely ignored the fact DC has really only had Fox, the new Perry White, & August Gorman.
M
Anyone that just blindly says "I don't like the Marvel movies" is probably a waste of time to engage in any meaningful debate or conversation on the merits of the medium.
My two cents...
"In a continued effort to bring new readers to the world of comic books, Marvel teamed up with ABC’s The View to promote the next story arc in Thor, God of Thunder. Looks like a new hand will be wielding the mighty Mjolnir, and it’s not the typical male archetype we’ve come to expect from our Asgardian hammer tosser. The new Thor will be a woman.
“This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. This is not Thorita. This is THOR. This is the THOR of the Marvel Universe. But it’s unlike any Thor we’ve ever seen before,” said series writer, Jason Aaron.
Aaron will be joined on the book by Cyclops artist, Russell Dauterman.
Just who will take up the mantle of the God of Thunder? Marvel may wait til San Diego Comic Con next week to drop that bombshell on us. But on The View, a little clue was hinted about her origins, “The story behind her is she created herself. She was saved by Thor and she came down to Earth, followed him, and made herself look like Thor and so now she’s taking over.” "