As you might expect given the name placed upon it by the internet, the Racist Cinematic Universe has hardly been drowning in critical acclaim and widespread adulation since Spider-Man: Lotus and Superman: Solar arrived at roughly the same time to take an equally merciless pounding.
Having initially won praise from no less of a web-slinging authority than Marvel Cinematic Universe trilogy director Jon Watts – as well as being shouted out by Andrew Garfield – Lotus shot itself in the foot after historical social media posts uncovered a string of racist diatribes accredited to some key creatives.
Just like that, all of the fan film’s goodwill was gone in an instant never to return, so you can only imagine how scathing the responses have been now that people actually have the chance to see it for themselves. Sure, some of the reactions put the backlash and controversy to one side in order to give Lotus as fair appraisal, but even then the overwhelming consensus is that it’s just not very good at all.
The downfall of Lotus has been fascinating to see unfold, with what was once touted as perhaps one of the most accomplished-looking fan-made creations to come along in a long time now known as “the racist Spider-man movie,” and even its status on Letterboxd has been subjected to much debate.
It was taking a pasting there, too, so maybe it’s for the best that once the initial wave of mockery subsides, everyone simply consigns it to the history books and never speaks of it again. Unless the looming threat of a sequel ends up materializing…