With summer on the horizon, it seems fans are shifting attention away from movies like Avengers: Endgame and Shazam!, and are instead looking to see what future superhero flicks bring to the table. While the DC Extended Universe might be done for the year – their next project, Birds of Prey, isn’t due out till 2020 – Marvel still has one more on the docket. In just a couple of short weeks, Spider-Man: Far From Home hits the big screen, and we’re very excited to see how Peter Parker’s new adventure wraps up the MCU’s lengthy Phase 3 while setting up its inevitable fourth stage.
Of course, for every fan who eagerly anticipates the arrival of a new Marvel movie, there are always a few “passionate” (I use that term loosely) detractors who find something to complain about. Spider-Man: Far From Home is no exception, as YouTube user YoungRippa59 has posted a brand new video in which he slams both Homecoming and its sequel for “race-bending” its characters, specifically calling out Michelle “MJ” Jones.
While Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has confirmed that this “MJ” is not the same as the one from the comics (note the whole Michelle vs. Mary Jane name change), many have accused the films of changing up the character’s race for the sake of diversity.
“Anybody that supports race-bending of comic book characters is a f’n loser,” says the YouTuber. “It’s one of the most unnecessary things that producers are doing right now in TV and film. It’s nothing but a joke of a concept by the production companies to appease you chumps that foam over the mouth about the concept of diversity and representation. Granted this is almost exclusively done to white characters, but the fact that folks actually champion these actions is sort of laughable.”
“Then when we say, let’s say the character in the recent Spider-man movies is only MJ in name, which she literally is, these clowns have the nerve to claim that people are racist. Imagine having your head so far up your a– that think that someone wanting to see a character be depicted by the same sort of white redhead character that she’s been is somehow racist.”
“These fools have no connection to the source material, so leave it to these normies to change every character they can to someone that’s non-white. Of course, if Black Panther was portrayed by whitey-mc-white-face everybody would be up in arms, including me. The whole “it’s just a fictional character” line would be immediately retired.”
Speaking personally here – while I would concede Marvel could do a better job of mining its backlog of comics for more diverse characters, it’s worth mentioning that, if the studio had simply adapted the source material down to the tee, it would be very difficult to include any sort of varied pool of actors and actresses in their films.
For better or worse, a majority of older comic book figures are only black or white, and even then, many minority characters were based off rather problematic stereotypes. Of course, one could argue that Marvel should simply create new heroes, villains, and sidekicks if they want to diversify their talent pool, but then you end up upsetting fans who claim they aren’t being true to the source material.
At the end of the day, it seems like you can’t please everyone. Even with its share of detractors though, Spider-Man: Far From Home is sure to be a hit around the globe, and with it expected to rake in more than $150 million during its opening weekend, we’re excited to see how Marvel’s latest fares in the eyes of critics and fans alike.