This is kind of impromptu and rushed, but a lot of people have been annoyed at the fact that Johnny Storm will be portrayed by a black actor, and that Jimmy Olsen will be as well in Supergirl. I'm going to share my opinion and hopefully explain why i think it is okay for that to be so, but it would not be okay to make someone like T'challa white.
White people are everywhere in media. Almost everyone on TV and in movies is white. That is a problem and although it has definitely improved from a time when it was exclusively white, it is still not perfect. That is not to say that we should just hire actors of different races just for the heck of it, not at all. But this a point I felt needed to be said right at the get-go.
I think it is okay to let someone of a different race portray a character that happens to be white in the comic books. It wouldn't make sense to just randomly make the comic book version of Johnny Storm black, just because. In the comic book realm, the character has been portrayed as white for ages, and it doesnt make sense to just make him black; if a reboot were to happen and they wanted to change things up in a creative and genuinely appealing way, that's another story. But it makes no sense to randomly turn the current comic book version of Johnny Storm black. HOWEVER, tv shows and movies are a whole different media aiming at a different audience. It is not canon nor does it have to follow the exact details of comics.
TV shows and movies, so long as they stick true to the proper characterization and keep things relatively in tact, are allowed to change things and its fine. But what counts as crossing the line? For many it seems that letting a black actor portray an originally white character is complete nonsense. I think differently of this. It is okay to let a black actor portray Johnny Storm, a white character, because there's nothing about Johnny being white that makes him special. Being white does nothing for Johnny's character, so letting a black actor portray him shouldn't make a difference; obviously the actor is talented if he was chosen and he has the ability to portray the character of the Human Torch. But if being white never contributed to Johnny's character, why should the actor being black mean anything either? It is okay to let someone of a different ethnic group portray a white character and add diversity to the media; I think it's a good thing as long as it's done correctly.
Now it's a completely different story to make T'challa white. What's the difference many people ask? Well, T'challa's race actually contributes to the character. For most comic book characters of a different ethnicity, being that race actually is important for the character. T'Challa's origin lies in his race and contributes to the person he is. Same for even Captain America. Why would he be turned into, lets say asian? Being American is a definitive part of his character. For Johnny Storm, being white never added anything significant to his being like it does for T'Challa or Cap.
And with that I will conclude. I think that many comic book characters were created white, just because that's what it was like back when they were created. That doesn't make it a definitive part of their character. So for tv shows and movies, its okay to change the race of characters in a reasonable way if their race never made a difference in who they were. It is however unacceptable to change the race of a character who's identity partially lies within the fact that he is a certain race or comes from a certain background.
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