All minorities have it rough in comics. The companies have made efforts at creating minority heroes, and I'm happy about that, but hardly any minorities are major players.
I define a major player as someone who will be put in movies and cartoons. Usually major players are on the same team and are VERY powerful.
DC's major players are on the Justice League. When a cartoon or movie is made the 7 members will most likely be Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Hal Jordan, Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Aquaman. 6 Whites, 1 Martian who usually turns into a White guy. Not okay.
Marvel's major players are on the Avengers. When a cartoon or movie is made the 7 members will most likely be Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, Giant Man, Hawkeye, Hulk. 7 Whites. Not okay.
I'm more concerned about the quality of minority heroes than anything else. I'm tired of Black heroes having "Black" before their name (Black Lightning, Black Goliath, Black Vulcan, Black Marvel, etc.). I'm tired of Asian superheroes not having a power other than Martial Arts skills (Karate Kid, Shang Chi, Coleen Wing, etc.). I'm tired of Black superheroes having a criminal past even if it's for a crime they didn't commit (Luke Cage, Falcon, etc.)I'm tired of minorities being treated like sidekicks (Kato, War Machine, Steel, Falcon, John Stewart, Goliath, etc.) I'm tired of minority heroes having an origin involving slavery, samurai, ninja, or anything that instantly solidifies how much of a minority they are (Icon, pretty much every Asian and Latin American superhero, Bloodwynd, etc.)
I have to admit Marvel has done a good job of setting up creating heroes who just happen to be minorities lately. I could see my kids callin Blue Marvel, Storm, and Doctor Voodoo classic Avengers one day. They should give Sunfire a bigger role though. He has cool powers and a cool background. He was Japan's Captain America at one point. Why isn't he a bigger X-Man or even an Avenger? He has the potential to be.
DC has recently bought a lot of minority heroes from Milestone. Most of them are lame. (I.e. Icon- Slave background, boring personality, lame costume.) Some of them a cool but totally unused. (I.e. Xombi, Hardware). Static seems to be the only winner of the bunch. I don't see any of these guys being in a Justice League movie, on a cartoon Justice League Roster, or being known outside of comics. Where are the major Asian heroes? Is John Stewart the only cool Black guy who can take on Superman? Is Blue Beetle the only Hispanic in the DC universe? The world may never know.
Why is it that so few minority heroes are above Street Level?
We just gotta hope that these companies will do more to be diverse the quality way instead of the quantity way.
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