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Marvel gave fans a Black Thor just in time for Juneteenth. But the entertainment company is under fire for all the seemingly racist stereotypes sprinkled into the new comic book.
Yahoo News reports that Marvel’s new issue of What if… is under fire for its use of rap references and ‘hood’ stereotypes. The comic reimagines what it would be like if Brookyln’s Miles Morales became Thor instead of Spiderman.
Created by Mexican-American writer Yehudi Mercado, the mythical realm of Asgard becomes the streets of Brooklyn that showcase an unearthly combination of Norse architecture with Black graffiti art. But social media was quick to call out the tone-deaf references to Black culture.
Between Asgard being called his “hood” and the use of “hammer time” when Black Thor picked up his mallet, there were several references many found blatantly stereotypical.
One Twitter user responded to screenshots blasting the comic for being “racist” due to all of its “gross” stereotypes.
Nah bro. That new WHAT IF Miles Morales as Thor is lowkey– no HIGHKEY RACIST AS HELL. Gross as stereotypes.
‘Asgard is the hood’
‘By Odin’s Fade’
‘Graffiti thor hammer’ https://t.co/JvJfuCtjQG— G 🍵 (@agravesmistake) June 18, 2022
“Miles Morales as urban™️ Thor makes me want comics etc to go back to being outwardly racist,” one user sarcastically said.
“The fact that this made it as far as it did without someone calling it out is staggering,” added someone else.
Fans called out Marvel for not selecting a Black writer to craft the reimagined issue of a comic the brand typically has Black creatives take up space in.
“Fun Fact. This is the only issue in the What If? Miles Morales series not written by a Black Author,” one fan tweeted. “It’s also the only one that leans on racist tropes. I bet there’s a connection.”
Fun Fact. This is the only issue in the What If? Miles Morales series not written by a Black Author. It’s also the only one that leans on racist tropes. I bet there’s a connection 🤔 https://t.co/1IwC5Wl6pL
— Bela Lugosi’s meds🔥 (@GarbageGangHQ) June 17, 2022
“There are reasons why Black people keep asking for Black characters to be written by Black writers and drawn by Black artists,” one user said. “That Miles Morales as Thor comic is legit one of those reasons.”
There are reasons why black people keep asking for black characters to be written by black writers and drawn by black artists.
That Miles Morales as Thor comic is legit one of those reasons.
— ShonuffKay (@ShoNuffKay37) June 17, 2022
Marvel has had some successes with Miles Morales, but they should’ve done better.
How they allowed the writer, Yehudi Mercado, to turn in this script is telling of a bigger issue.
Not enough informed people involved in the process. This script shouldn’t have been approved. https://t.co/c4XjDjx1Be
— Tigersen of the ̶ ̶T̶ι̶т̶α̶ɴ̶ι̶υ̶м̶ Tribe (@TitaniumTea) June 20, 2022
Brian Michael Bendis created miles Morales in 2011. The character gained popularity for his portrayal of Black and Latino mixed culture.
Fans of the comic are not too happy to see one of Marvel’s newer personas have a slight fall from grace by a non-Black writer. Hopefully, Marvel can do better for the Spiderman into the Spiderverse hero.
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