I’ll be the first to admit it, maybe I shouldn’t be the one writing this article since I’m a white guy who was born and raised in Kentucky. That being said, I feel called to write it because so many Cis, White people have been saying that representation doesn’t really matter. Well, let’s jump right into that.
Representation is one of the most important things in storytelling, particularly in comics, because it allows us to feel “Seen”
As a Cis, White male I’ve always had a wide selection of characters to look up to and admire. Superman, Captain America, Iron Man, Batman, Spider-Man…just to name a few. Want to know one of the key things about those characters? No matter their Race, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or anything else, they’re still the same characters. Wanna make Superman Black? Sweet. Asian Spider-Man? Sounds good. Transgender Captain America? Let’s make it happen.
If any of these changes would affect you negatively then ask yourself : “Why?” Why does it affect you if a child or anyone else gets to feel better because they have a hero that represents them. Cause let me tell you, as a life-long Superman Fan, I can’t tell you how excited I would be if the rumor of Michael B. Jordan playing him turns out to be true. I had 26 years of Superman as a white man in films for me, I’m perfectly fine with letting a Black Man be represented by the Man Of Steel.
In all honesty, there’s only 3 characters that I can think of where their race is tied to their Storyline :
Black Panther
T’Challa and everything about Wakanda are supposed to be a representation of an African Nation that was never affected by British Colonization. This is why it’s such a weird thing for them to bring Everett Ross there in the film. It’d be really weird if you tried to make him a different race.
Luke Cage
Luke is a man who is wrongly convicted, experimented on without consent and then uses his newfound abilities to defend the streets of Harlem.
Once again, it’s kinda necessary for him to be a black man. Plus, I agree with the showrunner for the netflix series, Cheo Hodari Coker who said : “This is a great era for a bulletproof black man to exist.”
Bruce Wayne
Notice that I didn’t say Batman, but Bruce Wayne(This is a house that loves and supports Tim Fox). Bruce’s origin isn’t one that works as well without him being an Affluent, white kid before everything crashes down around him.
He has to make himself into a person that is willing to see the world in a different way.
The X-Men
Now, the X-Men is a different beast honestly and it’s why they’re the cover photo for this article. In ’75, Wein and Cockrum created a team where each of them were from a different ethnicity or a different country and that’s really been one of the best examples of Representation over the last 40 years.
Now, some people will argue this point with “Well why don’t you just make new characters!?” Well I’m glad you asked! See, they’ve done that and some of you hated that too. Let’s look at two great examples of that.
1 – In Sam Wilson will (Most likely) be the man claiming the Shield in Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
2 – There will be a new young adult character named Aaron Fischer who will be using the symbol of Captain America to defend his town. Fischer is Gay and his story arc will cover him defending the opressed and forgotten.
We’ll start with Sam cause that one just doesn’t make sense to me, did you fall asleep at the end of Endgame? Did I just miss the scene where Steve says : “Sam, I’m glad you’re here. Here, give this to Bucky…or really any other white guy. Just not you.”(This is the grossest joke I’ve ever written and it made me feel icky to even think of Steve Saying this)
This already happened in the comics in 2013 and Sam was an exceptional Cap. He’s more than capable of handling the shield and his arc in the MCU has honestly been leading to this since 2014. He’s a former veteran, fellow Avenger, and most importantly is willing to fight for the weak and downtrodden no matter what. So don’t give me your 3 paragraph reasoning as to why he shouldn’t be Captain America. Just say “Not My Cap” so I’ll know you’re a bigot and I can just move on with my day just like the MCU will.
Sam Wilson is 100% my Captain America.
Alright, now about Aaron, I’m gonna level with you I know nothing about him except his name, what he stands for and his design which is really cool looking (See Below)
Apparently the new comic series, United States of Captain America, is about 4 of the former men who have carried the shield going on a cross country road trip to find it after it’s been lost. Supposedly, they’ll meet Aaron along the way and we’ll find out that he’s been inspired by Captain America and has decided to defend his town using the moniker.
I have no issues with this at all. He’s a man who was inspired by his hero and he also happens to be Gay. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
I’m sorry that your symbol of patriotic defense isn’t always going to be the white heterosexual man that we’re used to but guess what, there are men and women of all different Races, Creeds, Religions, Sexual Orientations and Gender Identities defending us right now as I write this and let me tell you. Any of them could pick up the Shield and I would call them Captain.
