Marvel Comics is bucking over 50 years of tradition.
First The View announces that Thor will no longer be a man, and The Colbert Report declares that Captain America’s shield will be wielded by Falcon, who is, what some might say, “black Steve Rogers.”
What’s fueling these radical changes in one of the leaders in comic entertainment?
No one type of person is reading comic books anymore. The comics are symbiotic with Disney’s film industry. People of all walks of life get in line to see the latest movie based on a comic book.
Captain America, Thor, X-Men; all these are bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars, and fans, each film. Basic psychology states the people will invest in characters they can relate to.
Thor being a woman? More and more women are reading comics, and the female audience in cinema has always been prevalent. Variety doesn’t hurt either.
Steve Rogers replaced by Sam Wilson, aka The Falcon? He is only the latest in a line that has carried the mantle of Captain America. While his ethnicity may be PR related, it’s about time the usual formula gets a shot of something different.
It’s also about time that the entertainment industry understands heroes are not all white men.
Almost everyone has an opinion on this topic. What’s yours? Let’s hear it in the comments below.