{"id":1121,"date":"2016-11-07T13:38:52","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T19:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/?p=1121"},"modified":"2016-11-07T13:44:18","modified_gmt":"2016-11-07T19:44:18","slug":"marvel-masculinity-and-racial-diversity-in-comic-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/2016\/11\/07\/marvel-masculinity-and-racial-diversity-in-comic-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Marvel, Masculinity, and Racial Diversity in Comic Books"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Andres Juarez, Flickr CC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Marvel’s new series focusing on superhero Luke Cage debuted on Netflix in late September to critical acclaim. The show boasts a 95% rating on RottenTomatoes and was called \u201cone of the most socially relevant and smartest shows on the small screen you will see this year,\u201d by <\/span>Deadline.com<\/span><\/a>\u2019s Dominic Patten. Aside from its artistic merits, commentaries also praise\u00a0the prominence of Luke Cage as a “bulletproof black man in a hoodie,” with the show\u2019s star Michael Colter telling The Huffington Post<\/a>: “It’s a nod to Trayvon, no question \u2026 Trayvon Martin and people like him. People like Jordan Davis, a kid who was shot because of the perception that he was a danger. When you’re a black man in a hoodie all of a sudden you’re a criminal.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Comic books and comic book culture have slowly become more diverse as companies like Marvel have begun prioritizing the inclusion of racial minorities in their stories. Kamala Khan, a Muslim teen, has replaced the white hero Carol Danvers as Ms. Marvel. The hero replacing Iron Man is a black teen named Riri Williams. And Miles Morales, a black Hispanic teen, replaced the white Peter Parker as Spider-Man.\u00a0<\/span>Yet despite its recent progressive slant, Marvel and other comic companies have had issues with racial stereotyping, particularly with their black heroes. Marc Singer describes how the medium of comics relies on racialized representations, with appearance being a major way to distinguish characters from one another.\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n