First Marvel gave us RiRi Williams, the
Black Female Iron Man. Now A Black Feminist is writing Black Panther.
Marvel is really going in the wrong
direction when it comes to diversity.
Yeah, I get the need to diversify the
comic book industry. And I understand there’s a need to appeal to female comic
fans. But there’s a right way and
a wrong way to expand an audience. Unfortunately, Marvel is doing it the wrong
way.
Marvel is looking for an Affirmative
action hire to make headlines, not making a serious attempt at diversity. Yeah,
a Black feminist writing Black Panther gets a lot of press. But usually it
doesn’t lead to sales or build a fanbase for a character.
Case in point Gay Rawhide Kid. Or
Hispanic Ghost Rider. Both of these characters got a lot of press when they
made their debut. But at the end of the day both fell back into obscurity.
Sadly Marvel’s publishing division is
still following business approaches from the 1990’s. Trying to get attention for
their comics by pushing creators to the forefront instead of the character.
With Black Panther being the one of the most popular characters in Captain
America: Civil War you would think Marvel’s editors would be trying to maintain the momentum the
character gained with casual readers by pushing the character to the forefront.
Moreover, you would think if there were
such a serious push for diversity they’d be pushing a qualified writer to the
forefront. Seriously, what does a Black feminist know about writing Black
Panther? What kind of stories could a Black Feminist tell about an African
King?
If we look at the work of Black feminist
authors like Alice Walker and Sapphire They’re going to push a narrative that
does not fit the Black Panther’s story model. These are the kinds of women with
an extremely misandrist view regarding Black men and hate anything masculine.
If anything a Black Feminist would make every effort to emasculate a Strong
Masculine Alpha Male like the Black Panther in their stories and make him look
weak as a kitten. Or she would make him a savage that looks like a big black
brute. Most Black feminists haven’t been raised with a balanced picture of
Black masculinity or Black Manhood, so they don’t understand how to write a
balanced story about a Black man like the Black Panther.
Worse, these women would push a heavy
lesbian agenda. What many don’t understand is that many Black feminists like
Alice Walker and Sapphire are lesbians. And they love to take the opportunity
to push lesbianism to the forefront in their stories and make it core element
in them. While a Black Feminist will spin the narrative saying that they’re
just trying to diversify the Marvel Universe by integrating homosexuality, the
agenda of their narrative just doesn’t fit who the Black Panther is or expands
on his mission as a superhero.
In the Marvel Universe, The Black Panther
is the King of Wakanda, a leader of an African Kingdom that’s more
technologically advanced than the United States, Europe and Asia combined. He’s
an intelligent hero with the diplomatic finesse to handle a tense political
situation with Victor Von Doom in Latveria and has the physical power to fight
alongside heroes as tough as Iron Man and Captain America in The Avengers. It
takes a special skill to write that kind of hero and present him as the strong Alpha
Male he truly is. A Black Feminist wouldn’t know how to write the Black Panther
and maintain his Black masculinity and his manhood, because she wouldn’t value
his masculinity or his manhood.
If Marvel wanted to hire a Black writer
to write stories for the Black Panther, you would think they’d hire a Black
male writer like myself. Why? Because a Black man like myself would better
understand the character and write to his strengths.
As a guy who has written Strong Black
Alpha Male like John Haynes in stories like The Temptation of John Haynes and
The Man Who Rules The World I believe understand the issues Black heroes like
The Black Panther would face better than a Black Feminist. I doubt a Black
feminist would understand things Black men face in the world like racism, intra
racism, classism, and even the issues Black men have with Black women in
relationships. In Black fantasy stories I’ve written like The Temptation ofJohn Haynes and Isis: Bride of Dracula I made an effort to present those issues
so people could understand the tightrope that Black men walk in everyday life.
Moreover, I’d understand why it’s
important to maintain a Black characters’ masculinity. If a Black male isn’t
depicted as strong and masculine readers aren’t going to respect him. And all it
takes is the wrong writer like a Black feminist to make a character like The
Black Panther look weak. And when that character looks weak readers have no
incentive to buy that characters’ adventures.
Short-term a Black Feminist writing The
Black Panther’s adventures makes for great press. It gets a lot of attention
for Marvel. However, it could do damage to the Black Panther’s brand and his
image in the long term. With all the work the Russos did to Bring Black Panther
to the screen in Captain America: Civil War it’d be a shame to see all that
momentum disrupted by a poorly thought out Affirmative Action Diversity hire
that is clearly unqualified for the job.
If you want to see what a Shawn James
Black Panther would read like in a comic Pick Up Isis: Amari’s Revenge. The way
I wrote Prince Ammon is just how I’d write T’Challa.