Even though we didn’t get Donald Glover as Spider-Man after all, we’re still sort of getting what we asked for on some of those notes we tied to bricks and threw at Joe Quesada and Axel Alonso’s houses. Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Fallout Issue 4, releasing in print and digital form tomorrow, will reveal Peter Parker’s replacement after (spoiler alert?) he was killed Ultimate Spider-Man #160 back in June. (Do we even need a spoiler alert when they kill then retcon their heroes constantly?)
In the regular Marvel Universe, Peter Parker will still be the same web-swinging Spidey as he has been since his first appearance in 1962. But in the Ultimate line, launched in 2000 to tell contemporary stories, he received a new origin and a reimagined supporting cast that paralleled the Spidey in regular Marvel continuity. [USA Today]
The alternate Spidey is Miles Morales, a half-black, half-Hispanic teenager who breaks up a fight in the issue tomorrow, and we find out his origin in September when Ultimate Spider-Man relaunches. He receives his powers in a similar way to Parker but doesn’t have all of the same abilities.
Marvel head Axel Alonso told USA Today, “What you have is a Spider-Man for the 21st century who’s reflective of our culture and diversity.” Hopefully one of his new abilities is to read press release euphemisms like that and not air-wank dismissively at the mention of diversity and of the 21st century (as if blacks and Hispanics didn’t exist before 2000). Can’t they just admit they’re aware the internet exists and a bunch of people who buy things were already asking for a black Spider-Man? No? Anyway, I’m looking forward to the day when one of the huge, long-running franchises having a non-white, non-male, and/or non-straight lead is no longer considered so unusual that anyone needs to write articles about it or whine in comment sections about it being “too politically correct”, which is shorthand for, “Waaah, it’s so unfair when even one lead character isn’t exactly like me. I’m being persecuted.” Suck it, racists.
There’s the cover and a panel from Marvel’s Ultimate Fallout Issue 4 showing Miles Morales unmasked after the jump along with a couple pictures from the wayback file.
“Maybe the costume is in bad taste” is the same thing I said when I wore my Spidey suit to the funeral of a guy who died from a spider bite.
And now, some classics:
[Pictures via @MrDonaldGlover, USA Today, Buzzfeed, EpicPonyz, and ComicBadassery]
![[avatar]](http://p.uproxxcdn.com/photo/72/thumb)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/conan16-232860_481x230-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/abcs-marvels-agents-of-shield-3-minute-trailer-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/spider-man-pulls-rhinos-pants-down-on-the-amazing-spider-man-2-set-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/spiderman-theamazingspiderman-2-22-150x150.jpg)
I don’t think people wanted a black Spiderman so much as they wanted Donald Glover in the movie, because that would have made the movie awesome. I’m far too jaded to see this as an attempt to be more inclusive- it’s Marvel stirring up controversy to get attention.
And I’d think twice about calling people racists for complaining about this being “too politically correct”. I remember being called racist after complaining about Ted Kord getting replaced by Jaime Reyes, when A- I’m half Mexican and B- I just liked Ted Kord. If you’re really a comic fan, then you know how much these characters can mean to people. Being upset that a favorite character is getting killed off and/or replaced is normal fan behavior. The fact that it’s being done in the name of Affirmative Action shouldn’t make the complainer automatically a racist; perhaps they just didn’t word things right (comic fans aren’t exactly known for their social or debate skills).
If anything, the attitude of “we need more minorities but rather than creating and developing them, let’s just kill off some white characters and replace them, that way it’ll create controversy and boost sales!” seems racist to me. Rather than establish this character on his own, they’ve got him riding the coattails of an established white character. Doesn’t that seem wrong?
I was referring to the commenters at that USA Today article. I’m not sure how many comments haven’t been removed already, but there was a whole lot of jackassery and about half of it had the phrase “politically correct” in it somewhere. It’s like ’90s AM radio all over again.
no black spiderman
Gay Black Mexican Spider-Man goes over well in every community but the straight white male community, which ironically is your target audience.
It’s not that they made a half black Spider-Man, it’s that they stood on a mountain shouting “HEY! LOOK AT US! WE MADE A HALF-BLACK SPIDER-MAN! ZOMG~!”
Actually, a gay Spiderman wouldn’t go over well with either Baptist Blacks nor Catholic Hispanics.