"What if Miles Morales was Thor" and how the Comic industry has never changed.
Updated: Mar 21, 2023
When a modern comic book fan thinks of heroes, what comes to mind is more than likely the heavy hitters; Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, Ironman, Thor (who doesn’t have "man" in his name, but you get it). Your average person might not even be a comic reader, but a gamer or moviegoer who thinks of the top marketed heroes. When asked about black people and the comic book industry, what comes to mind? The bullet-proof Luke Cage, Sam Wilson being the new Captain America? Perhaps even earlier than that you think of Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury, which for many was the most mainstream exposure and most important role for a black character outside of X-Men’s Storm and the Blade trilogy. For many fans, simply think of another Spider-Man.
Miles Morales made his debut in “Ultimate Comics #4” in 2011. The hero is from Brooklyn, NY, and is mixed Puerto-Rican and African American. To many, Miles is the true representation of not only modern-day America but the modern-day kid who enjoys comics. His popularity has skyrocketed in the last decade, because of this. Another thing rising in popularity is the return of Marvel Comics’ 1977 “What If” series. Naturally, a “What If” involving Miles seemed only right. Except what happens when a culturally beloved icon is treated exactly like the black heroes that came before him, even when his home city of New York, is none other than Thor’s Asgard? One would assume that it wouldn’t be a stereotype-ridden unfunny mess of a comic book, but here we are.
As of this article, Miles has had four “What If…?” comics to date. He has dawned the Captain America moniker, became Wolverine, the Hulk, and now he becomes Thor god of thunder, and one of Earth’s mightiest heroes. The first issue being Captain America went over well with many fans, much like many comic runs hype dies down for a bit until a series wraps up and everyone’s had time to read and discuss. Not this time, however. The Miles Morales / Thor issue released within the week of Juneteenth, 2022, and was riddled with 90’s slang, symbolism the internet tore to pieces, and one particular line of dialogue that Twitter has no problem reclaiming, while relentlessly mocking it. All of its issues boil down to the writing. In order from issues #1 to #3, the writers on the books include Cody Ziglar, John Ridley, and Anthony Piper. The issue in question, however, was written by Yehudi Mercado. While all of these authors are men of color, only one of them isn’t Black.
Miles’ mixed ethnicity makes it easy for many people to relate to him, even if they are of different backgrounds than his specifically. One would imagine even if you aren’t Latino or Black, there is a loveability to the character that many new creations don’t have yet. It’s safe to assume Mercado (being of Jewish and Mexican heritage himself) loves Miles all the same.
However, being raised in Houston, and born in Mexico City, his life experience is undoubtedly worlds away from being a Black teen in Brooklyn. Mercado’s other work showcases his ability to write what he knows, such as in his series “Chunky” which deals with a Mexican-Jewish kid, who struggles with his weight and has an imaginary friend. After reading this particular Marvel entry, many readers were quick to point out the same stereotyping and harmful patterns demonstrated in Mercado’s other work, “Sci-Fu” (a comic about an aspiring DJ, that combines hip-hop, science, and Kung-Fu). Mercado’s work, like many other graphic novels, has moments of social commentary, pulls from life, and is a bit goofy at times. While these traits are often desirable in comics (especially when aimed at children) the social nuances of race are often missed, and this can have harmful social consequences. While Mercado isn’t the first (and won’t be the last) writer to succumb to this lazy and predictable style of writing, he is one of the first to openly defend his half-hearted writing against the very group he is offending by posting reviews from websites like Screenrant and ignoring valid criticisms of the comic.
"Of all the five realms, Asgard is his hood." is just one of the narrating quotes that rubbed audiences the wrong way, to begin with. “So now that Asgard is New York, it’s just the ghetto?” one reviewer asked when commentary about the telephone line sneakers began to arise. Shoe tossing has various different meanings depending on where you are and who you ask, and it is clear that it was simply an artistic choice in this particular comic, as there's no true elaboration on the matter other than to make it feel “more urban” apparently. This choice of setting speaks volumes, especially when instances of amazing afro-futurism could have been displayed as readers have seen with the nation of Wakanda. The setting draws similarities to when comics “harmlessly” would make racial stereotypes in the name of representation, such as DC’s Black Lightening coming from the “Southside of Metropolis”, also known as “Suicide Slum”. Later iterations of the 70s hero would have him come from a different city entirely, but it was clear upon debut that the Black heroes, needed to take care of their own crime-ridden areas where villains like Lex Luthor rose from.
When asked about Black people or ANY POC in relation to the comic book industry, you probably don’t think about Captain Marvel (the 1942 character) having a “sidekick” that was an actual slave, Falcon being a former pimp, Apache Chief in the Justice League being neither of those two things or any of the other even more offensive a racially stereotypical characteristics other characters have had. These are just the heroes (we won’t even get started on the villains). In the ’70s, the comic book industry began to chase racial inclusivity with the rise of the X-Men (who formally debuted in 1963), and heroes like Luke Cage, and Sam Wilson as the Falcon. All of these heroes would later become beloved icons in the Black community (once we had creative liberty to address important issues with the characters) but almost all of them have checkered pasts, and questionable dialogue and all of them began with white creatives and executives at the helms of their stories, determining the direction of the narrative.
By the 70s comics had been proven to be a serious contender for social commentary. These were long after the days of Captain America punching Hilter in the face. People knew comics were political, and if they wanted to stay relevant they had to keep up with the Black Power movement. Quick to cash in, DC and Marvel alike had different ways to interpret the social climate. While DC had black heroes rise later in life, there weren’t as many, and no comic would become as infamous as the 1970s issue “Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane: I am curious Black” (yes, that's the whole title). In this comic, written to shed the light on the struggles of being black in America, Lois Lane becomes black. Naturally, she returns to her ivory origins eventually, but she realizes just how hard her life is- like when taking the train or hailing a taxi, or the fact that Superman might not want to marry into a mixed-race relationship! Ultimately this comic book came off as performative to the black audience because not only were new characters not really introduced, but Lois didn’t even stay black. Many of the issues addressed were surface level and there was no real elaboration on the matter. DC simply saw the opportunity to cash in and took it.
The X-Men had been an allegory for the civil rights movement for a decade at this point, so by 1972 came “Luke Cage, Hero for Hire”. Luke came and went, and by the ’90s, he was nothing more than a punchline and a way for writers to shoehorn in “see look, HERE’S a black guy” without any of the main character energy of someone like Black Panther, or Storm.
Luke would gain prominence again in 2001 as an important side character (and “love” interest) in Alias, but it wouldn’t be until 2016 when Cheo Hodari Coker would change the narrative entirely and breathe life into the Luke Cage franchise. Passion was behind Netflix’s Luke Cage series and that much was certain. In a time of turmoil for Black America, where Black trauma was broadcasted regularly on the news and internet, the bulletproof man was gritty and heroic. The difference between writing is day and night, whereas once Cage was merely a punchline, now the Black experience, shared through a Black creative team, shined through. Ultimately, this history of performative releases, patronizing marketing and writing, halfhearted creativity, and thoughtless narrative, is a problem that has plighted the industry since the very beginning.
The problem with this issue of the “Miles Morales What If…?” comic, isn’t just the fact that “by Odin’s fade” is legitimate like dialogue when Odin doesn’t even have hair on his head, and it’s never been that we wanted only Black writers to handle Black characters. It’s that we’ve seen time and time again the gross misrepresentation of what audiences go through and what we want to see in the few heroes we do have. In 2022, there is a slew of black indie writers, and even more well-established ones that Marvel could have contacted, or even Latino Americans’ who live near New York, many people who can identify with this character, write him better, or perhaps at the very least proofread what was written by Mercado. We have seen in movies, comics, and games that Miles’ heritage and upbringing are not a caricature but instead a part of who he is, and what makes him his own unique character.
Ultimately, as someone who grew to love Thor in my high school years, and adores and relates to Miles Morales to this day, this “What If…?” comic had amazing untapped potential and could have truly given us a glimpse at an afro-centric Asgard, a reimagining of Thor and Miles alike. Instead what it gave us is a repeat of missteps from an industry that capitalizes on Black culture as fast as it can, without any real heart involved. The reviews and distaste for this particular entry make this reader happy to know that Cody Ziglar is returning for the July issue. What could've been well done, fun, and tasteful ultimately not only is openly performative and stereotypical at best, but it's bland, patronizing, cringe-worthy and like comics before it, makes a minstrel of modern black culture at worst.
If you would like to engage in more Black stories and authors (indies or otherwise) I encourage you to read some of the following, available with a short synopsis below!
Tuskegee Heirs - Created by Greg Burnham and Marcus Williams, “Tuskegee Heirs: Flames of Destiny” is a futuristic sci-fi series that has everything a comic fan could possibly want. It has a team of five unique and young characters who were trained by a (fictional) descendant of the Tuskeegee Airmen. They defend the Earth using giant robots, take the mindset of the original group and become heroes of their own. Williams and Burnham created the series to inspire children and based it heavily on historical events to truly create something magical, fun, and inspiring for all ages. Learn more about it here :
Bitter Root - Created by David F. Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Greene, “Bitter Root” has been a staple of many must-read indie comic lists for a long time. Set in the 1920s the fantasy story follows the Sangererye family, who cure those who are infected with hate. However, the family is left divided when many of its members die, and now they have to debate between what is worth fighting for, and what isn’t. If the family doesn’t come together all of the human race could peril. Read the first issues of the series here:
The Antagonists - Created by Tyler Martin (of Godhood comics) and soon to be a TV series, this does the whole gritty, realistic, and gory world of heroes thing similar to Invincible and The Boys but in a whole new way. “The Antagonists” has a couple of married supervillains as its lead. The series focuses on the pair's experiences of hiding secret identities, being black in America, and keeping control all at once.
Learn all about the series here: https://godhoodcomics.com/
Also of note is Harriet Tubman: Demon Slayer which is exactly what it sounds like, but 10x better than you could ever imagine, buy it here https://www.amazon.ca/Harriet-Tubman-Slayer-David-Crownson-ebook/dp/B07ZR3KJCX
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