Some Spider-Man fans have their Underoos in a twist over reports Disney Channel star Zendaya is playing Mary Jane Watson in the web-slinger’s next cinematic adventure, saying the white comic book character shouldn’t be portrayed by a black actress.

But the legendary Stan Lee – who created the character of Mary Jane in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man some 50 years ago – begs to differ.

“If she is as good an actress as I hear she is, I think it’ll be absolutely wonderful,” Lee said of Zendaya, best known for the Disney TV series K. C. Undercover and her pop single Replay.

Zendaya’s role in next year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming was originally billed as a character named Michelle, but The Wrap recently reported that the 19-year-old actress will in fact be playing Mary Jane Watson, Peter Parker’s love interest. Typically seen as a curvaceous redhead in the comics, Mary Jane was most recently portrayed by Kirsten Dunst in the Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man movies.

The 93-year-old Lee, making what he says will be his final Canadian appearance next month at Fan Expo Canada in Toronto, said it’s perfectly OK to change characters from the page to the screen, pointing to the late Michael Clarke Duncan as the Kingpin in Ben Affleck’s 2003 Daredevil as an example.

“In the Daredevil movie, the Kingpin – who had been white in the comics – he was a black man playing the role, and he played it beautifully,” Lee said in an interview Monday with Postmedia.

While many fans have embraced the change, some remain bitter about the notion of Marvel Studios, Sony Pictures and Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts tinkering with the character’s ethnicity.

In response to the online outrage, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn took to Facebook to voice his support for Zendaya as Mary Jane. “Perhaps we can be open to the idea that, although someone may not initially match how we personally conceive a character, we can be – and often are – happily surprised,” Gunn wrote.

Lee, who had a hand in creating most of Marvel’s iconic superheroes, said a comic book character’s physical appearance on the big screen is not what’s most important.

“The colour of their skin doesn’t matter, their religion doesn’t matter,” Lee said. “All that matters is that this the right person for the role.”