Lately Marvel have been getting a lot of internet flack for their newest tone-deaf incarnation of New Warriors.

“Snowflake and Safespace are the twins,” the writer said, “and their names are very similar to Screentime; it’s this idea that these are terms that get thrown around on the internet that they don’t see as derogatory. [They] take those words and kind of wear them as badges of honor.”

They’re twins with psychic powers. Screentime derives his powers from “internet gas”. I can’t go on…

So, I was reading this interview with Christopher Priest the other day who says;

For years I would get a call every 18 months from either Marvel or DC where they would inevitably offer me a character of color, a black character or Latino character. I would politely decline and then pitch them on Potato-Man or Spud-Boy or whatever. They’d go, “Eh, we don’t really know.” We’d have this conversation, and I would thank them for calling and plan to see them in 18 months. Then 18 months later I’d get a call from Marvel or DC, and we’d do the dance all over again.

So I got a call from DC, and they wanted to talk to me about Cyborg. I gave them the standard stump speech. I don’t want to be a “black writer.” When did I become a black writer? I used to be a guy who would write Spider-Man, Deadpool, and Batman. Why am I no longer qualified to write those characters? How did I get typecast from writing Black Panther of all things, when that series was never really about Black Panther. It was about the white guy, about Ross. It was narrated through his voice, and I thought I wrote a very well-constructed white character. Why are you now pigeonholing me as a guy who can only write black characters?

It’s given me some clue over what’s going on at Marvel. Gone are the days when they prioritised character over gimmick. Now they seem to be promoting diversity over characterisation. I’m not saying all the writers and editors are like that but there’s something toxic over there.

Yesterday I saw this in Marvel’s June solicitations:

SHANG-CHI #1 (OF 5)

GENE LUEN YANG • DIKE RUAN WITH PHILIP TAN (A)

• DIKE RUAN WITH PHILIP TAN (A) Cover by JIM CHEUNG

Design variant by Jim Cheung

VARIANT COVER BY INHYUK LEE

VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY INHYUK LEE

VARIANT COVER BY RON LIM

And I had to ask myself why are there so many Asian creators on the book about an Asian character? Which led to – oh god what if Christopher Priest is right?

Then later in the solicitations I came across this:

Really Marvel? Are we back to this now?

I can get over the bow tie and obsessive collector-mania but slanty eyes? It’s such a poor example to set for impressionable minds. If I were ten years old again I’d be thinking Marvel hates me.

Later in the interview Christopher Priest says;

I later found out that Marvel and, to a lesser extent, DC moved into a trend where they were no longer hiring writers—they were casting writers. They’re listening to chatter on Twitter insisting that only a black lesbian writer could write a black lesbian character, and that’s nonsense. A writer writes. Tom Clancy, rest his soul, could write anything. A writer writes. All of the sudden I was no longer qualified to write anybody that didn’t look like me, and I resented that. I was really polite about it and told DC thank you for calling, blah, blah, blah.

And later still;

Don’t tell me I can’t write a Chinese lesbian superhero. That’s bullshit. I can write anything. The problem is the two major companies don’t have anybody of color in upper management with the exception of Jim Lee. There are certainly no African Americans in upper management. Anytime I’m writing anything about race now, I get all of these notes back where they’re wringing their hands and not sure about anything. They’re terrified of the Twitter-verse, but half of those people aren’t even reading your comics either. They’re reading it online or heard it somewhere or pirated it, but they’re not buying your comics. They’re getting on Twitter and you’re terrified of them and guiding your publishing program based on it. Just do good stories, well-told, and you’ll see the return on it.

Which leads me to conclude Marvel are motivated by fear and hate. Fear of whatever social media bubble they live in and hatred for themselves. The fear is a little more easy to understand. We live in the social media age of cookies and echo chambers. Your search results are tied into what you’ve already looked for. Your status revolves around people who are trapped in the same circle echoing the same opinions. There’s a larger world out there, engage in it, learn about other opinions. Encourage empathy, compassion and understanding. Then get back to the business of making comics.

The hate motivation is a little harder to understand. Let’s say they’re prioritising diversity over characterisation. It could be any number of things. Maybe they’re virtue-signalling. Maybe they’re engaging in positive stereotypes. It’s superficial and born of ignorance but it’s easier to overlook with an “Aww bless, at least they’re tryin’!”

If it’s about trying to gain status with the politically correct crowd it’s more malevolent than that. It’s about power at the cost of others. This is what leads to demonisation and bullying. This is what leads to people who can’t be argued with. You cannot rationalise hatred. It’s prejudism. It’s rooted in a lack of self-esteem, insecurity and self-pity. They can turn into loveless people who derive pleasure from cruelty over others. To be fair maybe it’s not as extreme as that but this kind of status-seeking is for narcissists.

There’s another side to this too and that’s over-sensitivity. It’s the lack of thinking that led to James Gunn getting fired from Guardians of the Galaxy for age-old offensive tweets. Where’s the empathy and forgiveness? What agenda-driven bullies are leading you down the rabbit-hole? I can’t fault sensitivity too much as it’s a weakness. It’s feeling powerless and insecure. A little bit of love can go a long way. But weakness still brings everyone down. It can lead to irrational decision-making. It’s exactly where the phrase “weak link in the chain” comes from.

I refuse to give up on Marvel just yet. They hit some low points in the Nineties and built themselves back up with the Marvel Knights approach. They can certainly do it again though who knows in what form. Maybe Disney money will prop them up. If comic shops close maybe graphic novels and digital will take over. Point is it isn’t over till it’s over. It’s also why you can’t rule out people. Die the miserable death of a bully or build yourself back up through love, empathy and understanding. Change or die.