Some weeks will prove busier than others, and on those occasions I’m choosing to present all of you with something worth thinking about.

As you may know just last week I covered both sides of the debate over Daniel Rand, AKA Iron Fist, being played by a person of Asian descent. Of particular concern to the writer in the “for” camp was that the narrative within the comics pushes the idea of a White man entering a foreign land, mastering their arts, and ultimately rising up to be one of the greatest among them. It’s a trope that belongs to Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange just as much as it does to The Living Weapon himself.

Kurt Busiek is a writer who has been in the industry for decades, with a four year stint on Avengers being his greatest claim to fame. With an extensive biography that spans the Marvel universe he’s widely regarded in comic book circles as a professional who knows what he’s talking about. Roughly a week ago he began sharing over Twitter about how Doctor Strange was very likely intended to be Asian from the very beginning, or at least depicted in such a fashion. I’ve compiled all relevant tweets below, for your consideration [all tweets not by Busiek were retweeted by him]:

Not only was Dr. Strange originally Asian, but Dr. Droom/Druid _became_ Asian after learning Eastern magic. Physically. — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 27, 2016

…is bizarre. Look at the Ancient One in the same story. He's not referred to as Asian either, but has the same eyes and skin tone. — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 27, 2016

Were you under the impression he was named Mitch Kowalski until a later story told you he was Asian? Or did you figure it out from the art? — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 27, 2016

…drew him, ditching the forked eyebrows, the Fu Manchu mustache, and giving his white-guy eyes in close-up. In longer shots, he still… — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 27, 2016

…occasionally had slanted eyes, but Ditko phased them out quickly. Mostly, though, it's an abrupt transition as soon as they decide to… — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 27, 2016

…give him a backstory where he's white. It's a change, it's obvious on the page. It doesn't need to be stated in dialogue. — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 27, 2016

If Marvel wanted, they could have made Strange Asian in the movie without needing to change much. And could add their beloved daddy issues. — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 27, 2016

If Strange was a very Westernized Asian Doctor, turning his back on heritage, and the Ancient One was someone he's thought was his… — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 27, 2016

…grandfather but is actually a more distant ancestor, you fill the story with issues of cultural heritage vs. modernity and parental… — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 27, 2016

…authority to boot. Works out the same, with Strange a guy who brings a modern style to the ancient ways, and bickers with grampa. — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 27, 2016

I wouldn't argue that it's better. Just pretty simple, workable and very much in the mold of the Marvel movies, character-dynamic-wise. — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 27, 2016

For your dubious entertainment, this is what Dr. Strange looked like in his debut: pic.twitter.com/1KqWAkzEup — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

Here he is again, plus the Ancient One, with similar enough eyes that I think most would say they’re both Asian. pic.twitter.com/64hp6vp9xI — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

Here’s Strange in his second appearance. Still looking Asian. pic.twitter.com/IUhZVQVsQQ — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

Another shot from the second story. pic.twitter.com/74M1xyNOJw — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

Third appearance. Origin. Ohmagawd he’s a white boy. https://t.co/Frzzkr9mrS — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

More. Still a white boy, but the Ancient One hasn’t changed. pic.twitter.com/9RXKYNgoio — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

A little later. Ditko’s still drawing him as Asian. [stories done before the origin but published after, maybe?] pic.twitter.com/8mMfMx7WZw — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

But he’s getting whiter over time… pic.twitter.com/wD3mzhUyei — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

…and within a few months of the origin, boom, full-on white boy. pic.twitter.com/GxGtU8cZAe — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

@KurtBusiek So, what's your point? Marvel adjusted him to sell to American audiences. — Ken St. Andre (@Trollgodfather) February 28, 2016

I dunno. I’m not sure you’re right, and he’d probably have gotten more handsome over time (heck, the Wizard got… https://t.co/H71CsN8L1S — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

.@Trollgodfather …more handsome, Happy Hogan got more handsome. But I think he looked cool Asian and have managed to bring back that look… — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

Not consistently, no. For instance, check the Ancient One in Strange’s first appearance. https://t.co/Is1Fq7G9iJ — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

In the second appearance, the Ancient One’s coloring is all over the place, but he was usually colored the same… https://t.co/ZSPMnlMARP — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

Another thing most people don’t know about Dr. Strange: According to a letter Lee wrote to a fan before the character came out, he… — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

…was apparently something Ditko drew up on his own, and Stan didn’t see it until Ditko brought the pages in. If Stan hadn’t liked them… — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

…Ditko probably would have just sold them to Charlton. Ditko may have done a lot of stories without any sort of assignment or consultation. — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

After a while, he insisted on plot credit and got it, but he was doing stuff on his own and bringing it to Stan for a long time before that. — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) February 28, 2016

@4th5Mart No, that was part of the white retcon. For the first few stories, Strange is simply Asian and the Ancient One is his “master." — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) March 5, 2016

@4th5Mart It was Stan Lee, in the 4th story. Possibly told to do so by Martin Goodman, we don’t know. — Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) March 5, 2016

The most significant effect of having Doctor Strange remain Asian would of course be a dismantling of the aforementioned “Mighty Whitey” trope. Also worth noting is that had he been consistently depicted as Asian he would have been one of the first ever Asian superheroes, particularly impressive in that he debuted in in Strange Tales #110, published July 1963.

As mentioned this post is largely my giving you the opportunity to think over ideas that someone else besides myself has put forward. Please feel free to share any comments you might have about all this below-