Home Literary Studies 2. The Replacements: Ethnicity, Gender, and Legacy Heroes in Marvel Comics
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2. The Replacements: Ethnicity, Gender, and Legacy Heroes in Marvel Comics

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Panthers, Hulks and Ironhearts
This chapter is in the book Panthers, Hulks and Ironhearts
31chapter 2The Replacementsethnicity, gender, and legacy heroes in marvel comicsFollowing the apparent death of Spider- Man (Peter Parker) in 2011, Marvel announced a new character would assume the web- slinger’s mantle. Ultimate Com-ics Spider- Man (2011–2013) introduced Miles Morales as the new high school–aged superhero, of African American and Puerto Rican descent, ushering in a new era for Spidey. Since the debut of Miles Morales’s Spider- Man, Marvel has slowly changed the landscape of their fictional universe by replacing many of their iconic characters with younger versions who are a different gender or ethnicity (or both) than the original superheroes. In 2013, Carol Danvers was promoted to Captain Marvel, leaving the title of Ms. Marvel to Kamala Khan, a Muslim Pakistani teenager from New Jersey with shapeshifting powers. Thor became unworthy to wield his magic hammer in 2014 and was replaced as the God of Thunder by his ex- girlfriend Jane Foster, who is able to lift the hammer and assume his powers. In 2014, Steve Rog-ers’s age was accelerated, and he could no longer fulfill his role as Captain America. Steve’s one- time sidekick, the African American Sam Wilson (a.k.a. the Falcon), dons the familiar red- white- and- blue costume and shield to become the all- new Captain America. After the death of Wolverine in 2015, his younger female clone, Laura Kinney (a.k.a. X-23), assumes the Wolverine name and a similar costume to honor him. The year 2015 also saw Amadeus Cho, a Korean American genius teenager, take over the role of the Hulk from Bruce Banner. And inspired by Iron Man, the fifteen- year- old African American prodigy Riri Williams invents her own suit of armor and begins adventuring as Ironheart in 2016. Riri even takes over the lead role in Invincible Iron Man when Tony Stark fell into a mysterious coma for over a year. Marvel refers to these and several other new heroes that take on the role of more established characters in their absence as “legacy heroes.”Marvel branded these changes as part of their “All- New, All- Different” initiative, and they became the basis for a soft reboot of the Marvel comic book universe. These legacy heroes drastically changed the image of superheroes at the world’s largest comic book publisher. Marvel’s superheroes, like those of most publishers, have been predominantly male and white ever since the genre first emerged with
© 2021 Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick

31chapter 2The Replacementsethnicity, gender, and legacy heroes in marvel comicsFollowing the apparent death of Spider- Man (Peter Parker) in 2011, Marvel announced a new character would assume the web- slinger’s mantle. Ultimate Com-ics Spider- Man (2011–2013) introduced Miles Morales as the new high school–aged superhero, of African American and Puerto Rican descent, ushering in a new era for Spidey. Since the debut of Miles Morales’s Spider- Man, Marvel has slowly changed the landscape of their fictional universe by replacing many of their iconic characters with younger versions who are a different gender or ethnicity (or both) than the original superheroes. In 2013, Carol Danvers was promoted to Captain Marvel, leaving the title of Ms. Marvel to Kamala Khan, a Muslim Pakistani teenager from New Jersey with shapeshifting powers. Thor became unworthy to wield his magic hammer in 2014 and was replaced as the God of Thunder by his ex- girlfriend Jane Foster, who is able to lift the hammer and assume his powers. In 2014, Steve Rog-ers’s age was accelerated, and he could no longer fulfill his role as Captain America. Steve’s one- time sidekick, the African American Sam Wilson (a.k.a. the Falcon), dons the familiar red- white- and- blue costume and shield to become the all- new Captain America. After the death of Wolverine in 2015, his younger female clone, Laura Kinney (a.k.a. X-23), assumes the Wolverine name and a similar costume to honor him. The year 2015 also saw Amadeus Cho, a Korean American genius teenager, take over the role of the Hulk from Bruce Banner. And inspired by Iron Man, the fifteen- year- old African American prodigy Riri Williams invents her own suit of armor and begins adventuring as Ironheart in 2016. Riri even takes over the lead role in Invincible Iron Man when Tony Stark fell into a mysterious coma for over a year. Marvel refers to these and several other new heroes that take on the role of more established characters in their absence as “legacy heroes.”Marvel branded these changes as part of their “All- New, All- Different” initiative, and they became the basis for a soft reboot of the Marvel comic book universe. These legacy heroes drastically changed the image of superheroes at the world’s largest comic book publisher. Marvel’s superheroes, like those of most publishers, have been predominantly male and white ever since the genre first emerged with
© 2021 Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Introduction: Marvel and Modern America 1
  4. 1. Spider-Analogues: Unmarking and Unmasking White Male Superheroism 17
  5. 2. The Replacements: Ethnicity, Gender, and Legacy Heroes in Marvel Comics 31
  6. 3. Superdad: Luke Cage and Heroic Fatherhood in the Civil War Comic 47
  7. 4. Black Panther: Aspiration, Identification, and Appropriation 61
  8. 5. Iron Fist: Ethnicity, Appropriation, and Repatriation 74
  9. 6. Totally Awesome Asian Heroes versus Stereotypes 89
  10. 7. A New America: Marvelous Latinx Superheroes 108
  11. 8. Ms. Marvel: A Thoroughly Relatable Muslim Superheroine 123
  12. Afterword: “Because the World Still Needs Heroes!” 143
  13. References 151
  14. Index 161
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.36019/9781978809253-003

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Introduction: Marvel and Modern America 1
  4. 1. Spider-Analogues: Unmarking and Unmasking White Male Superheroism 17
  5. 2. The Replacements: Ethnicity, Gender, and Legacy Heroes in Marvel Comics 31
  6. 3. Superdad: Luke Cage and Heroic Fatherhood in the Civil War Comic 47
  7. 4. Black Panther: Aspiration, Identification, and Appropriation 61
  8. 5. Iron Fist: Ethnicity, Appropriation, and Repatriation 74
  9. 6. Totally Awesome Asian Heroes versus Stereotypes 89
  10. 7. A New America: Marvelous Latinx Superheroes 108
  11. 8. Ms. Marvel: A Thoroughly Relatable Muslim Superheroine 123
  12. Afterword: “Because the World Still Needs Heroes!” 143
  13. References 151
  14. Index 161
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