A bigger question is why should Asians even WANT to be Spiderman?

They act as though Americans have a monopoly on fictional ‘super-heroes’. Asians ‘have’ both manga and anime. If you want to see Asian characters depicted in grand terms just watch any of the hundreds of great anime series that exist or manga (including comics from other parts of asian world, ie. Korea, etc…). I will never understand this idea that unless AMERICA does it, then it somehow doesn’t exist. There are no ASIAN superheroes? You have to be kidding me. I would go through the list of really great asian characters and series that exist just in animation. That does not even include LIVE ACTION. Akira. Evangelion. Casshern. Cowboy Bebop. FMA. Naruto. Death Note. Bleach…and you’re griping because you don’t an 80 year old super hero who fights the same villains for decades, then gets retconned whenever sales drop…seriously stfu.

Sure, mainstream american superheros are largely devoted to white male power fantasies. It is what it is. (For balance, mainstream rap music is largely the expression of black male power fantasies). It’s the reason why anything that doesn’t support that main dedication tends to be attacked by the main fanbase. It’s the reason why female characters in both mainstream comics and rap music have such a tough time. This is more subtle on the page, but when you look at the live action wonder woman, it is painfully obvious that this just doesn’t work. If you played her straight. If you made her personally strong, sexually unavailable, and a real believer in the rights of everyday women living under a patriarchal society then you’d likely have the same fanbase turn on you. Labels like ‘PC’ or ‘Feminist Propaganda’ and the like….if you want to make your head explode go read the forums for Game of Thrones. I would dare say that a a female Spider-Jerusalem would have a lot of problems finding readership.

In the end…why bother fighting to change a system based heavily on specifically national, racial and gender hierarchy?

If you like it, then read it. No judgment. It doesn’t make you a racist if you like white spiderman. It doesn’t make you sexist if you like a half-naked Wonder Woman.
But if you don’t…just read something else.

It’s very simple.

Yes, you won’t be part of the ‘mainstream’…but seriously who cares about that really? If you’re a frustrated creator, just do your own thing. Write the stuff that you like. And yes, maybe no one will read it. They won’t mention you on the Colbert Report…but you can read it. You can put it online. You maybe won’t make any money, but at least you know there are comics out there that reflect a new kind of thinking.

This is kind of a post that developed from reading the DCnu and women posts. But I do wish fans/creators would stop begging, which is what it is. It’s not even ‘complaining or whining’, it’s begging…made worse because there is nothing magical about DC or Marvel or any other company. Spiderman is not endowed with magical relevance…he’s just old and well-funded.

I don’t read mainstream comics because they generally don’t tell stories I’m interested in. You see, I’m part of that audience that mainstream comics doesn’t give a shit about. I think it’s fair. (I also don’t listen to mainstream rap because it doesn’t give a shit about me either). Both have their corporate agendas, but I’m not interested in what they’re pushing.

But lucky for me it’s a BIG HUGE WORLD out there! There are plenty of bands that make music I like. There are plenty of authors and comickers making stuff that I enjoy. It’s enough. IF and when mainstream comics want my business and the business of people who want greater diversity…and by diversity I don’t mean ‘more black characters or more women’. No, I mean *real* diversity. A diversity of ideas and opinions and points of view.

Oh, that reminds me of my last point: One of the reasons why things don’t change…why good, honest attempts at diversity fail in many mainstream books, is because the audience that would appreciate and respond to that diversity have, in many cases, already tuned out. They’ve already stopped buying comics and the hardcore audience still isn’t interested in things that aren’t about them, namely white, male, and heterosexual. (BTW, nothing wrong that. There are some series that I have no real interest in seeing because there isn’t a single non-white character in a modern American drama. That doesn’t make me mad…it makes me yawn, which is worse)

So make Spiderman black/latino…whatever…nothing sticks…this is all a fake push and pull anyway. They push away their hardcore fanbase, they get them all riled up, so that when the ‘real’ spidey returns, you’ll all come rushing back…so happy to get the old white Spiderman that you’ll ignore the repetitiveness of these stories for a few more months…

And to the poster above me, you’re dead on. The stereotypes used for black characters in anime/french cartoons and comics/ and to a significantly lesser extent American comics/cartoons is pretty bad. As for Jews, I cannot recall the last time there was an openly Jewish cartoon character in any super-team, which says something interesting. How would fans respond to a visibly jewish character? (Magneto doesn’t count) I think that is something that few studios want to see, or be responsible for. Honestly, I think it would be a disaster for all of the same reasons I listed above.

But I’ll leave it here.
Someguy.

someguy, I agree with most of your points. But I did have one point. Why doesn’t Magneto count? Does he have to be ‘star of david’ man to count as a jew? I mean, being Jewish is deeply important to his backstory. He’s one of the most popular characters in comics, whether he’s playing a villain or a hero that day.

There is an Asian Spider-Man! His name is Yu Komori and was introduced to Japanese audiences in 1971. Do people not do their homework?

Young whippersnappers nowadays don’t know their comics (grumble, grumble).

@someguy

I appreciate your argument, and agree with you for the most part. Though as kaleryan points out, the likes of Kitty Pryde or Magneto are valid Jewish characters. Your argument is that it is easy to ignore that these are aspects of the characters. I’m asking why is it so important you remember they are Jewish? I feel the characters should be recognised and ultimately defined by who they are as people and their experiences in life. If these experiences derive from aspects of their religious or cultural background then that’s certainly important. As such it may require a small amount of exposition to clarify their beliefs from uninformed readers. Ultimately, there’s a difference between a character derived from cultural/religious backgrounds and experience to that one which is defined by it.

Should Magneto or Pryde highlight the situation in the Israel, or Daredevil discuss the incidents of sexual abuse within the catholic church? Having a fictional character discuss political issues is a slippery slope, especially if you don’t give the him/her reasons that are relevant to them. In those examples, the fact that they practice those religions is not sufficient. Otherwise it just sounds like the writer is using them as means to broadcast their own views, usually to the detriment of the character.

@ M – I concede that I did not know about Asian Spiderman, but I did know about the Indian Spider-Man…but that isn’t what is at issue. There are many international versions of characters, but none of them are the ‘real’ version, where real is defined as the one read in America.

A lack of Asian Super-Heroes? Apparently this video was done by someone who doesn’t actually READ comic books. Lets look at the number of Asian Super-heroes shall we?

Kato (Green Hornet)
Batgirl III/Black Bat AKA Cassandra Cain (Batman Comics)
Karma (X-Men)
Jubilee (X-Men)
Sunfire (X-Men)
Sunpyre (X-Men)
Doctor Light II (Justice League of America)
Atom II (Justice League of America)
Wasp (Ultimate Marvel Universe)
Artemis (Young Justice)
Impulse II AKA little Iris West (Flash Comics)
Karate Kid (Legion of Super-Heroes)
Psylocke (X-Men)
Toyman II (Batman/Superman Comics)
Thunderbird II (X-Men)
Jenny Quantam (Authority)
The entire Great Ten team
Colleen Wing (Heroes for Hire)
Armor (X-Men)

And these are just the ones off the top of my head.

There have been numerous Asian super-heroes, and several of them have been EXTREMELY prominent such as Jubilee and Psylocke. And Cassandra Cain took over the iconic Batgirl identity for years which is pretty on par with most big-name heroes.

If they introduce more Asian heroes, or have them take over for existing characters, great. But its not like its never been done before.

Sorry, I don’t much like the fact this video sounds like a child whining “NOT FAIR” because a different ethnic group was selected over their own.