It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's diversity!
In a heroic move toward more diversity in the comic book universe, Marvel announced Tuesday the release dates for its first solo black superhero movie and the first solo female superhero movie. “Black Panther” and “Captain Marvel” will hit theaters in the next three to four years, expanding to a wider demographic than ever before.
The DC and Marvel movie universes have been dominated by white males with female and black sidekicks thus far. Such lacking diversity has not hurt the income of the industry yet, with the last Marvel movie, “Guardians of the Galaxy,” bringing in almost $800 million in box office revenue, and DC’s last movie “Man of Steel” taking over $600 million worldwide.
Adding this kind of diversity could widen the number of people that relate to Marvel characters, fulfilling the goal of the comic books that started this profitable movie trend. What are superheroes if not marginalized individuals who happen to have powers? People identify with the "outcasts" because they can relate to them.
After all this time, two highly marginalized groups will be well represented through this genre. Finally, women will step out from the damsel in distress/sidekick role and have their own movie. The creators even changed her title from the meek “Ms. Marvel” to the stronger-sounding “Captain Marvel.”
One may question why Black Panther’s name puts so much emphasis on the hero’s race — perhaps, it's because his race may play a large role in the character’s identity. That won't be seen until the movie hits theaters in 2017. But such questions are reflective of the new territory Marvel is entering. The way the film is executed could potentially offend people for being insensitive or patronizing or anything in between. However, the fear of offending does not outweigh the benefits of expanding to provide a potentially awesome movie that a wider demographic can relate to.
We commend Marvel for taking this step forward. We hope these additions are profitable ventures for the company creating them and for the groups they are meant to include.
Bill Rosemann, the creative director of Marvel, summed up the goal of this venture and Marvel expanding its scope overall during an interview with the Daily Gamecock in September, when he said, “ We’re always trying to make our stories more accessible, more diverse, more relatable."