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Greg Evans
Jun 19, 2022
Thor: Love and Thunder
Indy
A new Marvel comic which reimagines what would have happened if Miles Morales became Thor instead of Spider-Man has received a huge backlash online for its stereotypical depiction of a Black neighbourhood.
The comic, written by Yehudi Mercado and with art by Luigi Zagaria, is part of Marvel's upcoming 60th-anniversary celebration of Spider-Man. Morales is an alternative Spider-Man from the Ultimate universe that has since been brought into the regular Marvel continuity. He might be best known to many as the central character of 2018's Enter the Spider-Verse movie.
In this new What If? series, Marvel is exploring what would have happened if Morales didn't have the powers of Spider-Man but other Marvel heroes including Wolverine, Captain America and Hulk. In the latest issue, it ponders what would have happened if he had the powers of the God of Thunder, Thor and lived in the God realm of Asgard.
However, Asgard rather than looking like a Godly utopia, instead resembles Brooklyn, with graffiti adorning many of the buildings and shoes hanging from telephone lines. Morales's narration in the comic has also been deemed stereotypical. At one point he says: "Of all the five realms, Asgard is his hood."
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Morales's version of Moljnir, the hammer that Thor carries is also covered in graffiti, with him shouting "It's hammer time" every time he comes to use it, much like MC Hammer did back in 1990.
Morales has been a firm fan favourite since he was introduced to the comics in 2011 by writer Brian Michael Bendis but this iteration of the character has left many readers disappointed by the lazy illustration of a young Black man and a Black neighbourhood.
\u201cEVERYTIME I REREAD THIS MILES MORALES COMIC, I FIND MORE FUCKED UP SHIT WHAT THE HELL\n\nWHY DID ANYBODY APPROVE THIS\n\nARE THERE NO BLACKS AT MARVEL\u201d— Poe's Lawyer (@Poe's Lawyer) 1655501352
\u201cmiles morales as urban\u2122\ufe0f thor makes me want comics etc to go back to being outwardly racist\u201d— cheef o'brien (@cheef o'brien) 1655479439
\u201cmarvel comic writer: okay so if miles morales was thanos he would collect the infinity rocks onto the infinity chain (bling) to unleash a devastating wave check on all living things, capping anyone without enough drip.\nmarvel editor: i'm going to let you do everything about this\u201d— adam, "cook's choice" (@adam, "cook's choice") 1655509154
\u201cNah bro. That new WHAT IF Miles Morales as Thor is lowkey-- no HIGHKEY RACIST AS HELL. Gross as stereotypes.\n\n'Asgard is the hood'\n'By Odin's Fade'\n'Graffiti thor hammer'\u201d— G \ud83c\udf75 (@G \ud83c\udf75) 1655519297
\u201cWhy is Miles Morales's publication history filled with so much insensitive garbage I'm baffled\u201d— Alice \ud83d\udc69\u200d\u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udc69 (@Alice \ud83d\udc69\u200d\u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udc69) 1655512342
\u201cThis issue of what if Miles Morales just reminds me of this tiktok\u201d— Chris| WAITING FOR NOBARA (@Chris| WAITING FOR NOBARA) 1655506934
\u201cThis Miles Morales as Thor shit is the worst comic book ever of all time\u201d— Zo\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\udde6 (Hot Enby Summer era) (@Zo\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\udde6 (Hot Enby Summer era)) 1655586824
As Screenrant notes, this is the only one of the Miles Morales What If stories to not be penned by a Black writer, with the other being written by Cody Ziglar, Anthony Piper, and John Ridley respectively.
indy100 has contacted Marvel for comment.
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