Marvel’s Major Misstep with ‘What If… Mile Morales’ Is a Big Black Eye
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When it was proposed, Marvel Comics What If… Miles Morales, a mini-series based two successful comic franchises and starring the hero du jour, Spider-Man aka Miles Morales, everyone including Marvel Studios and fans were excited and saw it as slam dunk success.
The recently released alternate reality tale is set in a world where Miles becomes the mighty Thor rather than Spider-Man. The issue, which was written by Yehudi Mercado and illustrated by Paco Medina and Luigi Zagaria, has proved to be controversial, with multiple readers posting their thoughts on Twitter regarding what they view as the comic’s racist depictions and how they perpetuate stereotypes about the Black community.
miles morales as urban™️ thor makes me want comics etc to go back to being outwardly racist pic.twitter.com/OeKXtrSTvW
— cheef o’brien (@borgposting) June 17, 2022
why did white people make Miles Morales say fucking hammer time https://t.co/MorOcc11W6
— santi (@ie_santiago) June 17, 2022
”Asgard is his hood”
Miles Morales and Thor fans rn: pic.twitter.com/003PyjAH3W
— Miguel O’Hara (@ZeroYear97) June 17, 2022
…I don’t usually side with reactionaries on this app, but the “What-If Miles Morales was Thor” comic feels…racist.
Like, contrast this issue with “What If T’Challa was Star Lord” to illustrate what they could have done, and what they did instead… pic.twitter.com/3qjBzkAnWt
— Ant 💀 Waiting for Halloween (@AGramuglia) June 19, 2022
There are reasons why black people keep asking for black characters to be written by black writers and drawn by black artists.
That Miles Morales as Thor comic is legit one of those reasons.
— ShonuffKay (@ShoNuffKay37) June 17, 2022
This ‘What-if’ version of Asgard has graffiti adorning many of the buildings and shoes hanging from telephone lines. pic.twitter.com/acJDZi5vNu
— indy100 (@indy100) June 20, 2022
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.”
His version of Moljnir, the hammer that Thor carries is also covered in graffiti pic.twitter.com/xiB96xVL3V
— indy100 (@indy100) June 20, 2022
I know everyone is talking about “Asgard is his hood” and “By Odin’s Fade” in the Miles Morales Thor comic but let’s not ignore that the writer has him say All Eyes on Me because it’s also the name of a rap album pic.twitter.com/3fvA0Z9jfY
— Octo 3 & Knuckles 👹 (@OctoY1) June 17, 2022
Marvel’s What If…Miles Morales? series began in March. Past issues prior to What If…Miles Morales? #4 have reimagined Miles Morales as Captain America, Wolverine and the Incredible Hulk. What If…Miles Morales #5 is scheduled to release July 6 and sees the Miles of the multiverse come together to stop the Prowler, Loki, Sabertooth and other villains.
