Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Today's Superheroes Are "Not Necessarily White ... Straight and Reasonably Heroic."

(Above: "Zenzi," a character from the comic book "World of Wakanda." Ona Harvey, an English professor who teaches poetry at the University of Pittsburgh, has writtena story about Zenzi, "a female revolutionary leader who has the ability to sense people's emotions. Zenzi is a villain.")


Tony Norman, writing for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, reveals the changes in superheroes in this article on the "New generation of superheroes." They are "not necessarily white, at least straight and reasonably heroic."

"Remember when Iron Man was an arrogant, alcoholic white billionaire industrialist named Tony Stark? Well, he’s been kicked to the curb and replaced by a 15-year-old black female robotics genius from MIT named RiRi Williams. 

"The incredible Hulk’s new alter ego is now a young Korean-American genius named Amadeus Cho, one the smartest people on the planet. The Hulk is still green, but he’s an Asian on the inside. He’s also full of angst, which is not a typical attitude for the Hulk. 

"Thor, the God of Thunder, is no longer the macho deity we remember. His former human paramour Jane Foster now wields the mystic hammer. She may have cancer, but she’s just as powerful as her former boyfriend, now wandering the universe in a quest to reclaim his lost glory. 

"Then there’s Miles Morales, the half black, half Puerto-Rican Spider-man who in recent years has replaced Peter Parker in the affections of many readers as the only web-spinner who counts. For those who can’t relate to Peter’s white working class roots, Miles’ ghetto grittiness is a nice change of pace."

More here

Hat tip to dear ol' Dad for this! Thanks, Dad!