Why doesn’t DC have any successful minority superheroes?

[Anthony Shaw]

You can blame the likes of Lighter Shade of Brown (rap group), Selena, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias or any Latino musical act from the 90's and early 2000's for popularizing Spanglish. It's still very popular today in the entertainment industry, with the likes of Pitbull, Camila Cabello, Becky G and Kap G...etc still mixing the two languages in their music.

Since Jaime is from Texas, him speaking Spanglish makes a lot of sense. Now if he were from, say Montana or Kentucky, then I'd call bs. The only time I had a problem with Jaime speaking Spanglish was on Young Justice when he'd say "ESE" in every sentence.

The funny thing is that the merging of two languages in songs happens in Japan, too.

Some of the theme songs to various anime will feature a song mostly in Japanese, but some lyrics will be spoken in English.

[Ascended]

Agreed. No issue with him having felt like that...at the beginning. It's now been way too long in questioning if he's human.

He's now among this pantheon of the world's greatest and we still have to watch him question this. With him being the only black guy...it starts to send a message. And it isn't a good one.

No, it's not.

And its a shame too. Not only is Vic one of DC's biggest PoC, he's also one of the industry's biggest disabled heroes. There's a lot of great stuff you could do with that, with Vic taking control and "owning" all that and turning it into a positive. But instead of Vic being an inspiration via his confidence, he's trapped in a cycle of angst.

And really, the cycle he's in, which rolls from "original status quo" to "dealt with my issues" is the same cycle a lot of characters are in. But with the position Vic has, it looks much worse.

So he still has to do go through stuff like this?

Well, I won't speak for toilet habits. But last I knew, it was established that he still has what he needs to keep his woman happy.

[kurenai24]

Tbh why is Vic even brought up when talking about racial diversity, I mean yeah he is black but he probably won't be for long at the rate his skin keeps disappearing.

Also, DC is now trying to market Cyborg as representation for disabled people to non-comic readers when it's obvious he was put on the Justice League b/c of his race, not b/c he's "disabled" or b/c he was a twofer i.e he is a check mark in two minority groups.

[Agent Z]

Tbh why is Vic even brought up when talking about racial diversity, I mean yeah he is black but he probably won't be for long at the rate his skin keeps disappearing.

Also, DC is now trying to market Cyborg as representation for disabled people to non-comic readers when it's obvious he was put on the Justice League b/c of his race, not b/c he's "disabled" or b/c he was a twofer i.e he is a check mark in two minority groups.

You haven't kept up with the current comics have you? Vic isn't losing his skin.

Also, why is the fact he's also being marketed to disabled people a problem? This feels like a strange complaint in general to have.

[Iconic]

You haven't kept up with the current comics have you? Vic isn't losing his skin.

Also, why is the fact he's also being marketed to disabled people a problem? This feels like a strange complaint in general to have.

The latest Justice League has him using a "static imaging field". Basically a hologram. Unless The Fan is pulling a fast one, that's a trash walk back.

As for the disabled thing, it's not a problem in itself. It's a problem when that's the excuse for why he's held back from advancing according to the nature of what he is.

You say he's advanced alien tech. A mother box. In Walker & Reis original run, they showed us what that looked like and it made sense. It's strange then for them to walk these advancements back and start this dialogue of how he represents the disabled.

Flash was struck by lightning. Does he represent burn victims now? Is he permanently disfigured because of it? Or did such a tragedy make him more than what he was? Would he have the legacy characters that he does had he been depicted burnt head to toe? A wife? Fans who enjoyed reading his escapades?

Probably not.

Again. When you're the only black guy (or guy of any underrepresented nationality) and you're the only one with built-in restrictions, something's not right.

[Ascended]

Would he have the legacy characters that he does had he been depicted burnt head to toe? A wife? Fans who enjoyed reading his escapades?

Probably not.

Just to point it out.....

No, Barry wouldn't have done very well as a terribly scarred burned victim back in 1956.

But Deadpool makes it work just fine in 2018.

And while I agree with you in general about this whole topic, I don't think comparing Vic to a burn victim is quite on the level. Vic's not covered in horrible scars, he's covered in some badass armor. I doubt anyone looks at Cyborg and says "Oh, how horrible! He's so ugly and disfigured!"

[Ascended]

Tbh why is Vic even brought up when talking about racial diversity, I mean yeah he is black but he probably won't be for long at the rate his skin keeps disappearing.

Also, DC is now trying to market Cyborg as representation for disabled people to non-comic readers when it's obvious he was put on the Justice League b/c of his race, not b/c he's "disabled" or b/c he was a twofer i.e he is a check mark in two minority groups.

They've actually played up Vic as a disabled hero from the start. One of the early NTT issues had Vic hanging out with a group of kids who had all lost limbs, and they went nuts when they found out Vic was like them. A big part of the early Walker issues dealt with Vic's role as a disabled hero and how cybernetic prosthesis were getting more advanced and some people wanted to regulate the technology.

So its not something DC is pulling out of nowhere.

[Iconic]

Just to point it out.....

No, Barry wouldn't have done very well as a terribly scarred burned victim back in 1956.

But Deadpool makes it work just fine in 2018.

And while I agree with you in general about this whole topic, I don't think comparing Vic to a burn victim is quite on the level. Vic's not covered in horrible scars, he's covered in some badass armor. I doubt anyone looks at Cyborg and says "Oh, how horrible! He's so ugly and disfigured!"

I'm just basing it off the nature of the accident that led to his powers. Some people try to use Vic's circumstances as to why he is what he is but choose to overlook the circumstances of other such heroes and how their powers made them greater.

Obvious note: I am not a fan of the current armor.

But really, how many of us want to read a solo series about a character with no alter ego or personal life outside of the heroics? That's not much of an engaging read. That's how you get the label "boring".

[Iconic]

They've actually played up Vic as a disabled hero from the start. One of the early NTT issues had Vic hanging out with a group of kids who had all lost limbs, and they went nuts when they found out Vic was like them. A big part of the early Walker issues dealt with Vic's role as a disabled hero and how cybernetic prosthesis were getting more advanced and some people wanted to regulate the technology.

So its not something DC is pulling out of nowhere.

You're right. In NTT that was cool. He wasn't a leading man. He wasn't the only black hero in the spotlight. Now that he is, DC has to do better for the future of the character.

Superman used to only leap tall buildings (and kill). Now he flies.

Batman used to use guns (and kill). Now he doesn't.

Green Lantern used to be weak against yellow. Now his only limit is his will.

Wonder Woman used to travel by invisible jet. Now she flies, too.

Cyborg used to be restricted to his one cybernetic form. Then he was advanced to change back and forth at will...and, sadly, now he seems to be back to his singular form, save for his hologram.

It just doesn't feel right.

[Doctor Bifrost]

But last I knew, it was established that he still has what he needs to keep his woman happy.

A sense of humor?

[Aahz]

Batman used to use guns (and kill). Now he doesn't.

They only guy he ever killed with that gun was Vampire.

Cyborg used to be restricted to his one cybernetic form. Then he was advanced to change back and forth at will...and, sadly, now he seems to be back to his singular form, save for his hologram.

Btw. Something similar allready happend before. In JLA/Titans he transfered his mind in the Omegadrome which gave him a shapishiftig golden body and later that was fused with a human body. Soon afterwards he was somehow back to his old body.

[MajorHoy]

They only guy he ever killed with that gun was Vampire.

Maybe with a pistol, but he also used other guns, too.
He used a machinegun mounted in his early Batplane to kill humans turned into monsters (way back in the original Batman #1).

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

DC has several minority characters who have the potential for greatness. I'm happy to finally see Black Lightning with a show, even if it is a CW show.

When DC gives a minority character a 'push' they usually tend to feature them prominently in the Justice League book more often than not. During the 2000s Vixen was a mainstay of the league, Black Lightning had a solid run in the roster around the same time.

Yeah, which is why Flashpoint had such a devastating effect on representation in the DCU. When you start from scratch, it also means erasing all the contributions that characters of color have made to the League. The JLA went from having this long, diverse list of past and present members to...just 6 white people and Victor, who didn't really fit in with the JLA and stays in the Watchtower all day.

[skyvolt2000]

And while I agree with you in general about this whole topic, I don't think comparing Vic to a burn victim is quite on the level. Vic's not covered in horrible scars, he's covered in some badass armor. I doubt anyone looks at Cyborg and says "Oh, how horrible! He's so ugly and disfigured!"

Deadpool works because you are being showcased a variety white heroes. Deadpool is not restricted to stories about his messed up body. In fact I forgot his face was messed up in the few Deadpool books that I have.

Also Deadpool is not being used to market your black heroes as the main guy since so many other s seem to have nonstop issues.

Like you said Cyborg has TOO MUCH potential to stick in man vs machine stories. He has a MOTHER BOX-Al Ewing would have a FIELD DAY with that. David Walker too if he was allowed to. Erik Larson? Just do Cyborg's book under the Vertigo label and hide.

These aren't sales to customers it are Orders by shops, so unless they get a second printing, the numbers will not rise.

Well you only get second printings when the first set of printed books are sold out to the stores.

Because I can tell you many of those first prints are still in stock at many stores. My store ran out of Spider-Gwen 24 1st print. I found 3 other stores with plenty of copies at cover price If I went with Ebay I would have spent over $10.

I also will not support low quality books no matter who is in them. All that does is tell DC I am satisfied with the level of effort they are putting in.

And this is what a LOT of folks don't understand.

I know we all want diverse material but the BOTTOM line is it still has to be good.

It still has to fit into what I approve of what is being done to whoever I like in the book.

I was actually interested in Batman when I heard Duke was going to be in it. It would have been the first time I bought that book monthly in 14 years. That didn't happen when I saw Duke's cameos in the main Batman book.

I am not paying for one panel or page appearances of ANY character.

[Ascended]

A sense of humor?

Boo-yah.

You're right. In NTT that was cool. He wasn't a leading man. He wasn't the only black hero in the spotlight. Now that he is, DC has to do better for the future of the character.

It just doesn't feel right.

Oh, Im right there with you. I get genuinely pissed off about it, actually. So much raw potential being squandered, so much potential revenue being lost......That DC wants Vic to be this big deal but won't let him actually *be* a big deal gets me so f**king angry.

You know, if DC doesn't want to bother putting the work in with Cyborg, they should just let me write him. I'll even do it for a dollar per page, just for the chance to set him straight and make him what he could be. If they promise to stay off my back and not interfere I'll do it for free. Scout's honor!

Deadpool works because you are being showcased a variety white heroes. Deadpool is not restricted to stories about his messed up body. In fact I forgot his face was messed up in the few Deadpool books that I have.

Also Deadpool is not being used to market your black heroes as the main guy since so many other s seem to have nonstop issues.

Like you said Cyborg has TOO MUCH potential to stick in man vs machine stories. He has a MOTHER BOX-Al Ewing would have a FIELD DAY with that. David Walker too if he was allowed to. Erik Larson? Just do Cyborg's book under the Vertigo label and hide.

Its true that Deadpool is a different situation. There's a lot more riding on Vic's shoulders than Wade's. I'm just pointing out that you can take a disability or a disfigurement and spin it in a positive way. I look at all that "crippled black man" subtext with Cyborg and all I see is a chance for Vic to stand up and say "You tried to hold me down. You can't. You can't stop me, you can't handle me. I'm too badass for your BS." Like, make him take that crap and *own* it, and make it his own, and make the people who like that sort of "crippled black man" crap feel scared of him.

They could do it easily with Vic, and given the spotlight he has on him it could be amazing. Imagine being a young kid who feels like a weird outsider or is disabled. Vic can show them that they can make that work for them, they can rise above their circumstance and become something amazing. Vic could be one of the true gems of the DCU.

The problem of course, isn't Vic. It's DC.

And Al Ewing? Man, why would you put that insane idea in my head when we know it'll never happen? Ewing on Cyborg? Sign me up for life!