DC/WB Films/Worlds (No Spoilers)

[Johnrevenge]

They didn’t for Black Canary nor Hawkman so far.

Nor Deadshot, nor Jimmy Olsen nor Perry White nor Iris West.

[kurenai24]

I do have to laugh b/c it is a pattern but I guess it makes it more obvious that these characters weren't redheads in the comics to show some irish-ness or some important genetic make up or heritage but b/c the artist wanted them to stand out amongst the blondes and brunettes and in live action that translates to an actual minority character standing out amongst white characters.

Although with this movie, it's pretty diverse already.

But like Zendaya (with MJ) Swindell is biracial, which means they are just as white as they are black so there really isn't anything to complain about.

I wonder if at some point we will run into a situation where black character will have to be recast as asian.

You mean like how how Fox cast an asian actress as Blink despite the fact that she's black ...even with pink skin.

White, Latino, and Asian actors have had an opportunity to portray black characters before, so it's not something new.

My main worry right now is the risk that Maxine will be turned in a cheap copy of Storm and all her essence will be erased.

I don't think that would be unappealing for an audience.

But illuminerdi did say from the script excerpt they saw that her talkativeness and her general personality will still be intact.

They didn’t for Black Canary nor Hawkman so far.

Nor Deadshot, nor Jimmy Olsen nor Perry White nor Iris West.

Yeah I don't know why people act brand new when we get racebent casting from WB, nothing ever translates back into the comics which is why casting like this is frustrating (at least for me) b/c you have Marvel not only using their original minority characters but when they racebend, those racebent characters appear as a new character like that new Valkyrie they're teasing.

[Artemisfanboy]

Nor Deadshot, nor Jimmy Olsen nor Perry White nor Iris West.

They didn’t for Black Canary nor Hawkman so far.

Well, I already explained why I'm afraid Maxine is in a more vulnerable position to be hit with a corporate synergy hammer here. Basically all those characters were well established in the ongoing comics so changing their race suddenly would be difficult or impossible, while Maxine only has a brief appearance in Doomsday Clock which is kind of treated as only being partially in continuity, and Death Metal/Generations is going to reset the multiverse again.

In both cases Black Canary and Deadshot were well established in the current publishing main continuity as white so race lifting them would have been very difficult if not impossible. Maxine only just came back in Doomsday Clock and like most of the JSA hasn't appeared since. And Jesse Quick's return in the Flash contradicted her brief cameo in Doomsday Clock as Liberty Belle. And there's a reality shake up with Death Metal/Generations coming. And there are those rumors about AT&T wanting more synergy. It's all enough to leave me nervous until we get another major main universe appearance with her looking as she did in Doomsday clock as her redheaded self. But I guess we'll have to wait and see and pray for now.

I will say that with Hawkman, they could theoretically change him in an organic way given the whole "reincarnating through time and space" set up and it could be an interesting story, depending on the writer.

Anyway, I'm hoping you right and they don't change her in the comics. The JSA already has several really good black characters created as such like Beth Chapel(who just got brought back with the Doomsday clock team), Jakeem Thunder, Mr Terrific, and Amazing Man. So it's really unnecessary.

[HandofPrometheus]

I don’t see any of those race swaps as positive, more like pandering or putting a band aide on a wound that requires stitches so to speak. Instead of pushing already established POC, they race swap White characters that will always be White everywhere else (including their next live action interpretation). In the grand scheme of things it doesn’t do anything for diversity in the long run because that character is only non White in that specific movie, everywhere else they’re White (see Black Canary, Hawkman, Catwoman...etc).

Who cares about a Black Cyclone when Bumblebee, Natasha Irons, and Rocket exist

In a sense I agree because the white version, who is everywhere else, is gonna get all the promotion that the movie version did.

Maxine could be easily racebended in the comics though. If the character is very obscure the change could very well stick.

Congrats to the actress though!

[Johnrevenge]

I don't think that would be unappealing for an audience.

But illuminerdi did say from the script excerpt they saw that her talkativeness and her general personality will still be intact.

It would be unappealing for the fans of the character like me.

I hope that, but as DC films with few exceptions (like WW and Shazam) has been cinematic Chernobyls, they can destroy the character's personality at the last minute and turn her in a cheap copy of Storm.

[mace11]

But like Zendaya (with MJ) Swindell is biracial, which means they are just as white as they are black so there really isn't anything to complain about.

Well in real life those two are bi-racial blacks but Zendaya is a playing a black character only from what we know so far and we are not sure what Swindell is playing yet.
For example the actor playing wally in flash show is bi-racial black in real life but the character he is playing is not bi-racial black.

[mace11]

Iris was black on the tv show before they did that in Justice League, Wally was black on the tv show before they reboot him into a black man in the comics.

The black wally was in comics before the tv show black wally and in comics he is a teenager,not a man.

Wallace R. West (Prime Earth)
First Appearance
The Flash Annual Vol 4 #3
(June, 2014)


TV black wally.
Iris found out she had brother in Season 2 episode 4.
October 27, 2015

First Appearance.
Season 2 episode 9
"Running to Stand Still"
December 8, 2015

[Badou]

The whole black actors playing redheaded characters feels like a parody at this point. It's kind of hilarious. I get that not every black actor or actress replaces a redheaded character, but it does feel like there are way more black actors playing redheaded characters than actual redheaded actors playing them. Maybe the studios are more comfortable replacing redheaded characters because that is what they have been doing for a while now and in their logic it makes it easier maybe? Dunno, but it doesn't really feel like this is a coincidence anymore.

The black wally was in comics before the tv show black wally and in comics he is a teenager,not a man.

Wallace R. West (Prime Earth)
First Appearance
The Flash Annual Vol 4 #3
(June, 2014)


TV black wally.
Iris found out she had brother in Season 2 episode 4.
October 27, 2015

First Appearance.
Season 2 episode 9
"Running to Stand Still"
December 8, 2015

It is a bit more complicated than just going off their first appearance. They knew they were going to have a black Wally on the show ever since they cast Iris with a black actress. So when they decided to reintroduce Wally into the comics, after refusing the New 52 Flash creators from introducing the original Wally for years, they were trying to align his character in the comics with what he would be on the show. So they decided to have Wally in the comic be black. It was a terrible decision, but it was clearly them going off the show's influence at that time.

[Johnny]

At this point it's by no means a coincidence and it does indeed start to feel comical. I honestly don't recall a white ginger being raceswapped into something other than black. Maybe Mercy Graves but was the original character even ginger. She has been ginger in some subsequent animated projects, but I think she had light brown hair in the DCAU. I guess Smallville's Lana since Kristin Kreuk is half Asian. That's the only thing that really comes to mind.

[Frontier]

They even did it with Batwoman with Ryan Wilder, even though the TV version of Kate wasn't a redhead either .

[skyvolt2000]

Isn't that what happened with the Power Rangers movie?

Sort of.

Remember that is an Americanized show and movie based on Asian characters.

I'm sure lots of black girls will care about the black Cyclone when the movie is made.

The gripe is you got POC sitting collecting dust.

Yeah that black girl might get excited by Cyclone but I RATHER have her excited about an ESTABLISHED black female.

Because when that little girl (and more importantly her PARENTS or GRANDPARENTS) go looking for something with that black Cyclone.

What will they find???????????

The same thing they found with Thunder and Lightning, Rocket, BOP Black Canary, Darla, CW Iris Flash & Batwoman (for now). NOTHING.

So who at DC is going to INVEST repeat INVEST in her to get material out there with her face on it? HER face not her in a team book. A book that is all about HER.

If she is going to be in comics make sure she is NOT Wallace West black ghetto stereotype 2.0 that need Priest to come save him.

If no one is going to do that-go get Bendis's Naomi or Nubia or Tonya Spears.


That is the issue with racebent casting-where is the extra material to KEEP someone interested.

[manwhohaseverything]

Given the reincarnation cycle, Hawkman is really easy to race swap. They just have to say that he was born on a non-white body this time.

Actually, Hawkman is a great character to explore racial themes, since he was black, asian and white on his past lives.

Isn't the dude supposed to have his first life as an anicent egyptian or was he an alien?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Isn't the dude supposed to have his first life as an anicent egyptian?

Originally, he was an inexplicably blond haired, blue eyed "Prince Khufu" ruling over ancient Egypt, but that was later retconned into a darker skinned Pharaoh Khufu Ka-Tarr in later stories. However, the most recent retcons have established that Khufu wasn't even his first reincarnation, that he was some sort of Space Nazi running a Cosmic Being's Death Camps and was forever being reincarnated throughout time and space until he'd saved as many lives as he'd taken.

However, no all that nonsense is resolved and he's presumably back to being a reincarnated Egyptian Pharaoh/Winged Cop from the planet Thanagar shtick, along with Hawkgirl/Hawkwoman as his reincarnated soulmate.

[Robanker]

Originally, he was an inexplicably blond haired, blue eyed "Prince Khufu" ruling over ancient Egypt, but that was later retconned into a darker skinned Pharaoh Khufu Ka-Tarr in later stories. However, the most recent retcons have established that Khufu wasn't even his first reincarnation, that he was some sort of Space Nazi running a Cosmic Being's Death Camps and was forever being reincarnated throughout time and space until he'd saved as many lives as he'd taken.

However, no all that nonsense is resolved and he's presumably back to being a reincarnated Egyptian Pharaoh/Winged Cop from the planet Thanagar shtick, along with Hawkgirl/Hawkwoman as his reincarnated soulmate.

Have they already gone back on it? I thought the Venditti origin was still intact, albeit not many in-universe knowing the reincarnation cycle goes back before Khufu.

They even did it with Batwoman with Ryan Wilder, even though the TV version of Kate wasn't a redhead either .

Bro let's not bring up Batwoman. They cast a pale, white lesbian woman in a red wig to play a pale, white lesbian woman in a red wig and people were still losing their mind. You could rub a magic lamp, wish Kate Kane was real and that show still would have gotten attacked for its casting. Ryan never was going to have a chance. People really wanted to hate Batwoman.

And I don't even like Kate or that show.

[Frontier]

Bro let's not bring up Batwoman. They cast a pale, white lesbian woman in a red wig to play a pale, white lesbian woman in a red wig and people were still losing their mind. You could rub a magic lamp, wish Kate Kane was real and that show still would have gotten attacked for its casting. Ryan never was going to have a chance. People really wanted to hate Batwoman.

And I don't even like Kate or that show.

Well, I like Kate and enjoy the show well enough before the revamp, but...