Minorities in Comics and Other Media, etc

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

“I do wish they'd choose a non-martial arts/mystic type of character for an Asian lead”

Amadeus Cho. First movie can be his big solo outing. Second movie can feature Heracles. There. Done.

He started out as a revamp for Golden Age hero Mastermind Excello. According to Wikipedia, his backstory is his parents got killed in an assassination attempt. The 6th smartest person didn't like meeting the 7th. It's kinda alright but you can do something with it...

To answer Mik's question, he should pop up in She-Hulk. He started out as a Hulk fan after Hulk helps him get justice for his parents.

He would've been perfect for Cloak and Dagger if it was still on the air.

I first read about him when he was teamed up with Hercules after World War Hulk. So I'd probably lead with that. Make it a Buddy cop show for Disney+.

[abetterday]

Free Guy comes out this week and I can't help but to wonder what if that was a Cyborg movie because he has a very similar concept in his solo series Cyborg Rebirth.

[CosmiComic]

It truly is weird that some version of her iconic look has endured all this time. The kind of hilarious part about it is that I feel absolutely sure the outfit was meant to be a one-off joke.

You know, she was introduced during a storyline where the X-Men had been separated after their stint hiding in Australia, and after helping Wolverine escape being tortured by Reavers, she helps him heal up and becomes his "sidekick" as he finds and rescues newly-ninjafied Psylocke and I think they all start looking for the rest together. Anyway, I think it was just after they got Psylocke that she first appeared in the outfit -- just after or just before, anyway -- and the joke of it was kind of lost in time, because with her being the Robin to Wolverine's Batman, her yellow-trenchcoat and shorts look was a pretty obvious way of poking fun at the traditional yellow cape/green trunks Robin costume, which everyone had already come to agree looked pretty ridiculous, by that point.

The joke got lost somewhat though because over in DC, Tim Drake was introduced not long after Jubilee had popped up in Marvel, and of course for Tim, they'd designed and updated, more badass-looking version of the Robin costume, which has pretty much been the basis for Robin's look, ever since. So yah, her original look was one of those inter-company rivalry things that was kind of funny at the time, but made an obsolete joke almost immediately, by Robin's costume no longer looking like that.

As for why she still has remnants of that outfit, today -- I don't know, because people recognize it, I guess? Why does Luke Cage wear a yellow t-shirt?

Anyway, random comics trivia!

(Edit: Honestly, when I google "Robin original costume" and "Jubilee original costume", I still think it was pretty funny, for a passing visual joke. Just no way of knowing what's going to stick with any given character, though.)

I didn't realize all that. Still, it makes no sense as a costume. The only more absurd one, IMO, is Gambit's. That guy makes negative sense IMO.

He started out as a revamp for Golden Age hero Mastermind Excello. According to Wikipedia, his backstory is his parents got killed in an assassination attempt. The 6th smartest person didn't like meeting the 7th. It's kinda alright but you can do something with it...

To answer Mik's question, he should pop up in She-Hulk. He started out as a Hulk fan after Hulk helps him get justice for his parents.

He would've been perfect for Cloak and Dagger if it was still on the air.

I first read about him when he was teamed up with Hercules after World War Hulk. So I'd probably lead with that. Make it a Buddy cop show for Disney+.

I can see him showing up in She-Hulk. I think he'd be a good addition to the MCU. He could form the Agents of Atlas.

I can't say I'd be interested in hercules

[Username taken]

I've made it a point to anybody who'll listen, which boils down to a 5 year old and a 7 year old, that I'm in for Shang-Chi despite Awkafina.

I'm not familiar with Awkafina but I've noticed a lot of people don't really care for her.

Why?

[Vic Vega]

Just out of curiosity, which version of Amadeus Cho do people here want?

Because there are 3 versions of him.

In his debut, before he teamed up with Hulk or Hercules he was half on the run from the organization who trained him, half trying to get them first. He was a runaway mega genius with no money, no tech ( other than phone hacking with his gameboy) and no weapons so in combat he mostly threw stuff at people. But because he knows how to throw stuff, it effectively made him like Bullseye: deadly accurate with random stuff.

At some point after he teamed with Hercules he joined some kind of Corporation run by the Greek Goddess Athena so now he is super smart and has Hercules' Mace (he kind of inherited it- Hercules was MIA then) and a Force Shield belt. He later upgraded this to a battle armor that looked like a 3 piece suit, but was more or less like Iron Man gear complete with Jarvis like A.I.

The current version of Amadeus gave himself Hulk powers ( because Cho is a Hulk ally and thinks the world needs the Hulk) while keeping his intellect. So he's a Teen version of Smart Hulk that cracks jokes and does genius-y stuff. He has the drawback of while getting madder makes him stronger it's also makes him less smart and more violent. Because Hulk powers.

What did he THINK would happen?

I followed this character from the Hercules series to the first couple of issues of his own book Awesome Hulk, but I forgot a lot of stuff or mixed in up so excuse anything I might have missed.

I like the character but I honestly don't see how he's more interesting than Hiro from Big Hero 6 who made himself a battle suit and more importantly, a lovable robot buddy that audiences love.

[CosmiComic]

Just out of curiosity, which version of Amadeus Cho do people here want?

Because there are 3 versions of him.

In his debut, before he teamed up with Hulk or Hercules he was half on the run from the organization who trained him, half trying to get them first. He was a runaway mega genius with no money, no tech ( other than phone hacking with his gameboy) and no weapons so in combat he mostly threw stuff at people. But because he knows how to throw stuff, it effectively made him like Bullseye: deadly accurate with random stuff.

At some point after he teamed with Hercules he joined some kind of Corporation run by the Greek Goddess Athena so now he is super smart and has Hercules' Mace (he kind of inherited it- Hercules was MIA then) and a Force Shield belt. He later upgraded this to a battle armor that looked like a 3 piece suit, but was more or less like Iron Man gear complete with Jarvis like A.I.

The current version of Amadeus gave himself Hulk powers ( because Cho is a Hulk ally and thinks the world needs the Hulk) while keeping his intellect. So he's a Teen version of Smart Hulk that cracks jokes and does genius-y stuff. He has the drawback of while getting madder makes him stronger it's also makes him less smart and more violent. Because Hulk powers.

What did he THINK would happen?

I followed this character from the Hercules series to the first couple of issues of his own book Awesome Hulk, but I forgot a lot of stuff or mixed in up so excuse anything I might have missed.

I like the character but I honestly don't see how he's more interesting than Hiro from Big Hero 6 who made himself a battle suit and more importantly, a lovable robot buddy that audiences love.

I'm guessing the most recent version, with the actual powers. But I think it would be good if he had the tech powers too. Just being super strong isn't that interesting anymore IMO

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Just out of curiosity, which version of Amadeus Cho do people here want?

Because there are 3 versions of him.

In his debut, before he teamed up with Hulk or Hercules he was half on the run from the organization who trained him, half trying to get them first. He was a runaway mega genius with no money, no tech ( other than phone hacking with his gameboy) and no weapons so in combat he mostly threw stuff at people. But because he knows how to throw stuff, it effectively made him like Bullseye: deadly accurate with random stuff.

At some point after he teamed with Hercules he joined some kind of Corporation run by the Greek Goddess Athena so now he is super smart and has Hercules' Mace (he kind of inherited it- Hercules was MIA then) and a Force Shield belt. He later upgraded this to a battle armor that looked like a 3 piece suit, but was more or less like Iron Man gear complete with Jarvis like A.I.

The current version of Amadeus gave himself Hulk powers ( because Cho is a Hulk ally and thinks the world needs the Hulk) while keeping his intellect. So he's a Teen version of Smart Hulk that cracks jokes and does genius-y stuff. He has the drawback of while getting madder makes him stronger it's also makes him less smart and more violent. Because Hulk powers.

What did he THINK would happen?

I followed this character from the Hercules series to the first couple of issues of his own book Awesome Hulk, but I forgot a lot of stuff or mixed in up so excuse anything I might have missed.

I like the character but I honestly don't see how he's more interesting than Hiro from Big Hero 6 who made himself a battle suit and more importantly, a lovable robot buddy that audiences love.

I'm more fond of the first two takes than the totally awesome Hulk era. But I'll live if they adapt that era. The MCU is gonna do their own thing anyway so Amadeus will be streamlined. I look forward to seeing what they come up with.

I'm not saying he's better than Hiro. I'm just saying I prefer him to Shang-chi. .

[MindofShadow]

I'd imagine they can't use the Hulk version on big screen in a stand alone.

I'd imagine it is like the other contracts... Universal has distribution rights to all thigns Hulk on the big screen. Similar to how Marvel can't use Silk despite making silk after the Sony contract was signed.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Amadeus wasn't always the Totally Awesome Hulk. So I'm cool with them focusing on his Prince of Power days with Hercules. .

[CosmiComic]

As long as he has actual powers, I think any version works

[godisawesome]

The last few pages talking about “orientalist” stereotypes reignited my curiosity about Cassandra Cain - and I mean a more theoretically “comic accurate” version. I *love* her as Batgirl… but I’m a white dude. Is she a problematic character?

[Agent Z]

Like I said before, if there were any kind of significant non-Asian audience clamoring for more Chinese leading men in films, then there wouldn't be an issue of underrepresentation to begin with.

Who say there isn't? Just because Hollywood doesn't always cast Asians as leads doesn't mean there isn't a market for it. It wasn't that long ago that "black or women superheroes don't sell" was conventional wisdom.

And refusing to watch a movie because you don't think the lead actor has the right look is a perfectly valid response, film is a visual medium and looks have always mattered more for actors than any purist thespian would be willing to admit. It's just that in America we force ourselves to express these ideas with euphemisms, like talking about an actor's screen presence, charisma, or star quality, but what movie stars can be said to have all of those attributes without having the right look?

Now you're just moving the goalposts.

The last few pages talking about “orientalist” stereotypes reignited my curiosity about Cassandra Cain - and I mean a more theoretically “comic accurate” version. I *love* her as Batgirl… but I’m a white dude. Is she a problematic character?

On the surface and she can easily become one in the wrong hands.

[Vic Vega]

The last few pages talking about “orientalist” stereotypes reignited my curiosity about Cassandra Cain - and I mean a more theoretically “comic accurate” version. I *love* her as Batgirl… but I’m a white dude. Is she a problematic character?

In my opinion, her classic origin is all sorts of messed up because of the kid slavery angle. I don't know how much her race ties into it.

She seems to be originally from some Southeast Asian country. She was orphaned at a very young age. She wa adopted (possibly abducted) by pro assassin dude who trained her exclusively in killing. Like he didn't even bother to teach her how to talk if I remember right.

So she got trained up into this combat monster and she's still a little kid. On her first kill for assassin dude, she is instantly disgusted and regretful at what she's done. So she leaves/escapes assassin dude ( who now seems to consider himself her father-yikes) to go her own way to atone. And ended up in Gotham.

Cassandra is a teenage master martial artist who has borderline superhuman reflexes. I don't remember how she got said reflexes at all. Training? Mutant?

Thing with Cassie is I forget if assassin dude was supposed to be her actual dad or just considers himself her father because he's nuts. It might be worse if he is her biological dad.

At any rate she started out as kind of a child slave. It's not like she had a choice. Yes she overcame her backstory. But some White Male assassin dude grabbing an Asian Female baby from her homeland so he can turn her into his pet killing machine...is it just me or are the implications of all that really messed up?

[Agent Z]

In my opinion, her classic origin is all sorts of messed up because of the kid slavery angle. I don't know how much her race ties into it.

She seems to be originally from some Southeast Asian country. She was orphaned at a very young age. She wa adopted (possibly abducted) by pro assassin dude who trained her exclusively in killing. Like he didn't even bother to teach her how to talk if I remember right.

So she got trained up into this combat monster and she's still a little kid. On her first kill for assassin dude, she is instantly disgusted and regretful at what she's done. So she leaves/escapes assassin dude ( who now seems to consider himself her father-yikes) to go her own way to atone. And ended up in Gotham.

Cassandra is a teenage master martial artist who has borderline superhuman reflexes. I don't remember how she got said reflexes at all. Training? Mutant?

Thing with Cassie is I forget if assassin dude was supposed to be her actual dad or just considers himself her father because he's nuts. It might be worse if he is her biological dad.

At any rate she started out as kind of a child slave. It's not like she had a choice. Yes she overcame her backstory. But some White Male assassin dude grabbing an Asian Female baby from her homeland so he can turn her into his pet killing machine...is it just me or are the implications of all that really messed up?

He didn't adopt her. He was her biological dad. And the implications of how messed up his treatment of her was were tackled head on.

[MindofShadow]

Sounds kinda like that movie Ninja Assassin lol