Why haven't any of the Black Male X-men caught on other than Bishop?

[Havok83]

Storm is definitely too light. But doesn't seem they quite made her a white woman. YET.

If they have though,apologizes for being out of the loop. That would only leave Bishop. Tsk.

fair enough. She was still intended to be black even though she was hella light

[Silver Fang]

fair enough. She was still intended to be black even though she was hella light

That's the formula these days. Light is right needs to be the American Catchphrase.

Similar to Monet, I sometimes have fun making Storm darker, like she should be. Like this one I did yesterday.
Blue Black Storm (3).jpg

I think she was described as Blue black in comics. But super light brown doesn't get that across. lol

But yeah,looking at Gold, she was towing a line. I imagine before long, she'll start getting whitened like Monet. The X-Office wouldn't surprise me at this point.

In some cases,, Trinary looks to be colored white.

[Killerbee911]

Would it even sell?

.

700 mil domestic
1.344 billion WW
A+ Cinemascore

97% RT score
8.2/10 RT rating
100% Top Critics RT score
8.9/10 Top Critics RT Rating
88 metacritic score

Oscar nominated
MTV Award winner
Teen Choice Award Winner
Peoples Choice Award Winner
BET Award Winner
Satellite Award Winner
Critics Choice Award Winner

Today this is my answer for everthing. Of course it could sell it depends on the quality of the product. The thought process "does a primarily Asians cast book/movie sell" or "Does a heavy Black cast book/movie sell" that needs to buried and put ground forever. Yes they do sell and people have to stop pretending it is forced to have mutiple of minorites in a book Uncanny is about to put out a book with Cyclops,Wolverine,Havok,Banshee, Mutiple Man,Hope, Magik, Wolfsbane(oh yeah Karma and Moonstar) and nobody is going well this is forced.

You put out a quality product it will sell

[CRaymond]

Ruth Carter is the hill I’ll die on.

[Sundown]

700 mil domestic
1.344 billion WW
A+ Cinemascore

97% RT score
8.2/10 RT rating
100% Top Critics RT score
8.9/10 Top Critics RT Rating
88 metacritic score

Oscar nominated
MTV Award winner
Teen Choice Award Winner
Peoples Choice Award Winner
BET Award Winner
Satellite Award Winner
Critics Choice Award Winner

Today this is my answer for everthing. Of course it could sell it depends on the quality of the product. The thought process "does a primarily Asians cast book/movie sell" or "Does a heavy Black cast book/movie sell" that needs to buried and put ground forever. Yes they do sell and people have to stop pretending it is forced to have mutiple of minorites in a book Uncanny is about to put out a book with Cyclops,Wolverine,Havok,Banshee, Mutiple Man,Hope, Magik, Wolfsbane(oh yeah Karma and Moonstar) and nobody is going well this is forced.

You put out a quality product it will sell

Are those stats for the comic genre, or the film genre?

If they're from film, then no argument that there's a very strong market.

[Tazpocalapse]

I think one factor is that the X-men are a more team centered franchise. So they don't get much panel time unless they are on a team. I think that some characters benefit from having relationships with characters outside the X-men to increase the chances of them being used more in stories to gain the interest of more readers.
This was true for Roberto, and Prodigy is getting appearances outside of X-books. I would not mind if Cloak had more interaction with the X-men.

[jwatson]

Are those stats for the comic genre, or the film genre?

If they're from film, then no argument that there's a very strong market.

Doesn't really matter which. If they didn't make the movie and market it, it would not have happened. Marvel barely markets their diverse characters and when they did do a big push it was just a bunch of people taking over already existing roles.

[GigaBalls]

I think the main reason there aren't any popular Black Mutants is because they aren't trying make them badass enough. People fall for a hero they wish they could be. Who wants to be Bishop? Not nearly as many people as those who want to be Wolverine, Magneto, or Storm.

Bishop had potential, but they didn't make him likeable. His mutant power isn't very basic, and requires explanation to people finding out about him the first time. And it doesn't seem that powerful, because it really wouldn't be that powerful in the real world where nobody is shooting laser beams and plasma blasts at anyone. First off they made him a cop, which adds major unlikability to the community most likely to embrace him, secondly they made him out to be the bad guy that hunts down the savior of mutants, during the whole chasing down Cable and Hope to the end of time deal. Back in the 90s when I first started really reading X-Men, I was never able to get into Bishop, he just always seemed like a dbag. The whole trader in the X-Men ranks thing he had, made me felt like Internal Affairs amongst the X-Men to me. He has a had a few stories throughout the years where he does some cool stuff, like at the start of the Onslaught Saga when he absorbs all the power in a New Jersey town and uses it to knock out the Juggernaut.

Gentle currently has potential, but something tells me he won't get what he really needs.

I'd love to see Roberto really step it up, maybe take over the Hellfire Club or something. Maybe start a new X-Corp or something.

If you really want a black X-Man to take off he needs to be more like Blade or Wolverine. Personally if I was going to do it, I'd make them out to be a villain at first similar to Killmonger in Black Panther, a mutant with power that uses it to help his people. Give him a bit of a Magneto factor, where its not so much that he's a bad guy, he's just doing whatever it takes to get the results. After a story arc or two with him in that role, you could then give him a bit a redemption arc and recruit him into the X-Men just like many other villain turned X-Men who got popular Banshee, Rogue, Gambit, Magneto, Emma, etc.

[Uncanny Mutie]

Gentle currently has potential, but something tells me he won't get what he really needs.

Gentle is probably the one who has the most potential, especially with the whole Wakanda connection, as popular as Black Panther is right now. However, one thing that really holds him back is he has a stupid, weak-sounding, uncool codename.

"Gentle"...really?!? I'm sure the bad guys shake in their boots when they hear a guy named "Gentle" is coming to get them!!!

[Anthony Shaw]

It speaks to the false narrative that Black men are derivative; that they do not contribute new concepts or ideas; that they are not creators or inventors and do not own the means of production; that they do not have the means to survive, but for the handouts/kindness of others. This sort of thing is so subtle that most consume it without even knowing it. And then one day you look up and there's a Black Goliath, who didn't create Pym Particles. Or a War Machine, who didn't create the armor and only has it because Tony allowed it. Or Captain America/Falcon, who apparently was just leasing the shield and mantle with no option to own outright. Or Synch and Bishop, who are really no more powerful than baseline humans in the absence of someone/something to charge them.

Power mimicry in and of itself is fine, as is energy absorption, especially if we're talking about kinetic energy absorption. But given that Bishop and Synch are mutants with a near infinite number of possibilities in terms of what their powers could have been, you have to ask yourself why were they limited to being the group co-dependents. I am admittedly old and cynical, but something seems off about that, coincidental or not.

[DragonsChi]

Gentle is probably the one who has the most potential, especially with the whole Wakanda connection, as popular as Black Panther is right now. However, one thing that really holds him back is he has a stupid, weak-sounding, uncool codename.

"Gentle"...really?!? I'm sure the bad guys shake in their boots when they hear a guy named "Gentle" is coming to get them!!!

I don’t think a name will hold most characters back. Its how they are used thats the issue. If every apperance Gentle is in and he is used only to lift heavey objects or be the whipping boy of another character, no one will care to read about him or if he is used or not.

Gentle has to be an actual character with his own opinions, beilefs, and stances. He has to actually have a role in stories that expound more then fulfill point A to point B task for other characters.

Stuff like that draws fans to other characters.

[Triniking1234]

Are those stats for the comic genre, or the film genre?

If they're from film, then no argument that there's a very strong market.

Those are film stats.

[Havok83]

Gentle is probably the one who has the most potential, especially with the whole Wakanda connection, as popular as Black Panther is right now. However, one thing that really holds him back is he has a stupid, weak-sounding, uncool codename.

"Gentle"...really?!? I'm sure the bad guys shake in their boots when they hear a guy named "Gentle" is coming to get them!!!

They really should double down on his Wakanda connections. If the X-men wont use him, there's potential to use him in Black Panther or even the Avengers

[dkrook]

Jubilee's messy, made messier that creators never expanded upon her mutation's initial expression. Where are her timebombs, lasers, spotlights, forceblasts, etc.

Maggot... and who was the other one?

***

Maybe you should go on?

***

I asked this because I'm wondering if new POC characters NEED to be bigger, broader, and come from a more stereotypical angle --NOT a caricature. Storm was introduced as something of a stereotypical aloof pacifist but grew exponentially as she interacted with other strong personalities.

Similarly, Bishop is Judge Dredd / Terminator, and "grew" from there, despite growing in a time when character interactions weren't very fertile. IMWGMO, all these new POC characters fade because they're automatically team players and not distinctive enough. Maybe black male characters need to be drawn simpler and start from a far more bold "stereotype".

Whoa there, watch what you're saying or we're liable to get a whole bunch of ...loveable but brash ex-cons, heavy on ebonics. then look out for the bold and savvy ex-pimp with a copycat power of bright, colorful loud explosions like Jubilee!

[Uncanny Mutie]

Rogue also started out with taking and keeping Ms. Marvel's power set though. So she was had her powers of absorption but also a whole other powerset that let her be a power house. The Black male characters all written and seem to be limited to what is going on at the time in the book.

Now is this intentional? I don't believe so. However, I would say that it is entirely possible on the outward view of Black's influenced what powers writers few they should have. Similar to the lighting based powers in the old days and the super intellect (but still somehow remain sidekicked) powers of today.

This reminds me of another thing that has always held Bishop back. His absorption powers are so limited and ill-defined, that if he doesn't absorb any energy blasts from an opponent, he's basically just a big, generic, 90s style "bad ass" with huge guns, which is very BORING and WEAK on a team where everybody else who he is fighting with and fighting against all has some type of obvious and usually cool super powers.

People read comics mostly for the fantasy of it all. Kids want to be able to fly and punch through brick walls like classic Rogue, shoot blasts out of their eyes like Cyclops, heal from any wound like Wolverine, or even read minds like Professor X. No one wants to just be the guy who just shoots GUNS in the midst of all those other cool, imaginative power sets. You don't need to be an X-Man or a superpowered imaginary character to shoot guns. You can join the military or your local police force and do that. VERY pedestrian and boring, for a character surrounded by others who have OBVIOUS (and often times, extremely powerful) super powers.

EDIT: Cable already had the "big, gun slinging bad ass" thing covered, and he did it FIRST in the X-books and did it much better, which also made Bishop look redundant.