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

[donpricetag]

To be clear with everyone here - I'm not down with this lumping all of us together nonsense. Again, I think you all mean well but to me it's starting to come off as an appearance-thing and that's not where I'm coming from with this. Might want to pump the brakes a little bit guys.

[chief12d]

Depends on your definition of black. If you define it as purely a phenotype, it's possible to be black but not African. Aboriginals, Melanesians, certain Indian ethnic groups all fit the definition of "black" because they share physical features commonly associated with blackness even if genetically and culturally they share very little with black Africans.

It's similar to how you have certain groups in North Africa and the Middle East that share a lot of features with Western Europeans but have distinct genetic and cultural markers from them. Blackness and whiteness are determined by development in a certain environment, so it's not clear cut.

By that logic, I consider Bishop to be black but not African or a member of the diaspora. Just because he shares physical traits with Africans and comes from a culture with a shared history of oppression does not mean he's the same as Storm or Falcon. Black Africans and black people in places like Australia and Fiji have almost nothing to do with each other. So by all means call him black, but I don't give him equal stature to black characters with origins in Africa.

Though it's been implied on more than one occasion that he has an African grandmother, whether it be Storm or M. That would probably change my mind on the topic but I doubt modern writers care enough to explore that. Bishop is almost exclusively played by black American actors anyway and the chances of his Aborigine origins being ignored in the MCU is very high, so it's a moot point tbh.

[Devaishwarya]

To be clear with everyone here - I'm not down with this lumping all of us together nonsense. Again, I think you all mean well but to me it's starting to come off as an appearance-thing and that's not where I'm coming from with this. Might want to pump the brakes a little bit guys.

What do you mean, by this? (genuinely asking) as I don't see anyone stating anything to that effect.

[Micabe]

Shard Bishop has black eyebrows -- My guess is that she is a Miss Clairol 12G/HL-G- High Lift Golden Blonde dye job.

[marhawkman]

Depends on your definition of black. If you define it as purely a phenotype, it's possible to be black but not African. Aboriginals, Melanesians, certain Indian ethnic groups all fit the definition of "black" because they share physical features commonly associated with blackness even if genetically and culturally they share very little with black Africans.

It's similar to how you have certain groups in North Africa and the Middle East that share a lot of features with Western Europeans but have distinct genetic and cultural markers from them. Blackness and whiteness are determined by development in a certain environment, so it's not clear cut.

By that logic, I consider Bishop to be black but not African or a member of the diaspora. Just because he shares physical traits with Africans and comes from a culture with a shared history of oppression does not mean he's the same as Storm or Falcon. Black Africans and black people in places like Australia and Fiji have almost nothing to do with each other. So by all means call him black, but I don't give him equal stature to black characters with origins in Africa.

Though it's been implied on more than one occasion that he has an African grandmother, whether it be Storm or M. That would probably change my mind on the topic but I doubt modern writers care enough to explore that. Bishop is almost exclusively played by black American actors anyway and the chances of his Aborigine origins being ignored in the MCU is very high, so it's a moot point tbh.

His mother was said to have energy manipulation powers and did kinda look a bit like Storm.

[Will Evans]

Yeah, but an old black female mutant with white graying hair doesn’t necessarily mean Storm.

[Micabe]

His mother was said to have energy manipulation powers and did kinda look a bit like Storm.

Kadee and Burnum Bishop

Yeah, but an old black female mutant with white graying hair doesn’t necessarily mean Storm.

While, Earth-1191 is an alternate future set 80 years in the future -- Lucas' (unnamed) grandmother could have been any Indigenous Australian female mutant -- although, it was heavily imply (thru future, past and present visuals) that it may have been a very old Ororo Monroe (See: X-Men: The Times and Life of Lucas Bishop #3).

[BroHomo]

Bishop IMHO
hemiight not be African-American but he's Black

[Micabe]

Frenzy, Joanna Cargill

[Huntsman Spider]

Frenzy, Joanna Cargill

That's actually a very salient point. Intersectional oppression isn't talked about that much, if at all, in the X-Men franchise, probably because of the overall makeup of who's actually writing the stories and who's centered in those stories in the first place.

[marhawkman]

That's actually a very salient point. Intersectional oppression isn't talked about that much, if at all, in the X-Men franchise, probably because of the overall makeup of who's actually writing the stories and who's centered in those stories in the first place.

Real-world forms of discrimination get brought up occasionally, but they're the exception rather than the rule.

[Huntsman Spider]

Real-world forms of discrimination get brought up occasionally, but they're the exception rather than the rule.

Naturally, because the people writing the stories, by and large, aren't necessarily familiar with real-world discrimination and marginalization to begin with --- and sometimes, it can really show.

[marhawkman]

Naturally, because the people writing the stories, by and large, aren't necessarily familiar with real-world discrimination and marginalization to begin with --- and sometimes, it can really show.

I think part of it is that when you're doing a story with a discrimination analogy doubling down makes the story bog down.

[skyvolt2000]

I think part of it is that when you're doing a story with a discrimination analogy doubling down makes the story bog down.

Not when the hated for a black person overshadows the fear of being a mutant.

Generation X during Larry Hama's run saw racist go at and beat down Synch but left the others all alone.

In Sam Wilson CA-Sam bought the real villain in and the courts still tossed Rage into jail.

[BroHomo]

I think part of it is that when you're doing a story with a discrimination analogy doubling down makes the story bog down.

Usually by the writers clumsy handling of the situation