Originally Posted by
grilledcheesing
Basically what it says on the tin. When I first got into the character, I assumed it was a given that fans would want the movies to adapt ol' Vic's backstory faithfully, including his ethnic persecution at the hands of the Latverian government on account of his Romani identity. However, spending long hours lurking on various forums revealed a surprising number of people to me who dislike this aspect of the character's mythos and want the movies to tweak it. Here are some of the arguments I've seen both for and against keeping the character's backstory:
Against:
- Having a POC villain against four white heroes is a bad look
- They only made him a "gypsy" in the first place because he could do magic, which is racist in and of itself
- The depiction of Eastern Europeans as bigoted pseudo-Nazis against the virtuous, innocent Romani ethnic group is an offensive, unfair, inaccurate, and skewed
portrayal of a very complex (and almost exclusively European) issue that likely can't/won't be able to be explored within the limited runtime of an American Marvel blockbuster
- It's never been that important to the character, as he never engages with/in Romani culture as an adult, is never shown speaking the language or engaging with the community and their issues, and is rarely drawn with typical Romani features
- To portray Eastern European Romani culture accurately would have to fundamentally change how Victor is raised, as actual Balkan gypsy culture is wildly different (and not necessarily in flattering ways) than its extremely Westernized, romanticized, outdated, and inaccurate portrayal in the comics
- Fans only cling to his Romani heritage because it makes them feel better about stanning a murderous dictator
For:
- It's representation for a marginalized group
- It's been a part of his backstory since the 1960s, so why change it?
- Marvel needs to "make up for" whitewashing the Maximoff twins (who are Romani in the comics); doing it again to Victor would just be rubbing salt in the wound
- His identity is an integral part of who he is; i.e., erasing his Romani background fundamentally changes the character
- It adds an important element of sympathy to an otherwise unsympathetic character (e.g., murderous petty spiteful autocrat)
- It's an opportunity to educate audiences about the issues Romani people face in real life and call attention to their history and current situation (or just educate them on the existence of Romani people in the first place)
Personally, I'm of the opinion that so as long as he faces some sort of oppression for being a member of some sort of lower class (whether that class be racial/ethnic, economic (extremely poor, in other words), or even spiritual/religious (for example, his mother practicing witchcraft in extremely Orthodox Christian Eastern Europe)), then it does the job in setting up his insecurities and overcompensating need for power and control in adulthood. Thus, while I think it's perfectly fine if they choose to keep Doom Romani (while putting in the effort to make it an accurate and fair depiction, of course), I don't think it's strictly necessary for the character to work. Thoughts?