The Mission: THE COLOR BARRIER - The Uncompelling Proposition of a Bi-Racial Spider-Man in the MCU

[macicenuke]

I just want Peter Parker... the real Peter Parker... the caucasian nerdy good-hearted stand-up comedian superhero from Queens... the character I have visually seen in the four color books since I was a little kid.... to finally be adapted to the screen PROPERLY and to finally interact with 90% of the MU characters that he's shared a universe with since 1962. And I'm saying this as a Hispanic male.

[Vortex85]

I don't want Miles Morales, he's so bland and boring. Peter is a better character with a better story, and (if they want it) I think that changing his race wouldn't be so problematic to adapt. And not only to black, he can be also hispanic, indian, muslim, chinese... i think indian or muslim would be my favourite...

Changing Peter's race would likely result in a backlash with a lot of fans, and would disappoint and upset all the Miles fans, who are basically the only reason we are talking about changing Peter's race in the first place. Imagine how it would look to fans of Miles Morales. If you change Peter's race, thats a slap in the face, and a big "NO, we aren't giving you Miles ever. Here is a black Peter instead."

Also, it's not even a matter of race, it's that it would look nothing like Peter. People are very concerned with how much actors resemble Peter in the comics.... they would likely backlash if you made Peter blonde, too tan, or too buff. It's a matter of realizing a character on screen, and someone as big as Spidey gets a lot of scrutiny over how closely he resembles the Peter we all know.

[alexh]

I think Miles being used is fairly improbable, just because of brand recognition reasons - no Peter means also leaving out all or most his supporting cast too, and having a Spider-man without Aunt May, Uncle Ben or Mary Jane or whoever is probably just too much of a point of confusion for the general public who have never heard of Miles before and already know Spider-man through any of his hundreds of other adaptations.

A Peter Parker who wasn't 100% caucasian white on the other hand is a different matter, that way you preserve the lore so as not to scare off the casual fans, and, if nothing else, will generate a lot of media buzz. A hispanic Peter I see as the most likely option if they do go that route - that way they would generate some buzz but not be straying that far from the "classic look" in a way that'd confuse casual viewers.

[Smoov-E]

Economically its a risk not worth taking. The vast majority of the people who go to watch Marvel films do not buy comics. The vast majority have no idea who Miles Morales is. They know Peter Parker. Explaining to the general public that Spider-man isn't Peter Parker isn't likely to get more people watching the film.
And as the author says no-one will not go to see this film if peter Parker is Spidey

Except the vast majority that watch the news which did features on him before he debuted or the vast majority both domestic and internationally that watched him debut in Spider-Man Web Warriors cartoon or the vast majority that keeps his tpb in the top seller colomn.

By this point in time it should be known to the online comic readers that the outside world knows about Miles Morales and Kamala Khan but are we really gonna act like the last five years just never happened?

[David_99]

Miles may have worked without all the reboots. If movie Peter today was a continuation of the 2001 version, it could have worked. After 5 movies and 15 years, his story could heroically end and he be replaced. But a legacy character has little legacy to uphold if the hero he's replacing barely made a name for himself In the first place. With every reboot, Pete starts over at or near the begining. This also goes for the other Spider characters; Mayday, the clones, Miguel etc.

[leo619]

Except the vast majority that watch the news which did features on him before he debuted or the vast majority both domestic and internationally that watched him debut in Spider-Man Web Warriors cartoon or the vast majority that keeps his tpb in the top seller colomn.

By this point in time it should be known to the online comic readers that the outside world knows about Miles Morales and Kamala Khan but are we really gonna act like the last five years just never happened?

I know right, it's like people forgot that the debut of Miles Morales was one of the most news heavy topics at that time frame, literally discussed from video game sites to regular news. That's not to say that Peter isn't a more recognizable character of course, but let's stop pretending like that the debut of Miles Morales didn't take the media by storm.

[Vortex85]

I know right, it's like people forgot that the debut of Miles Morales was one of the most news heavy topics at that time frame, literally discussed from video game sites to regular news. That's not to say that Peter isn't a more recognizable character of course, but let's stop pretending like that the debut of Miles Morales didn't take the media by storm.

Which is why it's a dumb idea to change Peter's race, as opposed to introducing Miles into the films somehow. If they want Miles, do Miles, not a black/hispanic Peter.

[Mister Mets]

He's kinda right.

There are more arguments for introducing the best character in comics to the MCU than for making the films about Miles Morales.

[WASUMARA]

I know right, it's like people forgot that the debut of Miles Morales was one of the most news heavy topics at that time frame, literally discussed from video game sites to regular news. That's not to say that Peter isn't a more recognizable character of course, but let's stop pretending like that the debut of Miles Morales didn't take the media by storm.

My friend, I from Mexico and just some fews knows him.

[shamus]

Racism has long been driven by economic factors. This analysis goes a long way to support that hypothesis.

[Iktomi2099]

Changing Peter's race would likely result in a backlash with a lot of fans, and would disappoint and upset all the Miles fans, who are basically the only reason we are talking about changing Peter's race in the first place. Imagine how it would look to fans of Miles Morales. If you change Peter's race, thats a slap in the face, and a big "NO, we aren't giving you Miles ever. Here is a black Peter instead."

Also, it's not even a matter of race, it's that it would look nothing like Peter. People are very concerned with how much actors resemble Peter in the comics.... they would likely backlash if you made Peter blonde, too tan, or too buff. It's a matter of realizing a character on screen, and someone as big as Spidey gets a lot of scrutiny over how closely he resembles the Peter we all know.

Yeah, I think you are right. But what I mean is that if the problem is who is a better Spider-man, Peter without doubt (Miles...he didn't started bad, but now is the most plain and boring character that I ever read. He doesn't deserve a film. Being a character in an alternative universe -Ultimate- or if they keep it as a secondary series character post Secret Wars -like Scarlet Spider or any other spider- it's ok, but absolutely not as the main spider-man in the new films.). However, if the problem is that there's not enough diversity (that it's a popular statement from what I read here in the forum, in different topics) I mean that changing the race of Peter is more desirable (and not a problem), for me, that having Miles "Tedious" Morales.

[Coal Tiger]

Except the vast majority that watch the news which did features on him before he debuted or the vast majority both domestic and internationally that watched him debut in Spider-Man Web Warriors cartoon or the vast majority that keeps his tpb in the top seller colomn.

By this point in time it should be known to the online comic readers that the outside world knows about Miles Morales and Kamala Khan but are we really gonna act like the last five years just never happened?

For someone who hasn't been paying attention to comics or cartoons in deep cable (the vast majority of the country), what happened in the last 5 years doesn't matter.

[Heisennerd]

Racism has long been driven by economic factors. This analysis goes a long way to support that hypothesis.

Basically. Corporate films are all about by profit.

[EuphemismForSex]

For someone who hasn't been paying attention to comics or cartoons in deep cable (the vast majority of the country), what happened in the last 5 years doesn't matter.

Pretty much.

The outside world certainly doesn't know Miles or Khamala, heck, I doubt they even know Captain Marvel. Which makes sense, considering the big draw for a lot of people here to the MCU is, "Marvel is the second coming for choosing lesser known characters, I'm so tired of the A-List" hipster stuff.

[Coal Tiger]

Pretty much.

The outside world certainly doesn't know Miles or Khamala, heck, I doubt they even know Captain Marvel. Which makes sense, considering the big draw for a lot of people here to the MCU is, "Marvel is the second coming for choosing lesser known characters, I'm so tired of the A-List" hipster stuff.

The Guardians of the Galaxy principle applies to Ms Marvel or Captain Marvel. No one has heard of those names, so anyone would work in the role, and if the movie's good, they could become a household name.

Spider-Man is already a household name, so is Peter Parker. There's already an expectation in the public for him to look and sound a certain way. Putting Miles in that role or even casting a black actor as Peter would definitely start a discussion, but I don't think Disney and Sony care about a discussion. They care about the guaranteed money that comes with something familiar.