Wait a second...Was Dr. Strange originally a Chinese man in the comics

[Strangefan]

Also, he was supposed to look like Vincent Price, they even gave the character the middle name of Vincent. Doctor Strange casting was not whitewashing, it just wasn't the diverse casting some may have wished for.

[Troian]

Many men and women in the middle east, europe and the like who have small eyes. Some even have the folds in them lol.
If he wasn't anything other than an Anglo American the creators would have shouted to the heavens back then but they didn't.

[Carabas]

Ditko's Steven Strange was originally oriental in much the same way that Ditko's Peter Parker was originally oriental.

[The Sword is Drawn]

Ditko's Steven Strange was originally oriental in much the same way that Ditko's Peter Parker was originally oriental.

Exactly. It was his style back then. Granted maybe the emphasis on Strange's stylised eyebrows conjures associations of how film, TV and theatre tended to 'black up' white actors as Oriental in the 50s and 60s. But it definitely isn't intended to be anything more than making him look in some way mystical and exotic.

[gwangung]

Exactly. It was his style back then. Granted maybe the emphasis on Strange's stylised eyebrows conjures associations of how film, TV and theatre tended to 'black up' white actors as Oriental in the 50s and 60s. But it definitely isn't intended to be anything more than making him look in some way mystical and exotic.

That's called "yellowface."

And it really isn't any better than whitewashing.

[The Sword is Drawn]

That's called "yellowface."

And it really isn't any better than whitewashing.

Yes, I'm sure there was a more precise term (hence the inverted commas). And I agree. It's terrible. Truly. It was something which shamefully did happen quite a lot in the 50s and 60s. Sometimes with more of an intentionally offensive propaganda slant (WW2 Japan still in mind, and some truly grotesque racial stereotypying) but not always so.

I think of how we were supposed to buy into Sean Connery as suddenly being convincingly disguised as Asian in You Only Live Twice, because he restyles his hair and eyebrows and squints his eyes a little. Not only is that a fundamentally shite disguise (which would not fool a single person on earth) but the fact the audience is being asked to buy into it at all is truly offensive.

It's kind of indefensible, but at the time it wasn't exactly uncommon in the media of the day. And certainly in Ditko's work here I don't think it was in any way designed to be offensive or malicious. It was a way of showing a transformation into a more mystic individual. Not to being a different ethnicity.

So not true yellowface. Unintentional, plausibly though.

[MichaelC]

It could be a Dr Droom situation where making a master of the mystic arts magically gives you Asian features.

Doctor Doom actually is south-asian. "Gypsies" are actually south-asians.

[Techno_Knight]

Doctor Doom actually is south-asian. "Gypsies" are actually south-asians.

The originals. The ones in the Balkans where Doom is located have race-mixed to some degree. I agree that he shouldn't look like a carbon copy of Reed though. The Maleev version is a good step IMO. Although I prefer the Marquez version.

As for Strange, I remember reading that the original plan was to make him Hungarian or something similar and tie him with Dracula. But in the end they went with the American version.

[Troian]

I think of how we were supposed to buy into Sean Connery as suddenly being convincingly disguised as Asian in You Only Live Twice, because he restyles his hair and eyebrows and squints his eyes a little. Not only is that a fundamentally shite disguise (which would not fool a single person on earth) but the fact the audience is being asked to buy into it at all is truly offensive.

I mean, Miranda cosgrove, Bjork and Summer Glau have all said that they're just European descent but because of features like their eyes, hairstyle, facial structure and what not they've all gotten asked if they're part Asian by even Asians themselves. So I think if they were to play a half Asian/Asian character, some people might find it believeable, especially Bjork!

Am I saying that what he did would not be perceived as offensive or wrong? No. But your hairstyle, eyes and cheekbones can help convince people that you might be of mixed origins. Look at Ezra Miller.

Also, I mean some people thought Namor wasn't drawn to look white so.

[Indian Ink]

Doctor Doom actually is south-asian. "Gypsies" are actually south-asians.

He said Droom not Doom.

[Michael Watkins]

I mean, Miranda cosgrove, Bjork and Summer Glau have all said that they're just European descent but because of features like their eyes, hairstyle, facial structure and what not they've all gotten asked if they're part Asian by even Asians themselves. So I think if they were to play a half Asian/Asian character, some people might find it believeable, especially Bjork!

Am I saying that what he did would not be perceived as offensive or wrong? No. But your hairstyle, eyes and cheekbones can help convince people that you might be of mixed origins. Look at Ezra Miller.

Also, I mean some people thought Namor wasn't drawn to look white so.

Namor wasn't even drawn to look human when he first appeared. his head looked like an elongated piece of pizza. Summer Glau really needs to do one of those ancestry.com things.