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To celebrate the upcoming 60th anniversary of Spider-Man, Marvel released a new comic featuring the character of Miles Morales in a hypothetical storyline.
Unfortunately, the comic was met with immediate backlash for racially stereotyping the character.
Morales is one of the characters known as Spider-Man from the Ultimate universe who was featured in the 2018 animated film, Enter the Spider-Verse.
The new comic in the What If? series shows what happens if Morales became Thor instead of the famed web-slinger.
However, the comic written by Yehudi Mercado and illustrated by Luigi Zagaria–who are both non-Black–was accused of perpetuating racist stereotypes about Black men and Black neighborhoods.
\u201cmiles morales as urban\u2122\ufe0f thor makes me want comics etc to go back to being outwardly racist\u201d— cheef o'brien (@cheef o'brien) 1655479439
\u201c& i really dont wanna call dude out specifically but of course the writer is non-black & maybe if they got someone of african descent shit wouldnt come off as minstrel comics\u201d— cheef o'brien (@cheef o'brien) 1655479439
The latest issue explores Morales as the God of Thunder, Thor, in Asgard.
But the look of the realm associated with the deities of Norse mythology is quite a departure here.
The Asgard in which Morales is Thor is represented with buildings splattered with graffiti, shoes dangling from phone lines, and other urban aesthetics reminiscent of Brooklyn, New York where the original character is from.
\u201cThere are reasons why black people keep asking for black characters to be written by black writers and drawn by black artists. \n\nThat Miles Morales as Thor comic is legit one of those reasons.\u201d— ShonuffKay (@ShonuffKay) 1655489716
Even his Moljnir, the divine hammer Thor uses, is covered in graffiti and Morales shouts, "It's hammer time!" whenever he is about to strike down with it.
The "hammer time" catchphrase is an on-the-nose nod to the one rapper MC Hammer used in the 1990s chart-topper, "U Can't Touch This."
Marvel fans found the new comics a parody of what a Black Thor would be.
\u201cNah bro. That new WHAT IF Miles Morales as Thor is lowkey-- no HIGHKEY RACIST AS HELL. Gross as stereotypes.\n\n'Asgard is the hood'\n'By Odin's Fade'\n'Graffiti thor hammer'\u201d— G \ud83c\udf75 (@G \ud83c\udf75) 1655519297
\u201cmarvel comic writer: okay so if miles morales was thanos he would collect the infinity rocks onto the infinity chain (bling) to unleash a devastating wave check on all living things, capping anyone without enough drip.\nmarvel editor: i'm going to let you do everything about this\u201d— adam, "cook's choice" (@adam, "cook's choice") 1655509154
\u201cFun Fact. This is the only issue in the What If? Miles Morales series not written by a Black Author. It\u2019s also the only one that leans on racist tropes. I bet there\u2019s a connection \ud83e\udd14\u201d— Bela Lugosi's meds\ud83d\udd25 (@Bela Lugosi's meds\ud83d\udd25) 1655494299
\u201cThis issue of what if Miles Morales just reminds me of this tiktok\u201d— Chris| WAITING FOR NOBARA (@Chris| WAITING FOR NOBARA) 1655506934
\u201cI know everyone is talking about "Asgard is his hood" and "By Odin's Fade" in the Miles Morales Thor comic but let's not ignore that the writer has him say All Eyes on Me because it's also the name of a rap album\u201d— Octo 3 & Knuckles \ud83d\udc79 (@Octo 3 & Knuckles \ud83d\udc79) 1655509345
Many fans were thrilled when writer Brian Michael Bendis introduced the 13-year-old Morales–who is the biracial son of an Black father and a Puerto Rican mother–in Ultimate Fallout #4 in 2011, following the death of Peter Paker.
Others at the time believed the introduction of a minority Spider-Man was a publicity stunt to attract more readers.
Now this iteration of Morales is being criticized for its lazy depiction of a Black character in a setting rife with Black stereotypes.
\u201cThat new Miles Morales What If Comic is extremely racist man\u2026stop letting White men write for black characters bro idc\u201d— Dre\ud83d\udc0d (@Dre\ud83d\udc0d) 1655477663
\u201cMiles Morales has been one of the most mismanaged Marvel characters in comics that has always had immense potential. His comics are either boring or whatever this WhatIf bs is... He could be so much more than just black Spider-man if y'all actually treated him like a character.\u201d— Yuhhhh (@Yuhhhh) 1655578588
\u201cThe writers of Miles Morales as Thor\u201d— Ben Kenobi \ud83c\udf0c (@Ben Kenobi \ud83c\udf0c) 1655650361
\u201cNah bro. That new WHAT IF Miles Morales as Thor is lowkey-- no HIGHKEY RACIST AS HELL. Gross as stereotypes.\n\n'Asgard is the hood'\n'By Odin's Fade'\n'Graffiti thor hammer'\u201d— G \ud83c\udf75 (@G \ud83c\udf75) 1655519297
\u201cmiles morales thor is so racist you\u2019d think it was written by jk rowling\u201d— \ud835\udc12\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc2c\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1a\ud83d\udd2a (@\ud835\udc12\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc2c\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1a\ud83d\udd2a) 1655503427
Marvel fans are hoping Shameik Moore will save the day when the actor and rapper returns to voice Miles Morales in the two-parter sequel to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Part One is scheduled for an October 7, 2022 release, with Part Two to follow at an undisclosed date in 2023.