And I’m not talking about Symbiote Spider-Man either…
Original photo by Sid Grossman, 1939. Minimate images courtesy of Stuckakid.com
By Fujis
Since the Marvel Minimates line debuted in 2002 we have seen eleven waves released with waves 12 and 13 on the way. In those four years we have only seen six African American figures!
Ultimate Storm, Classic Storm, Power Man, Blade, Bishop, and the as-yet-unreleased Luke Cage make up the entire black roster for the Marvel line. That’s 6 figures out of 129 Marvel minimates (not counting the Minimate Max statues), meaning African American characters represent just over 4% of the total number of Marvel minimates.
Which begs the question: Where are all the black minimates?
The Marvel Universe has a library of over 5000 characters and less than 200 of those are black. Some notables that have yet to be ‘mated are The Black Panther, Cloak (of Cloak and Dagger), The Falcon, The Prowler, Robbie Robertson, Tombstone, and War Machine. There are also numerous other second-string, lesser known heroes and villians that could and should join the ranks of minimates. I’m not saying that we need “affirmative action” with regards to which characters get the minimate treatment but certainly such high profile characters such as Cloak and War Machine should be forthcoming.
Now I know this question is unfair as there are more factors than race that determine which characters get made into minimates such as popularity with the fans and maybe more importantly, popularity with the retailers.
Perhaps a better question then would be: Where are all the black superheroes in the comics?
Arguably the most famous black superhero, or perhaps more accurately called an anti-hero, is Todd McFarlane’s Spawn. McFarlane worked for Marvel before leaving to create Image Comics where Spawn continues to be one of the company’s best selling titles. The best selling black Marvel character might be…Luke Cage. And he doesn’t even have his own book anymore.I don’t mean to be picking on Marvel. A company created in 1939 whose most notable characters were created during segregation…well, frankly, it’s no doubt they underutilize African American characters.
Other races aren’t well represented as minimates either. There are only four Asian characters: Lady Deathstrike, Mariko Yoshida, Kabuki, and Sharon “Boomer” Valerii, two Hispanic characters: Elektra and Ronin, and one Native American character: Thunderbird.
My point is this: the cultural fabric of the United States is changing. A 2000 census showed that the African American population was 34.7 million making them the second-largest minority group in the country. Along with the 35.3 million Hispanics they comprise 24.8% of the population. It is estimated based on current trends that by 2050, 1 out of every four Americans with be Hispanic (from The Population Resource Center).
This isn’t a soapbox. I’m not well-informed enough , or witty enough, or American enough. But I do know this: children learn while playing. And introducing a child to ethnic and cultural diversity will only broaden her horizons. ‘Nuff said.
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You should check out Superman in the Cotton Fields: Comics in Black and White; Mostly White by W. Scott Poole or one of the other 49 articles at The Museum of Black Superheroes. Tons of profiles, fan-art, and articles, it’s worth a look if you’ve never seen it and a second look if you’ve only seen it once!
