Via the Spider-Verse’s Spider-Woman needs no defense

No screenshots Spider-Man: Through the Spider-Verse It’ll get people talking, and the latest trailer from early in the week delivered a slew of spiders People fall in love with them instantly. While the trailer mainly focuses on the original spider verse A trio of Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, and Peter B. Parker, two of the substantial additions in the sequel are Miguel O’Hara / Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac) and Jessica Drew / Spider-Man (Issa Rae).

The inclusion of any Spider B-Tier in this movie is going to spark some sort of reaction, and that’s exactly what’s going on here at next to. Not only Jessica Pregnant, based on the 2015-2017 comic book story by Dennis Hublis and Javier Rodriguez, is also black. As in, black appears in a way that leaves no room for any interpretation or mental gymnastics. The reception was basically what you would expect; A combination of “Oh, she’s black?” and “Oh, she black?!,” with the latter forming a group of people who probably never cared for the comic book version of Jessica Drew to begin with suddenly had a lot to say about how ruining her character is because she has melanin.

This is something we see all the time when a predetermined character – whether it’s from comics, games, or something else – becomes a different race than they were before, which is often white. It is the most powerful fuel for the internet nerd economy: if a character who was white or read white was now made different gender Or played by an actor of color (see Starfire And the Batwoman as two Lots, many Examples), this hate can be monetized for clicks, views, and influence. A lot of that is down to people wanting to get some of the plunge, wanting to set things right, and standing up for next to’ Jessica Drew noting that the file A native The original Spider-Woman was BIt lacks a woman named Valerie the librarian from 1974 Super Speedy Stories #1 by Jean Thomas Winslow Mortimer.

But here’s the catch, gangster: It just isn’t worth it. These guys don’t really care that you corrected them on a comic book date, and they probably don’t really care that Jessica was Primarily black. They do it just for the sake of doing it, because they know they can and will Their notoriety increases the more they are immersed in the proverb. Correcting them or slandering them in the replies, or even just quoting their tweet, isn’t really a win, because they see how they provoked you into the black hole of ignorance. Again, they probably didn’t care about Jessica in the first place, so there’s no point in letting them get under your skin.

And even if they really did care that Jessica is a black woman now, it’s not like it matters. This is a movie that will debut in theaters in six months. The character itself has already been designed, written, animated and voiced. Unlike Paramount with sonic the hedgehog, There is no real legitimate threat that Sony will push the movie back and take it down. There’s a strong shot that being black was something that happened even before Ray was cast in the role, and there’s no plausible reason to go back to it. Drawing too much effort for her against this kind of person also does a disservice to the character, running the risk of smothering any genuine criticism you might have. her after the movie comes out. At this point, it won’t be a character, just another chess piece in the eternal rhetoric wars that so many Marvel things easily fall into.

It’s not anyone’s job to come to Jessica Drew’s aid, and it’s not against people who have decided they hate her based on nothing at this point other than her looks. She is a character who will surely remain in the Sony universe Adventures of animated superheroes, as she will gather her own fan base and be appreciated by those who either see themselves in her or find her cool as a character. Let her win your attention on her own merits, and not because someone pits you against it.

Spider-Man: Through the Spider-Verse It hits theaters on June 2, 2023.

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