The problem with Perlmutter

However, the comics aren’t the only thing that’s diversifying, so are Marvel studios.  Coming in 2018 is “Black Panther,” the studios first film about a black superhero, and it only took ten years, while 2019 marks their first female led film with “Captain Marvel.”  While on the Netflix side they already have “Marvel’s Luke Cage,“ a show following an African-American hero on his journey to save Harlem from mob boss, Cotton Mouth.  Along with their upcoming series “Cloak & Dagger,” about two young heroes one being black and the other is female, and “Runaways,” about  a team of young, diverse heroes who team up to fight their supervillain parents.

But who is responsible for keeping Marvel comics so far behind the times?  Well most attribute most of this to Isaac Perlmutter, CEO of Marvel comics and man former head of Marvel Studios until Disney but Kevin Feige in charge.  Perlmutter isn’t quite seen as the nicest guy as he has had many Marvel writers, editors, letterers, inkers, colorists, and everyone in between complain about his disrespect for people who work at Marvel and his racist, sexist, and homophobic remarks.  This is the guy who Terrance Howard replaced with Don Cheadle in “Iron Man 2” because according to him all black people “look the same.”   Yes, he’s one of those people.

Yet diversifying classic characters is not Marvel’s problem.  Marvel is Marvel’s problem.  In recent years Marvel comics has been going through some changes in more recent years, in large part because of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  You see while characters like Steve Rogers and Tony Stark can stay young forever in the comics, actors like Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. just cannot.  Downey Jr. alone is already in his fifties and Evans has stated he wants to focus more on directing and that is leaving Marvel with two choices.  Retire the character of Iron Man in the movies for good, or find a new actor or actress to play the role.  So the comics have become more of a test ground for characters and stories to do in the movies.

Recently Marvel announced their newest event Marvel Legacy, promising to bring back “hope, wonder, enjoyment and fun,” to the pages of Marvel comics.  Which basically means that they will be focusing more on characters that have been killed off or that have been out of the spotlight in recent years.  Heroes like, Hulk, Iron Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Thor.  However, they stated they would also be focusing on their more profitable diversified characters such as Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel, and Miles Morales.  Though it is uncertain is Perlmutter learned from recent events, Marvel comics is on its way to progress, very, very slowly.