I think what Mat was trying to convey in the article was the fact that we are lacking in the diversity department in comics. I can 100% jump on the train that that needs to change and I think a majority of us can agree on that. However, the point in which the road forks in where you get into the territory on exactly HOW you go about doing that. Do you create a new character, like Kamala? Or do you re-invent an old character, like Wally? With the former, you run the risk that the character won't catch on and will be a comic book bomb (i.e. Simon Baz). With the latter, you also run the risk of alienating existing fans of an established character (i.e. Any character changes in the New 52). It's a treacherous line to walk, as the pendulum could swing either way. Another tricky part of this would be the fact that not everyone identifies with race, sexual orentation or religion. I sometimes identify with those of the same religion, but I know that not everyone else does. Same way for those who identify with ethnicity, some do and some don't. You can't force someone to care about something they couldn't give a gosh darn about ("it would have been something different for Comic Vine After Dark ;D").
Okay, now it's time for my personal opinion on the subject… so batten down the hatches. I'm personally on the create a new character side, however, I can see where there are those who wouldn't mind a change like Wally. As long as the ethnicity doesn't define that character, I'm okay with that. But I jumped ship once they changed one of my favorite characters; Helena Bertinelli. She was the daughter of full-blood Italian Mobsters (long lost granddaughter of Vito Corleone, perhaps?), and I found that truly fascinating that we got an inside look at the mafia from a heroes perspective. But what's this!? In the new 52, she's no longer Italian, nor is she formally in the mafia, nay, she is a spy and she's African-American. Talk about an arrow to my heart. I tried not to get upset, because it's just a comic book, but someone I had become attached to, suddenly took a 180 degree angle and was redefined. That hurt. To me, her nationality defined her. Just like the nationality of Thor or Black Panther shouldn't change, this was on those grounds for me. And I swear, if they say she was adopted by the mafia, it will signal to me, it was change for change sake. And I don't want that. I want an organic change, and that's why creating someone like Miles Morales, was the best thing to happen to Marvel's Ultimate Universe. You look back on that and you can't deny the "amazing"-ness of his character and what he did to the Ultimate Spider-Man Universe. In conclusion, this is my opinion, I know others don't share it but that's okay. But with all this change that has been happening at the Big Two, you have to ask the question. Does race matter? Does sex matter? What defines a person? These are questions that won't warrant a single answer. Because, no matter how hard we try, we are not the same. Everyone is different, we will all have our, sometimes overreacting, opinions. But hey, that's what makes us human. So let's try to lay this puppy to rest and call it a day. Because this could go on aaaaaalllllllllllll day, trust me… me and my friend tried -_- it was a fruitless and pointless endeavor, still slightly fun, not going to lie, civil conflict can be good… but hey, that's another short essay for another day.
P.S. I agree with @inferiorego, we need more Martians in comics!! I mean, what we have like two?! Talk about a minority ;)
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