The recent developments with Ms Marvel, Thor and Captain America are nothing new, as we've seen. More specifically, however, they're nothing new for Marvel, who have been dipping their toes in recasting their flagship heroes with more diverse alter egos for the past couple of years. The first big change they made was killing off the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker, and replacing him with the half-black, half-Latino teen Miles Morales. Well, they did it in the alternate Ultimate universe, anyway, but that didn't stop people from getting their panties in a bunch over the radical change. Andrew Garfield, who currently plays the titular role in the Amazing Spider-Man movies, has spoken out before about how he'd've liked to make the big screen incarnation of Peter Parker gay, or bisexual. His reasoning is that Peter is supposed to be a sort of downtrodden, oppressed kid - the sort who channels all his frustrations and righteousness into fighting crime. It's a key part of the character's backstory, that he's bullied at school and a total dork. It's part of the reason so many people identify with him. Thing is, white dudes really aren't an oppressed minority in this day and age, are they? For it to be believable that Spider-Man would get such a hard time in his day-to-day life, he'd have to be someone who does incite the prejudices of others. He has to be an actual outsider, the way he is even when he puts on the costume. In which case, Miles Morales makes perfect sense. He's a mixed race kid from a broken home, living in New York, trying to do his best. He appeals to a far wider audience than Peter Parker could in the modern day, plus his struggles smack less of First World Problems. Putting aside all the political stuff, however, there's one reason while Miles has been so successful as a replacement Spider-Man: because he's a different character. He's not a different take on Peter, he's somebody totally different - he even has different powers. He's not trying to replace Spider-Man but, like Kamala Khan or Carol Danvers or Dick Grayson, trying to carry on his legacy and good work whilst being his own distinct person. That's what it takes to be a really successful replacement superhero. Let's see if Lady Thor and Sam Wilson are up to the challenge...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
