6. Why Always America?
MarvelWe just sort of took it as a given that the majority of superheroes were not only white dudes, but also American. Which we shouldn't, because it makes about as much sense as the relative dearth of other races amongst mainstream comic books, even though it's probably for the exact same reason (because most superhero comics are made by Americans, for Americans). But where the lack of diversity in, say, Hollywood movies can be put down to - admittedly crummy - arguments like audiences not wanting to read subtitles or whatever, you can't use the same excuse in comics. Since you read those. And there's no limits on budget, as there might be in a TV show upping sticks to shoot in an exotic locale for a little while. So why all the American superheroes? Every so often we get a caped crusader from a foreign land - in fact that was the premise of the Batman Incorporated series, where Bruce Wayne went around the world recruiting apprentices who could become the international equivalents of the Dark Knight. From that we got Japanese, Native American, Argentinian, and South African Batmen, but they were mostly novelties that have been all but forgotten in the comics published today. That's the real problem that these characters face. Black Panther is the only superhero from the African nation of Wakanda in Marvel Comics, and in DC you were lucky to get the Global Guardians, which again included just one hero each from a bunch of non-American countries. There's no actual reason that so many superheroes should end up in the US, however. Even if you make the argument that, say, all those who got their powers from radiation during the Cold War...well, there should surely be an equal number of Russian superheroes, especially with the countries' comparable sizes to boot?