7 Times Hollywood Whitewashed (And Straightwashed) Comic Book Characters
6. Mystique: Straightwashed
Fox
Fox's X-Men series is a whole lot of things, but - when it comes to Mystique at least - they aren't all that authentic.
In the comics, Raven Darkholme (played by Rebecca Romjin in the original series and by Jennifer Lawrence later on) is bisexual, having had a longtime affair with fellow mutant Destiny. Mystique would, of course, give birth to Nightcrawler, and later fostered Rogue with Destiny too, but her love for her longtime partner was a constant force throughout.
While the character of Irene Adler is yet to get a live action nod, that shouldn't stop Fox from representing Mystique as she is in the comics. Portrayed as being somewhat one-note in the original series, the character has - for better or for worse - received a great deal of exploration in the post-First Class state of things.
Her relationship with Eric has, thankfully, received a more authentic portrayal in recent years too, so hopefully the character's sexuality will finally get acknowledged in the upcoming Dark Phoenix.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
