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The promotional material for the third issue of Brian Michael Bendis’ Spider-Man promised Miles Morales would go up against “his toughest villain yet.” It did not disappoint, as the young hero and his family are subjected to an irascible jerk of a woman for most of the book. I found myself at times shocked that social-justice obsessed Marvel would allow a minority character to be written with so many flaws until Bendis disclosed the reason why: She’s a Christian hypocrite.
Spider-Man #3 is a perfect example of how Marvel’s track record for inserting politics into comics alienates fans and mars an otherwise good title. It also shows how a good writer can subtly insert an agenda into his book so that many readers will be none the wiser.
Unlike other writers at Marvel, Bendis understands that most people will not care about the character under the mask if his personal life is not adequately developed. Readers will not be invested in supporting cast members if they randomly fly past the hero’s obit on occasion like a comet.
If Miles’ grandmother is going to play a huge part in his life moving forward, then it makes sense that an entire issue would be devoted to introducing her to the audience. If not, then the decision was a waste of time. I’m inclined to give Bendis the benefit of the doubt due to his track record.
The problem, at least as far as this reader is concerned, is that once again a Marvel book shines an unfavorable light on Christianity.
Miles grandmother generally acts like a buffoon. The way she treats his father is horrible. She shows zero respect for her own daughter. She barrels through the house and leaves anger and confusion in her wake, and then when she tries to show a softer side she tells Miles, “Let Jesus be your guide.”
Indeed, that is great advice. Unfortunately, it seems as though the only time Marvel talent puts a spotlight on Christianity it is in a negative light.
- Dan Slott of The Amazing Spider-Man tells Christians who win legal cases before the U.S. Supreme Court to go to “Christ-Land.” (I’m still waiting for him to tell a bunch of Jews to go to Jew-topia over a similar disagreement, but I don’t think that will happen.)
- Nick Lowe dresses up as the pope for Halloween for laughs because dressing up as Mohammed or an Orthodox Jew would require personal and professional courage.
- Dan Slott used the San Bernardino, California, terror attack to mock Christians who prayed to God after the massacre.
- Jose Molina’s “point” tales in ASM turned Peter Parker into The Amazing Spider-Atheist — so much so that he called God a “lie” after Uncle Ben’s death.
Under normal circumstances there would be no reason to care about having a Christian hypocrite appear in the Marvel universe because everyone is guilty of hypocrisy at some point. We are all fallible.
The reason why it is an issue with Marvel as a company is because there is a repeated pattern of anti-Christian sentiment disseminated by its staff.
Jose Molina’s Peter Parker will call God “a lie,” but where is the Marvel character who openly calls God “the Truth” in print? Daredevil is a Catholic, but his faith is regularly ignored and Tom Brevoort makes jokes of that fact on Formspring.
How sad is it that fans of the character have to watch the Netflix series to see him go to confession or make the sign of the cross?
Brian Michael Bendis will introduce a Christian hypocrite who is incredibly grating to readers, but when will they get a Christian character who is the modern equivalent of Saint Francis, Dom L. Scupoli Apulia, G.K. Chesterton, St. John of the Cross, etc.?
Regular readers of this blog know that I have given Bendis’ work great word of mouth for months — for both Invincible Iron Man and Spider-Man.
I want to support Marvel, but there is almost no reason to do so when time after time its creators needlessly take sucker punches at my faith or political persuasion.
With that said, the only other development in the issue involves Black Cat, who apparently wants to go after the “new” Spider-Man in town.
Marvel’s insistence on portraying Black Cat as a wannabe Mafia Queen is laughable. As is the case with every other editorial misstep, the guys in charge would rather dig their heels into a stupid-trench than admit they were wrong.
Spider-Man #3 is an important issue in terms of establishing family dynamics that will come into play in the months ahead, but it should also serve as a red flag for potential customers of faith.
When there is a chance to denigrate your worldview, Marvel will almost always jump at the opportunity. Its best writers insult you with kind of finesse that on some level is impressive, but they insult you nonetheless.
Do not buy this book if you are sick and tired veiled and unveiled political pot shots by Marvel’s writers and editors.
Exit question: Should I continue reviewing Bendis’ Spider-Man? On some level I feel as though it is important to shed light on what Marvel is doing. My thought process is that I may spend $50 a year reviewing a book, but exposing political or religious suck-punches will cost the company more in the long run. Let me know what you think in the comments section below.
Douglas Ernst Blog 
More of the same from Marvel. Ugh. I really wish I could get into some of the current books, but it’s stuff like this that keeps me away. I’m glad the movies have refrained from this kind of thing, and I hope that doesn’t change.
Regarding your exit question, I always appreciate your reviews on Marvel books. I wouldn’t know about what’s happening in them otherwise since I don’t stay up to date. I don’t come across conservative commentary on comics all that often, so I’m glad that your voice is out there. It’s nice to have a community here that’s just as sick of all this as I am. Keep up the good work!
“Regarding your exit question, I always appreciate your reviews on Marvel books. I wouldn’t know about what’s happening in them otherwise since I don’t stay up to date. I don’t come across conservative commentary on comics all that often, so I’m glad that your voice is out there. It’s nice to have a community here that’s just as sick of all this as I am.”
Thanks for the feedback, Grant. Your response in many ways sums up why I continue to review these books despite having plenty of reason to just walk away. There has to come a day where someone with brains and clout at Marvel says, “Okay, this business model of antagonizing customers is really weird and it will stop — now.”
Maybe that won’t happen, but if it doesn’t there still needs to be a.) people who chronicle what is happening, and b.) a place where readers like you to know that you can vent your frustrations without fear of being censored or outright banned by partisan-clown moderators.
I’d say check out pirated copies of the comic and see. If it’s good enough, go shell out the bucks for a legit copy. If it’s bad enough…
“I’d say check out pirated copies of the comic and see.”
I’m assuming it’s not hard to figure out how to steal comics online, but I have no desire to go that route. It would be very weird to lament Marvel’s portrayal of Christians and then say, “You know what, I’m going to go with the ‘steal a copy, buy a copy’ route.”
You’re not supposed to set up a buddy for failure, Nate. Tsk, tsk. 😉
Regardless, your point is rather interesting. Marvel’s needless attacks on its readers actually creates an incentive to not buy the book or steal it online.
Well if you ever wanted to know… you’ve got my email. 😉
The other option would be to set up a patreon and buy however many books you are paid to. (i.e. “if I get $4 a month, I review Spider-man. $8 a month, Spider-man and Ironman…” etc)
“The other option would be to set up a patreon and buy however many books you are paid to. (i.e. “if I get $4 a month, I review Spider-man. $8 a month, Spider-man and Ironman…” etc)”
I did add a “donate” tab not too long ago as a bit of an experiment. It gets pricey to review four titles a month, plus whatever other interesting stuff comes down the pike. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of my student loan debt. Once that’s over I’m going to throw myself a huge party and then I guess I’ll buy more comics each month to review.
Oh throw a comic party! Instead of bringing dishes like a potluck, everybody brings an issue or TPB to give ya.
Cross-reference to my message-board thread at Crawlspace, titled “Marvel is way too politicized and one-sided.” Marvel has, without a doubt, become extremely, openly hostile to Christianity, God, Jesus Christ, and the idea of non-situational morality in the last twenty years.
When Wired starts creating “Marvel Comics’ 10 Greatest Political Jabs Ever” photo galleries — and its filled with instances like “Snake Reagan” and attacks on the Tea Party — I’m not sure how Marvel can deny its inclination towards petty partisan pot-shots.
And it looks like that Wired article was written by Graeme McMillian, who wrote that now-deleted article about you on Newsarama. I’m amazed (well, not really) that he still has a job anywhere after that. I suppose he runs with the “right” crowds.
“And it looks like that Wired article was written by Graeme McMillian, who wrote that now-deleted article about you on Newsarama.”
It’s funny how McMillian wrote that piece for work, and then it just went down the Memory Hole, isn’t it? No editorial note, no nothing. Just “Poof!” — this never happened. Move along…move along.
The guy wrote a hit piece on me and then when it backfired with his own readers he deleted the whole thing from existence. Telling.
The only thing that I was curious about this comic was the appearance of Felicia Hardy and if she was going to be well portrayed and I was very wrong about it. Why does Marvel keep doing this to one great character of their own (and one of my favorite Love Interest for Spider-Man)? I have no idea. Next you will be telling me that MJ will become The Iron Spider … Oh wait.
And really the character of Miles Morales for me is a bore because nothing that he had has been so revolutionary like so many fanboys make it out to be and really it’s nothing new.
For me this series has being sold by controversy (Miles defeats a character that all the Avengers can’t, The youtube girl, the promotion for the comic being for kids of color and Miles Morales being THE MAIN OG Spider-Man)
About you exit question: Doug keep doing what you are doing because what you say calls the attention of many people of Marvel so calling out on their BS can make some difference in the future!!! Keep up the good work man.
Good review by the way.
PS: It’s amazing how the state that the “Spider-Verse” is in it is all fault of Dan Slott: Peter no longer being THE OG Spider-Man and no longer being unique (Because we have 20 Spider-Tittles and many more Spider-Characters and their writers write them “awesomely” and Slott and many others write Peter pathetically like a loser), Black Cat is no longer a great Love Interest for Spider-Man or a partner like she used to before OMD and the icing on the cake is Iron Jane. Let’s hope that those earlier reviews for Civil War are true about Holland.
“Why does Marvel keep doing this to one great character of their own (and one of my favorite Love Interest for Spider-Man)? I have no idea.”
You’re not alone on that one, Berna! 🙂
“About you exit question: Doug keep doing what you are doing because what you say calls the attention of many people of Marvel so calling out on their BS can make some difference in the future!”
Thanks for the feedback, Berna. Another reason why I think I’ll keep at it is because every year I get to meet more guys like you. It’s pretty cool to see my WordPress statistics grow for certain subjects. Not everyone comments, but I can tell that writing regular reviews pays off. There comes a tipping point where readers must say, “Okay, if he’s going to do this regularly then I’ll make sure to come back for the Spider-Man reviews.”
I admire Bendis’ strong stance against the terror of Christian mores and behavior that have so frozen human progress with its hypocrisy and focus on destructive values such as forgiveness and love.
Soon, I’m sure, Bendis and the rest of Marvel will turns its eye to Islam and the hypocrisy of a peaceful religion and the way it treats gays, women and religious minorities. It’ll be a great shakedown, and nearly as courageous as dressing down Mother Teresa in her grave! Can’t wait…..
….
….
Why do I hear crickets?
It’s interesting that you should mention Islam since Ms. Marvel does appear in this issue. That’s another book that has potential but of course has been incredibly one-sided. Characters who question Islam are called “concern trolls” and white characters Zoe and Josh are insensitive jerks.
This is the first I’ve seen of the Brevoort comment. By any other standard, it would be over the top childish and petty to deflect a legitimate question/critique like that, but DD fans should count themselves lucky Matt Murdock hasn’t gotten the full Marvel treatment yet and had a full 180 reversal of tone in as ironic of fashion as possible. The veil covering the agenda at Marvel is becoming so thin that it starts looking like parody.
In any issue, Marvel could make Murdock renounce his faith based on the gay marriage issue and launch a two pronged legal and vigilante crusade against villainous Christian business owners across the city. Ask yourself, could you see this happening given everything you’ve seen Marvel do in the past few years? Would it surprise you if they did?
In any issue, they could kill DD off in an ironic PP bombing, have Night Nurse don the DD namesake, and feature her heroically performing emergency late term abortions on rape victims across the city while grumbling to herself on every other page about hypocritical Christian bigots. Imagine the phony, caked-on praise from the usual suspects over at Huffpo and Gawker.
Its parody, but damn if it doesn’t seem possible considering every other stunt Marvel has pulled the past few years.
So to answer your question on whether you should continue covering Bendis’ Spider-Man. I think it’s clear that the problems at marvel go beyond a writer or two who don’t get a character and write for him poorly. It’s an entire culture across the whole company. If you’re tired of the Morales character, drop the title, but keep shedding light on what’s going on in other marvel titles. Pick up X-men or Captain America. I can only imagine how off the deep end those titles have gotten.
“It’s parody, but damn if it doesn’t seem possible considering every other stunt Marvel has pulled the past few years.”
You are right, although if Marvel ever goes there they may as well just come out and state a weird mandate that no character is allowed to openly be a Christian.
“I think it’s clear that the problems at marvel go beyond a writer or two who don’t get a character and write for him poorly. It’s an entire culture across the whole company. If you’re tired of the Morales character, drop the title, but keep shedding light on what’s going on in other marvel titles. Pick up X-men or Captain America. I can only imagine how off the deep end those titles have gotten.”
Thanks for the feedback. I mentioned this in another thread, but I think videos will be the next “upgrade” for this blog. I’d like to be able to stick with “Spidey”-related books as much as possible, and then branch out into Captain America and others. As you mention, certain books are prime real estate for Marvel’s political bias.
Heck, I may even start looking for another writer who can come on board and help out with reviews. We’ll see.
I wanted to provide some more commentary on the X-men, being a fan and all, really…still being a fan.
The X-men are often held up as the ‘flagship’ liberal team, but having read their work for many years, it’s always been very even handed…in fact, as far as political relevancy goes, it’s a cautionary tale. (until recently)
The most powerful and dangerous X-men villains are mutants themselves, and often mutants that take their power to mean they have a mandate to rule humanity or replace it. Intolerance was often an excuse for violence, that the X-men opposed. Yes they defended a humanity that fears and hates them (to an unrealistic level), but there was no serious question if that was the right thing to do under the old Claremont stories.
Len Wein and Dave Cockrum thought more broadly about what a truly ‘diverse’ team would be than todays writers and editors with blinders on: A poor Russian farmer, a catholic acrobat that looks like a demon, a black ‘goddess’, a wild canadian…later they added a Jewish teenager and a Southern belle. Today’s editors would create a team of Blacks, Arabs and Latinos all from the streets of New York, all agnostic/non-religious, all with witty exchangeable sarcastic remarks who have the exact same opinions about almost everything except style of clothing. Then they would call it ‘Diversity’.
I did mention that Kurt was Christian, right? Though Claremont didn’t spend a whole lot of time on it…he did respect it, and thought it important to the character.
Now of course, that’s been railroaded, and idiots like Bendis were responsible for it. Looking back at it, I can see now that the political action at marvel thing started with the X-men. Professor X was getting blamed for everything, and a full on attempt to destroy his character took place at Marvel, and I think the point of that was to show that the X-men’s previous mission was flawed. They didn’t want the X-men to be a superhero team of mutants that defended all of humanity and represented how we can coexist, they wanted the X-men to be a revolutionary movement that was critical of humanity and fought for mutant rights as a surrogate to modern liberal causes.
I think killing Kurt…after he decided that running around murdering purifiers was wrong (see, the writers knew they couldn’t just rewrite Kurt…so they put a hole in him…semi-heroically of course) was Marvel finally putting the exclamation point on the whole thing. I think Claremonts Nightcrawler series recently, though flawed, really shows much of his exasperation for how his characters have been portrayed (then again…his other work…well…ok, not so good)
The X-men were that old liberalism, the ‘lets learn to look past our unimportant difference and come together’
Now they are the new stuff: ‘Our differences are the only things that matter, get away from us racists/non-liberals’
“Today’s editors would create a team of Blacks, Arabs and Latinos all from the streets of New York, all agnostic/non-religious, all with witty exchangeable sarcastic remarks who have the exact same opinions about almost everything except style of clothing. Then they would call it ‘Diversity’.”
Exactly. It just shows you how far comics have fallen since their heyday. In the book I’m currently typing up, I have a white kid from Minnesota (based on me), a Mormon girl from Wisconsin (I was tired of how they’ve been portrayed in Hollywood, in shows like “Big Love” and “Hell on Wheels” and plays like “The Book of Mormon.”), a rich black kid from the East Coast (that will probably give the SJWs ulcers), a half-Asian/half-white girl from Los Angeles (who is also Catholic) and a Jewish woman who leads the team. Another character is an Irish Catholic wizard who is also immortal and was alive in the days where Irish people were still discriminated against.
“Another character is an Irish Catholic wizard who is also immortal and was alive in the days where Irish people were still discriminated against.”
I’ve got my eye on this “immortal” Catholic wizard, Carl. Are you sure he isn’t a demon in disguise? 😉 I’m just kidding. I’m looking forward to reading your story!
“Looking back at it, I can see now that the political action at marvel thing started with the X-men. Professor X was getting blamed for everything, and a full on attempt to destroy his character took place at Marvel, and I think the point of that was to show that the X-men’s previous mission was flawed. They didn’t want the X-men to be a superhero team of mutants that defended all of humanity and represented how we can coexist, they wanted the X-men to be a revolutionary movement that was critical of humanity and fought for mutant rights as a surrogate to modern liberal causes.”
This is incredibly insightful, Chuck. In fact, I am regularly impressed by your opinions on comics and the X-Men books in particular. I said before that I may start looking for someone else to contribute to the blog. I’m not sure if you’d be interested in reviewing Uncanny X-Men, but if that is something up your alley then I’m extending an open invitation. Let me know at any time and we could hash out the details off the grid. If that’s not your thing, then just take this reply as a big compliment. 🙂
I really am quite flattered! Thank you so much. I think my biggest problem with reviewing Uncanny X-men is that it’s almost unreadable for me now. I think it would be difficult for me to be a consistent contributor.
I think I’ll stay in the comments for now, If I ever take on anything, I want to give my all to it, and at my current pull level…I’m simply not at the right place now to contribute how I would like.
But again, thank you so much
“I think I’ll stay in the comments for now, If I ever take on anything, I want to give my all to it, and at my current pull level…I’m simply not at the right place now to contribute how I would like. But again, thank you so much.”
No problem, man. I totally understand. Regardless, I’m glad that you’re here and commenting! 🙂
“Today’s editors would create a team of Blacks, Arabs and Latinos all from the streets of New York, all agnostic/non-religious, all with witty exchangeable sarcastic remarks who have the exact same opinions about almost everything except style of clothing. Then they would call it ‘Diversity’.”
Boom. Couldn’t have said it better.
Great article as usual! Please keep the reviews going, I think it is important to show the light on what is going on with this company. I hate to see a company that I used to love turn into a blatant political machine. I like that you mentioned the new Ms. Marvel, Captain Frugal posted some reviews of her book and found it to be decent but nothing like the hype machine pushed (the sales do not support the hype as well). He found the portrayal of white people rather disturbing with the book. You can see his thoughts here.
https://thehenchmenslounge.com/2015/10/16/cf-ms-marvel-1-review/
And here
https://thehenchmenslounge.com/2015/11/02/cf-ms-marvel-2-review/
“Please keep the reviews going, I think it is important to show the light on what is going on with this company. I hate to see a company that I used to love turn into a blatant political machine.”
Thanks for the feedback, Truth. Perhaps one of these days Marvel will make a concerted effort to hire people who seem themselves as writer as opposed to activist/writers.
Also, thanks for sending the links to The Henchmen’s Lounge. I’ll be sure to check those out.
No problem, sorry for the long delayed response. I have been very busy, but I make time to read your work.
“Sorry for the long delayed response. I have been very busy, but I make time to read your work.”
There’s no need to say sorry, brotha. I’m always happy to hear from you whenever you get chance to drop in.
What would you bet that none of Marvel’s current Jewish writers or editors are observant, or even theists? The originals (Lee and Kirby) appear to have still believed in the God of their fathers, however inconsistently. The current group all seem to be bitter, cynical atheists.
“What would you bet that none of Marvel’s current Jewish writers or editors are observant, or even theists?”
I remember Dan Slott saying he wasn’t particularly religious in his Twitter feed some time ago. I don’t know about Bendis and others, but I think it’s safe to say that Marvel’s offices in New York City are not teeming with religious folks. 😉
Well, that’s grating, albeit not for the mockery of Christianity. I can only laugh at such buffoonery (given the examples from Slott and others that you highlighted); they’re like gnats buzzing in the wind to me. What does bug me is the brazen cowardice. They don’t have the guts to even say an unkind word about Islam; they were probably among the media types that applauded Comedy Central censoring “South Park” from showing Muhammad. Yeah, if Christians regularly blew stuff up or killed people like those radicals in the Middle East, I’m sure Slott, Bendis, and company would be singing quite a different tune.
You almost have to wonder if the current Marvel leadership is trying to lose readership, like it wants Disney to shut ’em down so they can collect severance packages and go do something else. If that’s not the case, only a fool would actively try to alienate readers. I’m amazed it took until last year for Disney to finally say, “Yeah, you guys don’t get a say in the movies anymore; Feige answers to us, not you.” I don’t care about stories taking political stands that don’t align with my worldview; just make it intelligent and nuanced, not the kind of juvenile claptrap uttered by safe space nitwits. (Really, what you’ve pointed to suggests no one at Marvel has even made eye contact with a practicing Christian.) I largely gave up buying new comics after the “Civil War” fiasco because writers were more interested in taking potshots at Bush than exploring the gray areas of registering vs. non-registering or imprisoning supervillains. (Though I grant that Bendis did avoid major politicking in some of his tie-in issues.) I really hope the upcoming movie provides the complexity and thought that I was looking for from the comics.
“As is the case with every other editorial misstep, the guys in charge would rather dig their heels into a stupid-trench than admit they were wrong.”
I call that the One More Day Principle.
“They don’t have the guts to even say an unkind word about Islam.”
That’s one of the reasons why I think Nick Lowe dressing up as the pope for Halloween is so hilarious. He shares the picture on Twitter and I’m sure everyone in the office made plenty of Catholic jokes without ever considering how sad and pathetic they really appear. If I thought for one second that Nick Lowe would prance around the office as an imam or Mohammed, then I’d be like, “Okay, fair enough.” But he won’t — because of fear. He knows his job would be toast or that some wannabe ISIS recruit would add him to the fatwa of western guys who need to be extinguished.
“Really, what you’ve pointed to suggests no one at Marvel has even made eye contact with a practicing Christian.”
It often appears as though their exposure to Christians consists of watching old episodes of Law and Order where some “Christian” tries to blow up an abortion clinic.
“I call that the One More Day Principle.”
I like that. That works! 🙂
I found this video, which is not abou the charactor of Miles, but talks about some of the decisions that Marvel has taken with a book called Angela : Queen of Hel, it’s not as recent but I thought it was relevant nonetheless :
PS : Thanks for deliting my previus post Doug, sorry for the trouble.
Thanks for sharing this, Berna! I had not seen this before. Marvel can deny up and down the line that it’s doing stuff like this, but this is a smoking gun. This is a very important video. I’m glad that Mundane Matt took the time to make it.
Marvel will never condemn Islamic terrorism because (A) they’re hypocritical cowards, and (B) it would contradict their mythology that Islamic terrorism isn’t Islam.
Meh. Didn’t see a problem with this issue beyond the Black Cat stuff. I prefer her to be a hero. I don’t think they did a good enough job of establishing her reasons for becoming a villain. Could you imagine him doing the same to Mj? (She was attacked by “him” and he uses that fact to manipulate her?)
The problem is that Peter should have set that Superior problem with her straight ASAP. This was someone he loved. Instead he further destroyed their relationship by lying to her for what Slott must have thought was worth the cheap giggles and a second’s worth of shock value it provided. (I AM DOC OCK)
As for Miles’ Grandmother…we’ll just have to wait and see.
I interpreted the story simply as; Miles’ grandmother loves him and wants the best for him. I think she is a character that says what is on her mind. Miles’ dad has had a history of being an ass when it comes to mutants and super humans. We don’t know all the details between their past relationship. Maybe she resents him since Miles mother thought it was more appropriate to take her own last name instead of his fathers’.
I think someone as important as a relative needs a big introduction to the readers. So I don’t mind if she moves towards the background a bit. The main plot focused on Miles inability to maintain a balance in his own life while being Spider-Man.
A lot of minorities do have praying grandmothers.That’s the first thing someone of African american/Spanish descent will say about their grand mother.
I can speak for the same cultural backgrounds featured in this issue. She only wants the best for Miles and a lot of ethnic people do find their answers through Christ…
I really did not see this as an attack on Christians. I think your reaching a tad bit here….I also think it is unfair to criticize the book based on what Slott has said in the past. Those are two completely independent thinking people.
One actually knows how Spider-Man should be written. I’ll leave that up to your opinion. =D
“I can speak for the same cultural backgrounds featured in this issue. She only wants the best for Miles and a lot of ethnic people do find their answers through Christ. I really did not see this as an attack on Christians. I think your reaching a tad bit here… I also think it is unfair to criticize the book based on what Slott has said in the past. Those are two completely independent thinking people.”
I agree with you that Miles’ grandmother wants the best for him, but ask yourself when was the last time Marvel portrayed someone who was openly and unapologetically Christian who was not a hypocrite, villainous, etc.?
The reason why I brought up Slott and others is because there is a culture at Marvel (and within the industry in general) that is hostile towards Christians. It permeates throughout the books and in the creators’ online commentary.
You will see that my reviews of Bendis’ work has been overwhelmingly positive, but there is no doubt in my mind that he has a political agenda. He is the one, after all, who randomly decided to turn Iceman gay because … diversity. There was no reason for him to essentially take a character with decades of history as a straight man and then make him gay overnight — unless he and other editors have a political agenda.
As I’ve said before, I do not care if gay characters exist in the Marvel universe because gay people exist in the real world. What I do not like is people who take creative shortcuts to accomplish ideological goals (e.g., Thor is a woman now because … women rock and diversity!) That is insulting.
Bendis is also the one who, for all intents and purposes, wants to have separate but equal superheroes. I like reading Spider-Man because Bendis does a good job with it. I liked Rhodey growing up because he was cool. I liked Deathlok growing up because he was a great (but underused, in my opinion) character. I think Bendis does himself a disservice when he says Miles Morales is “the real Spider-Man for kids of color, for adults of color and everybody else.”
Wrong. He’s a hero for everybody. Period.
Stillanerd’s review for Spider-Man #3 is up. He offers up solid work as usual.
“By [Bendis] portraying Gloria the way he does, by showing how the other characters cannot stand her, the readers cannot stand her as well.”
Nicely put.
Joy, two boring protagonists in a boring book. Well, I suppose I could always use it to help me get to sleep…