It’s quite a time to be alive as far as larger-than-life movie superhero blockbusters are concerned. Whether it be the new generation of kids discovering these characters for the first time, the young adults experiencing these stories unfold like a serialized television show, or the older folks who get to compare this recent boom with their classics involving the Reeves or Keatons; there is no doubt that superhero films are leaving their mark on the world with no signs of stopping. However, as this explosion of movies successfully thrives, there is also another side of all this that lets sparks fly. And I'm not talking about the good sparks.
The more movies we receive as an audience, the more repetitive they may become. Back in the day, it was a cinematic marvel to see characters like Superman or Batman on the big screen. This day and age, we are starting to see more than a handful of movies on a yearly basis from various studios including Marvel and DC. Not only are we receiving more from the power hitters but now we are getting the opportunity to see bench players steal the spotlight. But just how many times can we watch the stories of the “popular” heroes play out before we stop caring? This is where the big screen world of Spider-Man comes into play.
As of today, we’ve seen a total of five Spider-Man films over the last 15 years and the character has been reimagined three times for several unnamed reasons. Audiences grew tired and frustrated with Andrew Garfield’s incarnation but Marvel Studios stole their hearts again, introducing the talented Tom Holland as Peter Parker in “Captain America: Civil War.” Naturally, it’s important to strike the iron while it’s hot and get a new film into production as soon as possible. And it is also important to make sure this new film sticks apart from prior incarnations in the past. Having said that, one thing Marvel Studios seems to be doing to ensure that is crafting a ethnically diverse cast for “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” And word got out (thanks to THE WRAP) that Zendaya’s character, sneakily named Michelle, will actually be none other than Mary Jane Watson. Many passionate fans of the comics aren’t exactly thrilled about this concept.
In the comic books, Mary Jane is a red headed Caucasian bombshell but Zendaya is none of those characteristics evidently and that has people in an outrage. Fans aren’t happy, not only because Zendaya is partially African American but according to set pictures for the upcoming film she is not red headed either. Whether some of these fans are racist or not, I think it is unfair of them to blindly criticize when they haven’t seen the movie yet.
In an attempt to defend the movie for a second, I think the changes being made are to spice things up since this is the third movie incarnation of the source material. I also think it’s to keep in touch with reality because in Peter’s hometown of Queens, ethnic and cultural diversity is immense. It’d make sense that some of our main characters aren’t white. We live in a time where our titular and supporting characters in popular adaptations are branching out as far as ethnicity is concerned. Despite the failures of last year’s Fantastic Four film, look to Michael B. Jordan’s role as Johnny Storm as an example. In the comics, Johnny Storm is Caucasian too but did that honestly affect the character in relation to the film itself?
In my eyes, it doesn’t matter visually how a character looks unless physical character traits define a particular character. As long as the actor portraying the character captures the essence of who he or she is then why should race or physicality matter? Race never played a key role in the comics for the character of Mary Jane, so theoretically, she can be a teenager of any race if the story called for it. And speaking of physicality, it is true that Zendaya isn’t capturing that in relation to Mary Jane when we’re talking about her hair color or fashion sense. But something tells me that by the end of the film, Zendaya from a physical sense will embody that intoxicating red head presence that sweeps away Peter Parker’s heart.
The creators at Marvel Studios have done a fantastic job of translating their characters from comics to movies. They will not purposefully screw that up with characters in arguably their biggest franchise next to Iron Man or Captain America this time around. Besides, have you seen Zendaya? That young talented actress and singer is gorgeous beyond belief. Kids are going to fall in love with her in theaters next year in that inevitable homecoming dance scene when she lights up the screen. No matter what I as an individual say, we’ll all just have to wait and see when “Spider-Man: Homecoming” releases on July 7th, 2017.
What do you think of Zendaya playing the iconic role of MJ? Sound off in the comments below!
