Jeffrey A. Brown

An interesting if too academic take on the increasing diversity of superheroes in the Marvel Universe. I was hoping more time would be spent delving into the Comicsgate controversy, but it's just mentioned in passing as most time is spent analyzing the actual comic books and shows.

Chapters focus on all the iterations of Spider-Man, the All-New All-Different initiative, Luke Cage's central role in Brian Michael Bendis' Avengers run, the success of the Black Panther movie, the failure and redemption of the Netflix Iron Fist series, overviews of Asian and Latinx heroes, and a look at the Kamala Khan version of Ms. Marvel.

I get the impression the author is a Marvel fanboy and is wont to go easy on the company for past mistakes while playing up every little bit of progress it has made. It makes me want to seek out some of the #ownvoices source material the author was drawing upon to see if there is a more critical take.

I do appreciate that through its examination of Marvel's legacy heroes, the book helped me become aware of how much I fall into the trap of leaving whiteness unmarked. It is something I need to work on.

Side note: The index is a bit odd, inconsistently having separate entries for fictional characters' code names and secret identities, missing several characters entirely, and choosing to exclude the names of all actors in the movies and shows mentioned -- Chadwick Boseman, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Sterling K. Brown, Finn Jones, etc. -- even though they are directly discussed and quoted.… (mere)