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the mcu and its ableism, racism, and general erasing of identities: a thread
im going to break this down character by character. there are likely going to be examples i won’t be able to cover, but these are just the major ones.
i’d like to preface this entire thread by saying there’s nothing wrong with enjoying these characters, this is solely to point out the faults. i also don’t think that everything has to be comic accurate, but for these things it was really important.
1: wanda and pietro maximoff
tw // antisemitism , whitewashing
in the comics, the SOURCE MATERIAL, pietro and wanda were half jewish half romani. they were raised with a strong connection to their romani culture. the mcu had two white people play these characters in the mcu.
tw // antisemitism , whitewashing
in the comics, the SOURCE MATERIAL, pietro and wanda were half jewish half romani. they were raised with a strong connection to their romani culture. the mcu had two white people play these characters in the mcu.
1: wanda and pietro maximoff, cont’d
tw // antisemitism , whitewashing
pietro and wanda are both jewish. in the films, they worked for n*zis. willingly. in the comics it was a forced deal, but in the mcu it was willingly done. i shouldn’t have to explain the issues with that.
tw // antisemitism , whitewashing
pietro and wanda are both jewish. in the films, they worked for n*zis. willingly. in the comics it was a forced deal, but in the mcu it was willingly done. i shouldn’t have to explain the issues with that.
2: peter parker
peter parker is canonically jewish. in the mcu they completely ignored this. not only that, but they erased the fact that he was poor. he was entirely self made, and this would have been a good thing for children raised in lower income households to see and +
peter parker is canonically jewish. in the mcu they completely ignored this. not only that, but they erased the fact that he was poor. he was entirely self made, and this would have been a good thing for children raised in lower income households to see and +
2: peter parker, cont’d
be able to see themselves in. instead, they brought tony stark in to help him, downplaying the entire “anybody can be spider-man” idea.
be able to see themselves in. instead, they brought tony stark in to help him, downplaying the entire “anybody can be spider-man” idea.
2: peter parker, cont’d
tw // whitewashing
the main issue with a lot of this is that they gave peter parker the entire story that miles morales had. they whitewashed miles morales and slapped peter parker’s name over the character. ned is literally miles’ best friend danke.
tw // whitewashing
the main issue with a lot of this is that they gave peter parker the entire story that miles morales had. they whitewashed miles morales and slapped peter parker’s name over the character. ned is literally miles’ best friend danke.
3: clint barton
tw // ableism , abuse mention
clint barton is one of the few deaf heroes we have. the mcu erased that entirely. not only this, but they erased a lot of his trauma. clint was abused as a child and had difficulty with the idea of settling down, getting married +
tw // ableism , abuse mention
clint barton is one of the few deaf heroes we have. the mcu erased that entirely. not only this, but they erased a lot of his trauma. clint was abused as a child and had difficulty with the idea of settling down, getting married +
3: clint barton, cont’d
and having children because of that. they gave him the life that he wouldn’t have been able to have.
and having children because of that. they gave him the life that he wouldn’t have been able to have.
4: bruce banner
tw // abuse
they failed to recognize the trauma and abuse bruce banner faced in his childhood. his father killed his mother in front of him, and his father was physically and verbally abusive to him as a child. they didn’t acknowledge that at all, painting +
tw // abuse
they failed to recognize the trauma and abuse bruce banner faced in his childhood. his father killed his mother in front of him, and his father was physically and verbally abusive to him as a child. they didn’t acknowledge that at all, painting +
4: bruce banner
him as bland.
tw // ableism
bruce has DID in canon. they erased this from the mcu. the movies didn’t acknowledge a large part of his character. he’s one of the few characters in the media that isn’t demonized for his DID, and the mcu erased that.
him as bland.
tw // ableism
bruce has DID in canon. they erased this from the mcu. the movies didn’t acknowledge a large part of his character. he’s one of the few characters in the media that isn’t demonized for his DID, and the mcu erased that.
5: loki friggason
loki is canonically gender fluid. they didn’t acknowledge this in the movies at all. this is a smaller thing as they are often in their “male” form (they’re a shapeshifter), but the acknowledgement of their gender identity is extremely important.
loki is canonically gender fluid. they didn’t acknowledge this in the movies at all. this is a smaller thing as they are often in their “male” form (they’re a shapeshifter), but the acknowledgement of their gender identity is extremely important.
6: thor odinson
tw // alcoholism mention
in endgame, thor’s anxiety and depression was treated as a joke. when having a panic attack, rocket slapped him across the face and he was fine. anxiety isn’t a punchline. his alcoholism was also treated like a joke. he was severely +
tw // alcoholism mention
in endgame, thor’s anxiety and depression was treated as a joke. when having a panic attack, rocket slapped him across the face and he was fine. anxiety isn’t a punchline. his alcoholism was also treated like a joke. he was severely +
6: thor odinson
depressed from what happened to loki. his mental health should not have been treated as a joke.
depressed from what happened to loki. his mental health should not have been treated as a joke.
7: sam wilson and james rhodes
sam and rhodey being treated as the token black character stereotype shouldn’t sit right. it doesn’t sit right. they’re both characters with their own individual backstories, but they’ve only been shown as accomplices to their best friends.
sam and rhodey being treated as the token black character stereotype shouldn’t sit right. it doesn’t sit right. they’re both characters with their own individual backstories, but they’ve only been shown as accomplices to their best friends.
those are all the characters i’m covering! once again, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the mcu, but it’s important to remember the problematic elements of things so you can take them into account. obviously i couldn’t cover everything either, but feel free to add in the qrts!
