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| CC photo credit: Oscar J Baeza |
Up, up and away web! Shazam! Go! Go! Go web, Go!He jumped on to the coffee table reciting those lines, mimicking the actions of his favorite superhero, the Amazing Spider-Man!
Since the age of two, my son has been a huge fan of superheroes: Spider-Man, Superman, The Flash, The Thing, The Incredible Hulk and almost every generation of Power Rangers. It seems like every superhero ever created eventually made their way into our home in the form of an action figure. At age three he started martial arts classes. The reason for the classes? Superheroes need to know how to defend themselves! At age four he started soccer and baseball. Why? Because superheroes need to know how to run fast and be coordinated! Any sport he was old enough to play, he joined...because those sports were a part of his self-imposed training regimen--the one required for him to become a real life superhero.
He loved watching and reading about superheroes who are always on the side of justice, always fighting to stop the spread of evil, always focusing on ways to make the world a better place (even though that is not always an easy job. "With great power comes great responsibility," he would say.) He watched the original Superman cartoons from the 1950's, read the original Marvel Spider-Man comics, was a different superhero each year for Halloween, and had superhero pajamas for every night of the week. Bath time was about more than getting clean... It was always an epic battle between Justice League action figures and Lego bad guys, where the fate of humanity rested in the heart of one superhero--my son!
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| All rights reserved jenmardunc |
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| All rights reserved jenmardunc |
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| copyright jenmardunc |
It has been a pleasure to tease my now 6th grade son about the origins of his interest in sports! But honestly, he doesn't much mind the teasing. He still enjoys superheroes! This summer he saw Thor, went to Captain America on opening night and watched several seasons of Smallville during our epic heat wave. These heroes still capture his imagination and make him dream about how he can make the world a safer, happier place.
There has only ever been one problem with his love of heroes: none of the mainstream superguys look like him. Green Lantern from the Justice League was the only brown-skinned hero in his collection of action figures. Recently he discovered the show Heroes on Netflix and was interested to see some people with powers who were not white (the Haitian, Hiro and Ando). He liked the Will Smith movie, Hancock, when he saw it. But that's about it. (Before any die-hard comic book fans argue, I will acknowledge the fact that there have been other black heroes, but those heroes have never been marketed in a big enough way for my son to know about them. Those characters are never featured in kid-appropriate tv shows or movies, either.)
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Despite the controversy, I look forward to seeing my son, my young hero, find someone that looks like him in a superhero comic. It seems like it can only help him to realize his dream of being a real life superhero when there already is one who looks like him.
What do you think? Are you a traditionalist who thinks Spider-Man should only be the young, white, Peter Parker? Or do you welcome the biracial Miles Morales to the superhero scene?
**For more on Marvel's Black Superheroes, see the series of posts on their website: A Marvel Black History Lesson**
There's always room for another Superhero! Miles Morales isn't taking the place of Peter Parker is he? He is (I'm guessing) an additional Spider-Man[?]
ReplyDeleteNo one--in the comics, Peter Parker died last year while fighting the Green Goblin. Miles Morales will take on the role of Spider-Man now :)
ReplyDeleteYahoo! I was thrilled that a biracial person became president, because it provided a role model that wasn't a basketball/football/baseball player. But to many kids, a president is just another adult in a world they don't understand and can't imagine. Comic books and superheroes offer a unique opportunity to identify and dream of what you might become.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it cool?!? I am hoping that he becomes popular enough for Hollywood to start a new film franchise--action figures and all :)
ReplyDeleteI'm loving Miles Morales! I haven't read any of the commentary you mentioned. Doesn't surprise me. Some probably see it as tinkering with something as American as "apple pie." Well guess what? Apple pie is changing. : )
ReplyDeleteI love it...Some of the best apple pie I ever tasted was made with cinnamon encrusted tortillas. You can still find traditional apple pie anywhere, but that cinnamon encrusted tortilla apple pie is rare. And its rarity makes it all the more delicious! Here's to Miles Morales, and fusion cuisine--superhero style!
ReplyDeleteI’ve really enjoyed reading your post, its interesting and somewhat entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI love Miles Morales! (it's funny because my son's middle name is Miles!) I think this is wonderful and its sad people are so closed minded that they are trying to tie it into politics etc....
ReplyDeleteI'd have to agree with Ezzy.... "Well guess what? Apple pie is changing!"
Tara, that is so cool that your son's middle name is Miles! Does he like superheroes? I love the fact that so many more kids will now be able to see themselves as heroes. Now we just need some brown girl heroes ;-P
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