Cutting through stereotypes: Marvel now has a multiracial Spider-Man

We’ve all known Spider-Man’s real identity. He is Peter Parker. He is also white and straight male. But does that identity apply to all his fans across the world? Are they all white and straight? No. In fact, somehow all ‘American’ superheroes could fit that identity. A country that claims to be multicultural, can hardly boast of its heroes to be the same. But change is around the corner. In recent years, comic books have dared to break the white, straight, male stereotype. In an alternate story line, or you could say universe, Wolverine and Hercules were portrayed to be in love with each other. Batwoman, Kevin Keller (from Archie comics) among others, can be added to that list. And Thor Girl, is just as awesome as Thor, if not more. And of course, a muslim teen Miss Marvel. All these heroes are a reflection of the changing dynamic. Now, Spider-Man too is about to break those comic book stereotypes. [caption id=“attachment_2307110” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Miles Morales as Spider- Man. YouTube screengrab[/caption] According to a Daily News report, Miles Morales, a multiracial teenager, is about to take over web-slinging duties of the friendly neighborhood superhero. Miles Morales portrayed Spider-man in an alternate “Ultimate” storyline to much appreciation from fans. Now, as Marvel prepares to relaunch Spider-Man, Miles Morales will replace Peter Parker in fall 2015. Peter Parker was killed off in the “Ultimate” storyline. Miles Morales is the teenaged son of an African-American father and Puerto Rican mother, representing a multicultural America, and not just one made for caucasians. “Our message has to be it’s not Spider-Man with an asterisk, it’s the real Spider-Man for kids of color, for adults of color and everybody else,” the report quotes writer and co-creator Brian Bendis as saying. However, it may be long before we see a similar transition for Spider-Man o the silver screen. When the Spider-Man film franchise was decided to be rebooted, there was much demand among fans for Miles Morales to play the character. It did not happen and the reasons for that are quite clear. Sony was famously, or rather infamously, hacked in November 2014 and thousands of emails and documents were leaked which put the electronics giant in an embarrassing situation. Among the emails and documents leaked and posted on Wikileaks, a particularly curious directive from Sony to Marvel emerged. According to a report in Gizmodo, a legal licensing agreement between Sony Pictures and Marvel says that Spider-Man in movies must be white male and straight, among other traits. However, in spite of all the hurdles, looks like Miles Morales in the new Spiderman.  Bigots at Sony can frown as much as they want, but Spider-Man, at least in comics, is not just white and straight. He is much more than that.