My son and I were talking about all the controversy surrounding Black actors lately, and we started talking about other roles than the animated ones that gave people up in arms.
For instance, I wondered, what if a Black actor were to play the role of Batman? Besides the obvious argument that many comic fanatics would present that it isn't "canon" (since the character is drawn as white in the original comics), my son offered an interesting perspective. Why does Batman's mask have a cutout where his mouth is? Many might say it's so his voice isn't muffled, but many other comic characters have full face masks without that issue.
My son presented the theory that Batman needs a partially open face mask so the police can see that he is a white man. Our other theory was that he is white because the premise of a Black billionaire is not believable one.
Imagine now, today, if an actor like Idris Elba or Michael B. Jordan were to be cast as Batman. Personally, it sounds like a great premise and one I'd love to see.
Why are all our superheroes white? With the exception of T'Challa/Black Panther, mainstream superheroes are white, and the actors portraying them are also white. Imagine a world where our heroes could be people of any color, and embraced by all fans.
What an exciting time that will be.
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