First the Karate Kid, Next Spiderman?

[ZONA]

I just don't see what all the fuss is about. They can make whatever movie they want, and you can choose to go or not go see it. Simple.

[Killericon]

Best known for his role on Community MY ASS!

[KevinJames]

The Karate Kid isn't actually the Karate Kid tho its the Kung Fu Kid, it is like a reboot instead of Karate he is being taught Kung Fu, they just kept the title. Very misleading.

[GreatBronco16]

So there is going to be a black guy in a movie with the name Peter Parker?

I don't think I've ever met a black man with the name Peter.

[Jason in LA]

Originally Posted by Great McBronco16

So there is going to be a black guy in a movie with the name Peter Parker?

I don't think I've ever met a black man with the name Peter.

It's not too common in the black community, but I do have a fraternity brother, who is black, who is named Peter. I also have one named Pete. I'm not sure if his real name is Peter.

[*WARHORSE*]

And who will play Blackula?

heh

[Kaylore]

Why not have him play green lantern? He was one of my favorites, and he's actually black.

[UberBroncoMan]

Originally Posted by Kaylore

Why not have him play green lantern? He was one of my favorites, and he's actually black.

1/5th black and 1/5th freaky ****ing alien to be exact.



On the topic of skin pigmentation change. No. Just NO.

That's how Peter Parker has always been, and that's how he should stay. The END.

I don't give a **** about skin color in daily life and all of that. But making changes to cultural figures just for the sake of skin color is just as bad as avoiding it. As stated by others. There are plenty of fine black skinned heroes out there... and I wouldn't want them to look any different than they do in the comics either.

[Xenos]

If Glover gets the role, then it should be on his own merits and not because he's black. Heck, if he get bring that wisecrack humor that Spidey's known for then he would at least be a step up from Tobey Maguire.

[Xenos]

Originally Posted by GoBroncos84

As a fellow comic book nerd, I guess I should weigh in on this. I agree that it can be very upsetting when they make significant changes to the source material, which is solid enough to remain constant and could be relayed through the film medium without significant change. Most comic book movies suck, big time. So many classic storylines are butchered (phoenix saga in X3, wolverine's origin story, etc) and turned into P.O.S. films. I can rant and rant about all of the issues I had with the movies I mentioned, but that is for another time.

A big question that needs to be asked is this: Does a physical characteristic like race really matter in terms of story? Is it any different than a 6'3" Hugh Jackman playing a 5'3" Wolverine? Famke Jansen not having green eyes despite the fact Jean Grey is notorious for having them? Maybe those things are less noticeable, but none the less a shift from the source material. I'd like for the filmmakers to have that attention to detail, but I have a much bigger problem with story changes than those kinds of things. Ultimately, spiderman being white or black shouldn't really impact his story at all. His skin color, to my knowledge, has never been a topic or focus of story in any of the comics.

I have no issue with black nick fury or kingpin. I think Sam and Michael do a decent job with those characters. I don't think you should make a "black spiderman" just to have one. That's stupid. However, if you are holding auditions for the character of spiderman and the person who does the best job at bringing the character to life is something other than white, so be it. Tobey Maguire was a HORRIBLE spiderman. Reading the comics, spidey is a major smartass. Constantly joking around. He isn't emo. He isn't flat and boring. He isn't as funny as deadpool, but possibly ranks number 2 in the comedy department. Give me a true to comic spiderman character and I couldn't care less what color he is. Don't give someone the part because he is a token, that is actually more racist. Give it to whoever will be the best at performing the role

Yeah. What you said basically sums up my feelings as well.

[Taco John]

Not being a comic book purist, I see no issues with it. I mean, they made Tony Stark a weapons dealer, why not make a Spiderman out of a nerdy black kid who doesn't fit in?

Frankly, it doesn't matter who plays spiderman so long as the special effects surrounding him are cool enough. Ultimately, what matters is how they handle the bad guys. This is the true Achillies heel of superhero movies. The latest rendition of Batman has hopefully upped the bar some by way of villain treatment. Unfortunately for the Spiderman series, there's a whole lot of stupidity by way of villains.

[Xenos]

Originally Posted by Taco John

Not being a comic book purist, I see no issues with it. I mean, they made Tony Stark a weapons dealer, why not make a Spiderman out of a nerdy black kid who doesn't fit in?

Frankly, it doesn't matter who plays spiderman so long as the special effects surrounding him are cool enough. Ultimately, what matters is how they handle the bad guys. This is the true Achillies heel of superhero movies. The latest rendition of Batman has hopefully upped the bar some by way of villain treatment. Unfortunately for the Spiderman series, there's a whole lot of stupidity by way of villains.

Doc Ock in Spiderman 2 was handled very well. They just dropped the bar in the third movie due to Sony's stupidity in wanting Venom in the movie.

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by Xenos

Doc Ock in Spiderman 2 was handled very well. They just dropped the bar in the third movie due to Sony's stupidity in wanting Venom in the movie.

I didn't even watch Spiderman 2. As much as I love the concept of Spiderman, I'm pretty well done with it once the Green Goblin makes an appearance. After that, the entire thing is just a high budget puppet show for me. I can't suspend disbelief and make it work upstairs.

[Lomax]

Originally Posted by TheReverend

Like it or not, that's the essence of Peter Parker. It's who he is, and why his character has been so relate-able for so long. If they changed the race, they'd still keep every part that you hate, apparently.



Good post. I was just as mad about Karate Kid 4 being a woman.

Frankly, I don't think they'd even make a race switch for any reason other than potentially marketing the movie with it's shock value instead of trying to have it stand on it's own as a good movie.

If Karate Kid can be a completely different character, why does that character have to be white? I really don't get that. Does he have to be Italian American too? Does he have to be from Jersey? The "Karate Kid" is set in China, about guys doing Kung Fu, but your beef is with the fact that the character is Black?

As for Spider-Man, at first I thought it sounded lame, but if it's good, it wouldn't even matter. Guys would complain and the thing would get a ton of press, but it would be a bit of a twist on a classic character. They do it in comics all the time. If they can have a female Robin, why can't they have a Black Spider-Man?

As others have mentioned, the story has nothing to do with Parker's race. There's nothing that says a Black kid can't be smart and poor and like a girl who ignores him, find inner strength and learn to use it for good. Or that his name can't be Peter Parker. So if you hate that idea so much, just watch the Tobey Maguire version.

[Killericon]

Originally Posted by Lomax

If Karate Kid can be a completely different character, why does he have to be white? I really don't get that. Does he have to be Italian American too? Does he have to be from Jersey? The movie's set in China, about guys doing Kung Fu, but your beef is with the fact that the kid is Black?

As for Spider-Man, at first I thought it sounded lame, but if it's good, it wouldn't even matter. Guys would complain and the thing would get a ton of press, but it would be a bit of a twist on a classic character. They do it in comics all the time. If they can have a female Robin, why can't they have a Black Spider-Man?

The female Robin is a different character. This would be different(though, there'd be more outrage, just for different reasons) if it was someone other than Peter Parker being Spiderman for whatever reason. Besides, there's been so many Robins over the years noone cares anymore.

[Lomax]

Originally Posted by Killericon

The female Robin is a different character. This would be different(though, there'd be more outrage, just for different reasons) if it was someone other than Peter Parker being Spiderman for whatever reason. Besides, there's been so many Robins over the years noone cares anymore.

Yeah but are you saying they don't re-write characters from scratch in series reboots? Ultimate Nick Fury is a prime example. They do it in comics, so why not movies? Point being, it's much ado about nothing. If somebody made a comic reboot and made Parker Black, it wouldn't be completely out of the norm.

[Killericon]

Originally Posted by Lomax

Yeah but are you saying they don't re-write characters from scratch in series reboots? Ultimate Nick Fury is a prime example. They do it in comics, so why not movies? Point being, it's much ado about nothing. If somebody made a comic reboot and made Parker Black, it wouldn't be completely out of the norm.

Well, they rewrote everyone for Ultimates, but I see your point.

I just don't understand why they'd do it. Unless he's PERFECT for the job, and I don't think he is. If they were to do this, I think the only reason they'd do it is if they deliberately wanted a black guy, and I don't quite know why they'd do that.

I wonder how the world would respond to the casting of a black James Bond...

[worm]

Aunt May isn't going to like this.

[TheReverend]

Originally Posted by Taco John

Not being a comic book purist, I see no issues with it. I mean, they made Tony Stark a weapons dealer, why not make a Spiderman out of a nerdy black kid who doesn't fit in?

Frankly, it doesn't matter who plays spiderman so long as the special effects surrounding him are cool enough. Ultimately, what matters is how they handle the bad guys. This is the true Achillies heel of superhero movies. The latest rendition of Batman has hopefully upped the bar some by way of villain treatment. Unfortunately for the Spiderman series, there's a whole lot of stupidity by way of villains.

They didn't change Stark Industries or Tony's job at all dude... only moved it from a Cold War setting to the War on Terror, and Rhodey was a Helo Pilot in the Marines in the original story.

[chrisp]

Can I just point out that it seems to me the only people suggesting spidey should be black are the people behind the twitter campaign, and the actor himself (after he heard about the campaign). There isn't actually any indication from the producers that they are seriously considering this, and considering his box office CV I would say the guy is a long-shot for the job at best.....

How-evver, whilst I hate political correctness with a passion, I don't have a problem with Spidey being black - as another poster said, its down to the character, not the looks. Where is the law that says the film has to be faithful to the original source material? It actually has to appeal to viewers beyond the hard-core fanbase and in doing that it needs to take as much or as little inspriation from the original as it feels the need to. There was quite a fuss about Daniel Craig's 'blond bond' and whilst opinion is still probably divided they breathed fresh life into a moribund franchise by going in a different direction. The purists will always have the original to go back to, wheras a retelling of the same story in a different medium needs to change that story to at least some extent - particularly if it is a re-re-telling in the same medium....

Change of colour doesn't have to mean change of character. Peter Parker doesn't have to suddenly be into hip-hop and baggy jeans - he could be a guy just like the white Peter Parker who just happens to not be white....

[TheReverend]

Btw, a little demographic information reading through some of the comments:

-The vast majority of this movement is being done by white people
-The majority of black people chiming in on this topic are vehemently opposed to this concept

[Cleo McDowell]

this thread reminds of something.

From this:


To this:



Its been happening for a while now guys.

[Flex Gunmetal]

Originally Posted by UberBroncoMan

1/5th black and 1/5th freaky ****ing alien to be exact.



On the topic of skin pigmentation change. No. Just NO.

That's how Peter Parker has always been, and that's how he should stay. The END.

I don't give a **** about skin color in daily life and all of that. But making changes to cultural figures just for the sake of skin color is just as bad as avoiding it. As stated by others. There are plenty of fine black skinned heroes out there... and I wouldn't want them to look any different than they do in the comics either.

Yep.
If the story stays true to the source material and they dont take too many creative liberties, I'm fine with a black spiderman.

Oh, and Ryan Reynolds is playing GL, coming out next year. Dude should be great for the role. I also heard he may be doing a Deadpool movie, which he would be absolutely perfect for.

Too bad his character got butchered in the wolverwine movie.

[Kaylore]

Originally Posted by Taco John

I didn't even watch Spiderman 2.

You so missed out. That was the best one.

[sisterhellfyre]

Originally Posted by Taco John

Not being a comic book purist, I see no issues with it. I mean, they made Tony Stark a weapons dealer, why not make a Spiderman out of a nerdy black kid who doesn't fit in?

Urkel as Spiderman?

Oh no, I din't just go there...