Jamie Foxx is rumored to be playing the villain, Electro, in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Now, if you're a racist, I know what you're thinking: Jamie Foxx shouldn?t play Electro because he's a black man, and the Electro in the comics isn't black. Well, let me be the millionth to tell you that your opinions are wrong. They?re wrong about most other things as well, but, for right now, we?ll focus on why they're wrong for this one specific thing.
I have developed an open letter to the racists who have problems with changing a comic character?s race.
Dear Racists,
You don't know me very well. You don't know a lot of things very well. That's not to say that you can't be intelligent in other areas, but hating black people and minorities tends to take you down a few pegs in every attribute that you might possess. I know that it might be discriminatory to think that a racist is worse at math because of the anxiety he feels in public restrooms, but I feel that I have the right to think that you're more idiotic due to your stupid beliefs, because you are.
Now, being a comic book fan requires a certain amount of obsessive tendency, so I can only imagine how that tendency applies to your other habits. Do you argue the continuity of Mephisto wiping away the 15th Amendment? Do you post pictures to tumblr of Bane breaking Malcolm X?s back? And, most importantly, do you hate Luke Cage for reasons that you yourself don't quite understand?
I know that some of you might think that I'm blowing this out of proportions and that I shouldn?t feel the need to respond to the YouTube comments and tweets that I've seen which deal with why Electro, a fake character who hasn't been, and never will be a part of normal, real life, shouldn?t be played by a black man, but I'm not. Because, racists, you've done this shit a few times before. Remember when Michael Clarke Duncan was picked to play Kingpin in the Daredevil movie? You guys went nuts!
A character whose main function is to cover the ?fat guy in a suit? corner of the Marvel comic villain spectrum was played by a well respected black actor. You couldn't wrap your heads around it. Suddenly, your beloved character was now going to be played by the man you feared was fucking your wife while you were at the grocery store, pleasing her more than you could ever hope to. You had to sit through that entire movie and watch the reason that you couldn't sit next to another person on the bus ruin the legacy of your childhood.
Then, in the Ultimate Comics Universe, Spider-Man was killed off, and replaced by a kickass Hispanic teen, Miles Morales. You guys, unsurprisingly, hated that too. Not Spider-Man! Not the world's most relatable superhero! That would take at least forty showers, twelve Coors Lights and two first cousin tongue baths to wash away the memory of.
And now Jamie Foxx playing Electro! Jamie Foxx has swagger. He's a cool, good looking, talented black guy.? And he's in your The Amazing Spider-Man 2. I just bet it's because of the President!
You just can't win, can you, racists? Why? Because you're dumb and your problems are dumb.
Racism as a whole is ignorant, but racism when dealing with comic characters is like challenging a breeze to a punching contest: you\’ll get absolutely nothing out of it and look like as fucking fool before it, during it and after it's over. You're trying to defend the sanctity of your own limited imagination, and when your limited imagination is ?This person is lesser because they don't look like me?, you have no platform to climb on.
At this point, if you are making a stand against the races of fictional characters, you're literally running out of things to do. It's not that you've tried every other thing, it's just that you're so inept that you've cut out most of your other options in life and are now forced to pick from the remaining ones, and the remaining ones are all breeze-punching contests.
And, plus, if you're going to defend a character?s white honor, there are bigger, better fish. Electro will be awful no matter who plays him. His mask looks like the remnants of someone?s item on Crazy Hat Day, nine hours after they decided to eat it, and he was created by touching a power line, in a time period when you could gain the power to change seasons if you just fell in a leaf pile. One of Electro?s main abilities is that he has ?improved strength? and can lift up to 450 pounds, which, in Spider-Man?s world, equates to getting his teeth kicked in only slightly slower. Its okay, racists. Jamie Foxx isn't going to make Electro suck any less.
So, in conclusion, racists, you're fighting a battle that you can't win. Find a new hobby. I know that it will be tough, considering the nightmare visions of your father that you encounter every night, but I'm sure you can do it. If not, then be prepared to keep on looking crazy and stupid. And keep on fearing that Electro is now going to flirt with your girlfriend, because he totally is.
-Daniel
Blake says
you keep that electro away from me
Josh Miller says
The reason people don’t want to see Jamie Foxx play electro is because they have waited 30 or 40 years to see a respectable big budget Spider-Man Electro battle take place and they want it to look and feel like it was intended. Jamie Fox is a great actor he won a academy award for a reason. but he shouldn’t play electro he could play the Beatle who is a African American character and also become a hero in the series later which is more up jamie foxxs alley.it has nothing to do with race.I also wouldn’t like Luke cage being or black panther being played by a white man
chris says
Well Daniel, you must be a black man since you seem like you hate whites…. As for the comics, well, I cant help it that all the great superheros are all WHITE as if Captain America could be black? Stupid article…. Oh and Jamie fox as a black electro is just HORRIBLE idea and really he sucks as an actor….
Simon says
Typical guilty white liberal simplifying things.
Robert Mower says
First of all, it’s racist to “Black face” established white characters
I’m sure you would have a cow if an ethnic character were to be white washed.
which brings me to point number 2, It’s continuity, not fear of blacks that is the hardcore fans’ issue here. to use die hard comic book fans, these characters are like real people, people we have known for years, people who matter.
do i hate luke cage? sure, but not because he’s black. I hate that fool because he has become just another stereotypical angry black man working twice as hard at not working.
look, in a world of nobal heroes who selflessly sacrifice their time, health and even their lives to protect and serve, what does Luke do? creates “heroes for hire” a super hero mercenary force working for the highest bidder.
and if that’s not bad enough, lets see what other N***** stereotypes he can hit
Jail time, knocking up a white woman, out of wedlock even, refusing to obay laws simply to refuse even though said law doesn’t even negatively effect him. did i miss any?
next up, we have the kingpin fiasco. this is a guy who is supposed to be a modern day maffia don, did no one explain that the moffia are rather racist and hidebound? there is no way a black man could gain and hold such a position in the underworld, it’s as believable as samual l jackson becoming a big cheese in the KKK.
as for fear of the black man fucking my wife, if i had a wife i’d be rather disturbed if she wasn’t getting some dark meat (mine)
and that brings us around to little nicky
if you knew his back story you’d knew that Colonel Nicholas Joseph “Nick” Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and OSS agent (positions to which negro’s need not allpy back then) look how long it took to get a black man in the white house, you think they’d give one control of shield?
why wouldn’t we hate a beloved character being killed off to make room for a cowerdly ethnic stereotype whose uncle is a criminal
“And now Jamie Foxx playing Electro! Jamie Foxx has swagger. He
Nico says
No idea who this Jamie Foxx guy is or anything about any shitty American movie.I just read something about this guy making racist comments,if he doesn’t like white people then tell him about a great place called Africa where the majority of people are black.
Blake says
like other white liberals, i did the guilty deed of simplifying your mom last night
Blake says
yeah, keep that goddamn ‘alien’ superman away from my canon.
Uncle Dick says
You know, Robert, for a guy who keeps claiming it’s not about race, you sure do pull up the stereotypes pretty readily. Let’s look at your complaint about Luke Cage for a second: You said you don’t like him “because he has become just another stereotypical angry black man working twice as hard at not working” and “…lets see what other N***** stereotypes he can hit
Jail time, knocking up a white woman, out of wedlock even, refusing to obay laws simply to refuse…”
Those are definitely some pretty charged comments, and don’t paint you or your fellow comic book diehards in a very positive light; in fact, they make you look like a douche. Maybe you are using them to illustrate your point (being that you can’t expand your mind to see beyond the drawings), but they only make you look like an idiot.
Speaking of which (and this is where ALL of the air comes out of your logic balloon): you complain that Samuel L. Jackson wasn’t a good fit for SHIELD because “Colonel Nicholas Joseph ‘Nick’ Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and OSS agent (positions to which negro
alan dehan says
Well, I don’t agree with you at all : if the character is white why then should he be black in the movie or if he’s black in the comics why should he be played by a white actor…you’re not a racist just because you don’t want the characters to change their ethnic origins….it would be as stupid as turning a male character into a female one…And as white wives getting fucked by black men,let me tell you that here in french guiana we, white guys,fuck black girls by the dozens..sure we can do it way better than you black guy…if thoug you’re said to be (said to be,yes, not truth) well hung.
jason says
Daniel you are an asshole. You are passing judgement upon us poor white folks. People that play these role whether or not in the superhero universe should be played how they were imagined. If Waiting to exhale was remade with an all white cast the black community would be up in arms.
moe says
So if a white dude were to play Black Panther that’ll be cool? Get outta here. Oh and for Michael B. Jordan playing Human Torch. Gimme a break. Last time I checked The Fantastic Four consists of white Sue Storm her white brother Johnny Storm, Sue Storms husband Reed Richards and their close friend Ben aka THE THING. So having a black Human Torch makes no sense. That Fantastic Four would not even be the Fantastic Four we grew up with. So if the new Human Torch played by Michael B Jordan is black then should Sue Storm be black? Basically the new Fantastic Four would be a basterdization of the what the Fantastic Four should be.
moe says
All I wrote was that you wouldn’t have a white actor playing Black Panther and the moderator deleted my post. This whole forum is effen racist. especially the moderator who deleted my post. Great job guy. erase the opinions that make sense so you can make yourself look good. You can’t stop the opinions. I’ll post this on other forums so people can see the trasthat this website is.
Voiceofreason says
Wow the vitriol on this forum is enough to burn a city….
Simmer down children lets play nice shall we? A few shoutouts
Robert Mower: was all that hate that really necessary? To bring up the fact he impregnated a white woman really hit below the belt. So using your logic: if he had impregnated say…Storm and treated her the same way Im guessing you would have been okay with it right?
Jamie Foxx is not my first choice for Electro, nothing against the man as he is good actor, its just doesnt feel right. Mark Strong or Colm Feore would have been so much better fit and dark nature of Electro of course thats just my opinion. But being that Electro is a comic book villain Im not as butt hurt as some of you on here. And to jason: A white person playing black panther? You’d be surprised that most of us in the black community who read comics would be alright with it. Ive seen White person cosplay Black Panther and do it quite well. Of course you have some that are going to gripe. And they would just not go see the movie or read the comic. Its that simple. Dont worry nobodys going to come after you poor white folks. But all the insults and mud slinging? Seriously?
Tee says
I find it funny that Black people are trying to defend the idea of a previously White villain being turned black. As if there isn’t enough negative portrayals of POCs and Black people in the media in the first place. Not that villainy is can’t come in all colors, but the portrayal of POCs in a negative light far outweighs positive portrayals to a disproportionate extent– so much so that it distorts the general perception of people of color in real life.
We need to fight for better and more respectable roles, better yet make our own. No more talking animal sidekicks, no more villains, no more gangsters.
Django unchained was a step it the right direction, but we need more.
Just a thought.