The Human Torch is going to be BLACK!! OMG!!…who the fuck cares?
By Patrick Gleason
It appears in the reboot of the next Fantastic Four movie, Fox has planned to go with a black actor, Michal B Jordan, to play Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch. No surprise this has caused a stir amongst fan boys, and racists who say this ‘ruins’ the franchise. I guess much the same way Michael Keaton would ruin Batman, or no way Hugh Jackman could portray Wolverine.
Sue Storm (Kata Mara) is still to be the sister of Johnny, though we are not sure yet if it is step-sister or one of them is adopted. But that doesn’t matter for the outcry. Johnny Storm is supposed to be WHTIE they cry out, from their lowly basements, chubby fist raised in outrage. They of course are missing the point.
The Fantastic Four derived their powers based on their personalities. The leader, Reed Richards was constantly working on many projects, while also trying to maintain a marriage, deal with Johnny and also concerns from the military whom he had contracts with. He was feeling pulled or stretched in many different directions from those influences. Ben Grimm was the steadfast person of the group, strong & reliable, steady as a rock. Sue Storm, from the 60s comics, was the young secretary/wife of a famous scientist. She felt overshadowed and overwhelmed in the situations and was not sure of her place, being overlooked. Johnny was the hot-headed impetuous youth, flying off at whim. The first FOX film did a very good job of capturing the characters personalities, and the actors portrayed them quite well. Although I, as many others was not happy with what they did with Doom in regards to him having powers, the personality and drive behind him was done well.
Also in the 60s when the comics first came, as with many other markets at the time, they were aiming towards a white audience. The company did not want to try to sell a black hero to the mass market. So the Fantastic Four were white. And stayed that way in the comics; one reason being Marvel, like DC, did not want to do major changes to well-established characters for worries over readership.
However, now FOX has a chance to retell/modernize the story. I have no problem with Johnny Storm being black, as long as the basic character and personality stay the same. Now my question is why couldn’t Sue Storm also be black? Reed Richards could be white and married to a black woman. Even Ben Grimm could be black, or Asian or hell Samoan. FOX has a chance to truly step into the 21st century with this reboot. But considering the backlash just for the Human Torch, I don’t think America is ready yet.
Tags: Comic Books, Fantastic Four, Geek News