![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
To make myself feel better, I'm going to offer a picspam and a rant. ♥
Now for the rant. Today's rant is about the marriage of Storm and the Black Panther. I'm coming at this as an X-men fan, and although I'm familiar with the rest of the Marvel Universe, the mutants are my home. Now that the disclosure is over:
Oh, where do I start on this one. I like T'Challa and Ororo a lot. I even like them together. Here's what I don't like.
1) Marvel stated outright that the marriage of T'Challa and Ororo was a publicity stunt created to get more women and African American readers.
Which, okay, I can kind of get behind that, because comics are a dying form (don't get me started on bringing back 'legacy' characters *eyes DC* or how it's still incredibly rare to see a POC well written—don't even get me started on how they've abused Bishop and Shard. My poor, poor Bishop.)
Here's the thing.
They had no history. They'd met like, once in the entirety of their existence in comics. And I know things get retconned all the time and that's why everything is always so fucked up in timelines, but this is—seriously. Their history was this: They met when they were younger, and Ororo saved him. Awesome, right?
So let's talk about the retcon. Which involved a miniseries in which T'Challa saves Ororo constantly, and they have sex. She's TWELVE, GUYS. TWELVE. And he's thirteen or so, which doesn't make it much better, except for the fact that he's, you know, slept with a lot of women already. Which, come to think of it, makes it worse. UGH. SO MUCH FAIL, I CAN'T STAND IT.
Besides, they're both black. That totes means they're soulmates, yo. -.- And I can get behind more exposure for the POC characters where they are actual heroes, where for once their characterization isn't mutilated for the sake of villany (Bishop! ;_;) but for one thing.
Here's my big sticking point, though.
2) Forge
Storm already had an incredibly intense relationship with a POC. Forge is Cheyenne. They've had a tumultuous and beautiful relationship.
(Quick history lesson: Forge created the machine that took Ororo's powers away and then saved her life, and they grew to have feelings for each other, but then she found out he was the reason she'd lost her powers, so she left and returned to the X-men because she felt betrayed. She returns to Forge to help with some interdimensional demons and Ororo is convinced by The Adversary [because that's all like, original and stuff] that Forge is trying to destroy the world, so she stabs him, realizing at the last minute that she was played. Forge survives, they get shoved into a pocket universe, where they rekindle their affection, and Forge finds out a way to get Ororo's powers back.
This is where it gets fun.
Forge and Ororo return only to find that The Adversary is kicking ass six ways to Sunday, and there's only one ritual that will help put him down. It requires a voluntary sacrifice. So Forge kills the X-men to seal away The Adversary, and then goes into a guilt-stricken exile, not knowing that a good god-like person has in fact brought the X-men back to life. Because it's awesome to hide things like that, I guess?)
History lesson aside, the thing about Forge and Ororo was there was never any question about love. It was always about timing. The moment branded in my mind was in X-men #290, back in 1992. Forge asked Ororo to marry him, and she said she had to think about it. And Forge went to Jean and begged her to tell him what Ororo's answer would be. And in one of the few Jean Grey moments that I appreciate, she said that she couldn't be the one to say. Forge takes that as a no and gets prepared to leave the X-mansion. Which leads to this tragic little panel:
These two have so much history, and it was fucked over for a terrible, terrible retcon. That brings me to my third and final point, the thing I'm most bitter about.
3) Ororo's Decision
When she decided to marry T'Challa, she didn't actually tell Forge. She had a spirit walk (or something similar to that) and hallucinated that she spoke to him and he gave her his blessing.
Think about that for a moment.
Marvel's way of getting to have their POC superhero wedding was to basically HANDWAVE EVERYTHING THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO ORORO.
Therefore, I hate that wedding. I hate it with a burning passion. But it's comics, so you know the bullshit isn't over.
A million years later, Forge pops up, and he's nuts. Absolutely needs-to-be-in-a-sanitarium-crazy (bitter.) to basically be a plot device for the X-men's next big battle. Of course, they fight their way out because that's what superheroes do. Then, some continuity. Crazy!Forge wants to stay put, and Ororo tries to convince him to come with her, and HE CALLS HER OUT. He totally calls her out on her marriage, because guess what. HALLUCINATING A CONVERSATION DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE HIS BLESSING. This poor guy woke up one morning and found out his girlfriend was going to be queen. Yeah. (bitter.) Instead of going with the X-men, he vanishes into his technological crazy hole and as of this moment, is assumed DEAD. (BITTER.)
Yeah. I don't even.
See, for this particular story, Marvel was laboring under a serious misconception. You want people of color to read comics? Add some well-rounded POC's. Like Luke Cage! Psylocke! Synch! (and oh, do I miss Everett. Synch was so awesome.) For that matter, don't steal the agency of one of the stronger female characters so that you can force an ill fitting romance on her. Ororo doesn't need T'Challa, and he doesn't need her.
In fact, they've proven it. T'Challa has left to fight Daredevil's beat, and Ororo is with the X-men. But, you know, Ororo understands T'Challa's need to be left alone. It's not like married couples handle stuff together.
Now for the rant. Today's rant is about the marriage of Storm and the Black Panther. I'm coming at this as an X-men fan, and although I'm familiar with the rest of the Marvel Universe, the mutants are my home. Now that the disclosure is over:
Oh, where do I start on this one. I like T'Challa and Ororo a lot. I even like them together. Here's what I don't like.
1) Marvel stated outright that the marriage of T'Challa and Ororo was a publicity stunt created to get more women and African American readers.
Which, okay, I can kind of get behind that, because comics are a dying form (don't get me started on bringing back 'legacy' characters *eyes DC* or how it's still incredibly rare to see a POC well written—don't even get me started on how they've abused Bishop and Shard. My poor, poor Bishop.)
Here's the thing.
They had no history. They'd met like, once in the entirety of their existence in comics. And I know things get retconned all the time and that's why everything is always so fucked up in timelines, but this is—seriously. Their history was this: They met when they were younger, and Ororo saved him. Awesome, right?
So let's talk about the retcon. Which involved a miniseries in which T'Challa saves Ororo constantly, and they have sex. She's TWELVE, GUYS. TWELVE. And he's thirteen or so, which doesn't make it much better, except for the fact that he's, you know, slept with a lot of women already. Which, come to think of it, makes it worse. UGH. SO MUCH FAIL, I CAN'T STAND IT.
Besides, they're both black. That totes means they're soulmates, yo. -.- And I can get behind more exposure for the POC characters where they are actual heroes, where for once their characterization isn't mutilated for the sake of villany (Bishop! ;_;) but for one thing.
Here's my big sticking point, though.
2) Forge
Storm already had an incredibly intense relationship with a POC. Forge is Cheyenne. They've had a tumultuous and beautiful relationship.
(Quick history lesson: Forge created the machine that took Ororo's powers away and then saved her life, and they grew to have feelings for each other, but then she found out he was the reason she'd lost her powers, so she left and returned to the X-men because she felt betrayed. She returns to Forge to help with some interdimensional demons and Ororo is convinced by The Adversary [because that's all like, original and stuff] that Forge is trying to destroy the world, so she stabs him, realizing at the last minute that she was played. Forge survives, they get shoved into a pocket universe, where they rekindle their affection, and Forge finds out a way to get Ororo's powers back.
This is where it gets fun.
Forge and Ororo return only to find that The Adversary is kicking ass six ways to Sunday, and there's only one ritual that will help put him down. It requires a voluntary sacrifice. So Forge kills the X-men to seal away The Adversary, and then goes into a guilt-stricken exile, not knowing that a good god-like person has in fact brought the X-men back to life. Because it's awesome to hide things like that, I guess?)
History lesson aside, the thing about Forge and Ororo was there was never any question about love. It was always about timing. The moment branded in my mind was in X-men #290, back in 1992. Forge asked Ororo to marry him, and she said she had to think about it. And Forge went to Jean and begged her to tell him what Ororo's answer would be. And in one of the few Jean Grey moments that I appreciate, she said that she couldn't be the one to say. Forge takes that as a no and gets prepared to leave the X-mansion. Which leads to this tragic little panel:
These two have so much history, and it was fucked over for a terrible, terrible retcon. That brings me to my third and final point, the thing I'm most bitter about.
3) Ororo's Decision
When she decided to marry T'Challa, she didn't actually tell Forge. She had a spirit walk (or something similar to that) and hallucinated that she spoke to him and he gave her his blessing.
Think about that for a moment.
Marvel's way of getting to have their POC superhero wedding was to basically HANDWAVE EVERYTHING THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO ORORO.
Therefore, I hate that wedding. I hate it with a burning passion. But it's comics, so you know the bullshit isn't over.
A million years later, Forge pops up, and he's nuts. Absolutely needs-to-be-in-a-sanitarium-crazy (bitter.) to basically be a plot device for the X-men's next big battle. Of course, they fight their way out because that's what superheroes do. Then, some continuity. Crazy!Forge wants to stay put, and Ororo tries to convince him to come with her, and HE CALLS HER OUT. He totally calls her out on her marriage, because guess what. HALLUCINATING A CONVERSATION DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE HIS BLESSING. This poor guy woke up one morning and found out his girlfriend was going to be queen. Yeah. (bitter.) Instead of going with the X-men, he vanishes into his technological crazy hole and as of this moment, is assumed DEAD. (BITTER.)
Yeah. I don't even.
See, for this particular story, Marvel was laboring under a serious misconception. You want people of color to read comics? Add some well-rounded POC's. Like Luke Cage! Psylocke! Synch! (and oh, do I miss Everett. Synch was so awesome.) For that matter, don't steal the agency of one of the stronger female characters so that you can force an ill fitting romance on her. Ororo doesn't need T'Challa, and he doesn't need her.
In fact, they've proven it. T'Challa has left to fight Daredevil's beat, and Ororo is with the X-men. But, you know, Ororo understands T'Challa's need to be left alone. It's not like married couples handle stuff together.