And There Came A Day

In discussing the idea of diversity in comics, it would be remiss of me to neglect the Avengers, the first Marvel super-hero team to feature members of different ethnicities, as far back as the mid-Sixties.
Post- Brian Bendis, who revitalised the Avengers franchise with a more urban, "street-level", er, vision for Earth's Mightiest, Jonathan Hickman delivered Avengers World, a sprawling, high-concept, science fiction interpretation.

Hickman also continued the tradition of inducting veteran Marvel heroes who wouldn't have been considered Avengers material in the Noughties: New Mutant alumni Sunspot and Cannonball, the Micronauts' Captain Universe and Shang-Chi, the Master of Kung Fu.

But Britain's own Al Ewing has probably done the most to champion diversity amongst the Assemblers in the last few years. His grassroots  Mighty Avengers reflected ethnicities in a remarkable way. There were only two Caucasian members- if we're counting She-Hulk - and Ewing restored Monica Rambeau, the Latino characters Power Man and White Tiger and Adam the Blue Marvel ( a Superman/Martian Manhunter pastiche from the late Noughties, created to explore racial prejudice). Within this gritty milieu, the Tiger was powered up to godlike levels and Power Man's "urban Chi" abilities were a fascinating modernisation of "Chop Socky" gimmicks like the Iron Fist.

Ewing's next Avengers title, the hi-tech, cartoony New Avengers recounted Sunspot's repurposing of AIM, folded in a couple of ex-Young Avengers, Hulkling and Wiccan, and followed the development of their romantic relationship. The successor series, USAvengers is a smorgasbord of wacky humour, patriotic imagery and optimism: it discusses nationalism and identity with flying squirrels and "Hulk plug-ins". It also presents another tender same-sex relationship- between Norwegian naïf  Enigma and Iron Patriot, a new version of Toni Ho (aka Rescue ). Ewing also reintroduced his own mixed race version of Captain America: the grown-up daughter of Luke Cage. it's interesting that it takes a British writer to comment on the inspirational qualities of the American Dream.

In Ewing's Ultimates- now Ultimates2-  diversity isn't a plot point. It's a mind-melting cascade of  trippy Kozmic adventures,reviving characters from the 80s New Universe, as Avengers World did before it.  Mighty Avengers big-hitters Spectrum and Blue Marvel join Black Panther, Carol Danvers and "reality's paramedic" America Chavez in a series that melds the most psychedelic creations of  Ditko and Kirby with government conspiracy reminiscent of the X-Files.

Ewing's comics are often love letters to the Eighties but he references Warlock and Dr. Strange too.
This is one of the most challenging and rewarding comics Marvel is currently producing.


In the next post, we'll look at some more of the diverse Marvel heroes and their creators, who are bringing new approaches to the House of Ideas

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