La Ron S. Readus
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Why Aldis Hodge SHOULD be Hawkman in Black Adam (VIDEO SCRIPT)
🕑 Added 2020-09-28 20:00:02 +0000 UTC
Now lets get someone Middle-Eastern to play Kent Nelson, and we’ll be golden..age (toothy cheshire grin)
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Readers, we got some interesting developments regarding the Black Adam movie
Not only did the DC Fandome event confirm the rumors I reported on previously that the Justice Society of America will in fact be in the movie...
But now that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his family have been cleared of Covid-19 and are no longer contagious, production on the film is underway with the first bit of casting news.
/That being the recent announcement of Aldis Hodge of Universal and Blumhouse’s Invisible Man has been cast alongside Johnson as the Justice Society’s Hawkman./
Now DC comic fans know that out of all the origins for the majority of the more recognizable superheroes on their roster, Hawkman has a history of not wanting to pinpoint to a specific one.
Despite there being a pretty common one that takes place after Crisis on Infinite Earths in the silver age of comics, Hawkman tends to be the one hero that doesn’t necessarily have a good solidified grasp on his origin, damn near changing every time there’s an event in-universe that allows the universe to reboot itself.
Even the one that fans of Justice League the Animated Series grew up with regarding Planet Thanagar may not have that much of a say in the new beginnings of the character thanks to the New 52
But because we know that Black Adam will be meeting the Justice Society in this movie, we know that the Hawkman usually associated with the JSA is the Golden Age version of the character, american archaeologist turned superhero Carter Hall. Which makes a bit more sense once you remember that Doctor Fate is ALSO in the JSA, and opens up the possibilities to right a few wrongs that were made with the iteration of the character in the comics by casting Hodge.
However, this doesn’t stop a lot of people stating a claim that casting an African American actor in the role of a comic book character that’s usually depicted as white is a case of race swapping to appease social justice warriors and wouldn’t be acceptable if a white actor was cast as comic book character that in the comics was traditionally a person of color.
Well Readers, if you’ve seen my video where I entertain the recent idea of Kevin Feige casting Magneto and possibly Professor X as black men in the inevitable X-Men reboot when they introduce mutants into the MCU, then you already know my stake in the race when it comes to raceswapping in comic book movies:
As long as there isn’t anything practically associated with the character regarding their identity that requires them to be the race that they were originally assigned upon their creation, then have at it.
And in the case of Golden Age Justice Society Hawkman -- and even DOUBLE for Doctor Fate -- my point kinda stands.
You see, a lot of these characters -- especially the Justice Society of the Golden Age -- were created in a time where white was right with the mentality to back it up.
And even though DC forced Bruce Timm to slightly change the Justice Society to the Justice Guild during the Legends two-parter in the Justice League animated series, it still proves to be a proper representative of the writers for the characters at the time.
(You’re one of the good ones Justice League clip)
And when black folk were present in comics during that era, it was mostly for shock value and a way to use our identity to try and teach lessons TO said racists, doing more harm than good (Lois Lane turns black issue)
It wasn’t until Black Panther made his first appearance in Fantastic Four in the 1940’s that there was a bonafide black superhero that went mainstream, and paved the way for every black hero in comics that we have today.
And even though he was an original character and at the time the only black superhero treading water in a sea of whiteness, racist white folk STILL found his presence in mainstream comics a threat to their idiotic ideals of supremacy
You really think people complaining about social justice warriors ruining things white people love started THIS decade? Naw son, this ain’t brand new! Racist white folk have been using that smokescreen since the beginning of time!
The Golden Age of comic books also brought about another cardinal sin that’s hugely -- yet correctly -- associated with the white is right mentality that was left unchecked for YEARS up until now; cultural appropriation
A lot of characters in both DC and Marvel alike had their superhero origins SEEPED in it; white characters coming across magic or happenstance associated with the magic, culture or the spiritual practices of another ethnic group or civilization
/The early days of one of my favorite Marvel heroes Doctor Strange was ALSO originally forged by the cultural appropriation of various Asian ethnicities; even taking on the facial features upon learning the ways of the mystic arts during his early days until Marvel realized that wasn’t such a good idea. My buddy Scott over on NerdSync did a very well done video talking about it that you should definitely check out after this one./
The Golden Age version of Hawkman -- aka Carter Hall -- is no different.
He’s a blonde haired blue eyed white archaeologist who is the reincarnation of an Ancient Egyptian prince, and crafts his Hawkman persona and costume around a belt made out a gravity-defying metal called Nth metal once he regains the memories of his past life
Honestly, I could’ve stopped at “a white dude being the reincarnation of an Ancient Egyptian prince” and still get my point across
Now I’d be biting my tongue if there were any significance in the differences between Carter Hall and his past self Prince Khufu made in the stories this version of the character were written in, but there isn’t.
He doesn’t realize that his new life as a white man is significantly easier than his past one
That he’s looked at and treated a certain way because he now has lighter skin
Or looks at the plight of other minorities and questions their struggle outside of saving lives with the JSA.
If those stories actually existed, then there’d be an actual reason why Carter Hall -- a white american -- has to stay white. Because he could be used as a vessel to teach white readers empathy, considering he’s a character that’s actually lived proper lives as both a white man and a man of color.
But because the Golden Age JSA comics don’t do that thanks to having writers that only know what it’s like to be white
Probably REFUSED to consider anything BUT what it’s like to be white
And just looked at ancient civilizations and cultures as a cool way to create more superheroes without considering the takeaways, the concept of Golden Age Hawkman is pretty much a blank canvas that we can get right this time
And considering that the country of Egypt is in Northern Africa and the population of modern-day Egypt consist mostly of Middle-Eastern individuals, the odds of Aldis Hodge being the reincarnation of Prince Khufu are definitely higher than someone drawn to resemble Cary Elwes
But, I digress, Readers. Your homework assignment for the day:
Write in the comment section below how you feel about Aldis Hodge being cast as Hawkman in the Black Adam movie!
Do you think he’s a good choice? Were you hoping for someone else? I’d love to know your thoughts!
And remember! If I catch you being racist, your ass is grass
