The upcoming “Eternals” movie, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), will reportedly feature a scene in which the franchise’s first openly-gay character will assume responsibility for the US government’s decision to drop an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima.
What
The
Fuck?
Okay, right up front, let me point out that I haven’t seen the movie. It isn’t out yet.
Multiple reports have confirmed the movie apparently contains references to multiple timelines. And, per the hype, it’s supposed to somehow reveal that Phastos is responsible for the US government’s decision to drop an atomic bomb on the civilian population of Hiroshima during World War II.
First off, it should be a big deal that Phastos is gay. The queer community is under the kind of assault right now that usually ends in a riot. We need positive representation.
But, seriously readers, is there anyone stupid enough to believe that Disney and Marvel are innocently touting the idea that the first character MCU fans will ever recognize as *gay happens to be a patsy for the worst fucking thing the US government has ever done?
(*Don’t get it twisted, I know the history of queer comic book characters, we’re talking Cinematic Universe here.)
This is not positive representation, this is “Ace Ventura” all over again.
I promise you, dear reader, queer people aren’t all genocidal maniacs willing to murder hundreds of thousands of people because their government made some stupid decisions.
But if the first one you meet is a genocidal maniac, well, you’d probably be forgiven for assuming we’re a little… genocidal.
They market these movies for kids y’all.
Look, I don’t know what the answer is. I love the MCU. I’m a giant comic book fan and my wife and I have watched every single film (up to Black Widow, life gets in the way and all that) with wide-eyed enthusiasm.
But it feels like I’m about to get hit with some bullshit from the Marvel universe that’s going to give homophobes and bigots another tool in their toolbox with which to discriminate against me.
The straight white dudes who thought it was a good idea to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima’s civilian population don’t deserve the pardon. And blaming what’s arguably the most horrific thing humanity has ever done on a trailblazing queer character is an angry, desperate assault against the LGBTQ community.
I sure hope Marvel and Disney fix this before the movie debuts next month or that the reports have the plot all wrong.
Yes, we need to be more careful with the choice of characters.