Marvel is getting a transgender superhero, and frankly, it’s surprising this has taken so long.
The Marvel cinematic universe has already had a gay character — remember the man at the survivors’ group in Avengers: Endgame who talked about going on a date with another guy? No? Well, that’s probably because the throwaway comment was a pointless attempt to pander to a progressive audience.
When Marvel introduces its first transgender character, its motivations will be entirely the same.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently announced at a Q&A session that the Marvel cinematic universe would feature its first transgender character “very soon. In a movie that we’re shooting right now.”
The move is in keeping with the rapid pace of Marvel’s other attempts to pander to the gay and transgender lobby. In the upcoming Marvel film The Eternals, one character will be a gay man with a husband and a family. Another character from Thor’s world, Valkyrie, has been billed as bisexual.
“You look at the success of Captain Marvel and Black Panther. We want the movies to reflect the audience, and we want every member of our global audience to see themselves reflected on the screen,” Feige has said.
On-screen representation is important, and it sells — that’s one of many reasons why Black Panther was so popular. But Marvel seems to care more about virtue signaling than anything else.
Like Disney’s “exclusively gay moment” in Beauty and the Beast, which turned out to be a nothingburger, many of Marvel’s moves seem poised to pander to one crowd while trying not to offend another, all the while making subtle statements that are aimed only at boosting Disney’s bottom line.
Like Captain Marvel’s on-the-nose feminist extended scene and its woke pandering, Marvel’s moves to add diversity to its cast may seem progressive. But they’re really just calculated decisions aimed at grabbing headlines and selling tickets.
But even a seemingly safe pandering move has its risks. If Marvel casts a nontransgender person for the role, it could end up in the same hot water as Scarlett Johansson, who was scorned for her decision to accept a role as a transgender character in Rub and Tug. The film ended up getting canceled, largely because of the transgender controversy.
Even the best laid plans to cater to the woke crowd can go awry, as someone will always find fault with how a character is portrayed (and who portrays them). Marvel may be hoping to secure more supporters, but it’s playing a game it cannot win.
