Current Events > Did Idris Elba as an Asgardian ruin the Marvel movies for you?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Does it ruins the believability & immersion of the world of Asgard & its characters for you?

Is it insulting to people of Germanic-Scandinavian descent that there is a black man playing a movie version of a comic version of a God from their ancerstors religion & folklore?
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if you're going to try to make a point could you at least use a slightly less irrelevant marvel character? i'm sure people were upset when SLJ got cast as fury.
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monkmith posted...

irrelevant marvel character

I mean, he was pretty fucking relevant in all 3 Thor movies
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monkmith posted...

i'm sure people were upset when SLJ got cast as fury.

Not if they've ever picked up a comic book
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Trigg3rH4ppy posted...

monkmith posted...

irrelevant marvel character

I mean, he was pretty fucking relevant in all 3 Thor movies

So almost irrelevant
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Why would it? Asgard is an alien society, so this is a bit of a non-sequitur. Also Heimdall is not the only example of racial diversity on Asgard, so pointing at him specifically as an example of someone breaking the fiction of the (science fiction!!!) setting is just cherry picking ignorance.
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monkmith posted...

if you're going to try to make a point could you at least use a slightly less irrelevant marvel character? i'm sure people were upset when SLJ got cast as fury.

You mean when they cast him as Ultimate Nick Fury who says in the comics that SLJ should play him in a movie? Who likeness was always SLJ?

That Character?
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Trigg3rH4ppy posted...

monkmith posted...

irrelevant marvel character

I mean, he was pretty fucking relevant in all 3 Thor movies

as the sage and mcguffin. he's a glorified plot device who spouts a few lines.
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No.

I know that the Asgardians are supposed to be Nordic gods, but still, it's all fictional, who cares. He killed it in that character.

The difference is that his character, as well as Nick Fury, weren't widely known in the movie universe (only in comics) so they could take the concept.

It is different from taking Peter Parker, James Bond, Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne and saying "go diversity, idris elba is now all of you"
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monkmith posted...

Trigg3rH4ppy posted...

monkmith posted...

irrelevant marvel character

I mean, he was pretty fucking relevant in all 3 Thor movies

as the sage and mcguffin. he's a glorified plot device who spouts a few lines.

He's more active and relevant in his actions and advise than all of Thor's best friends. Thor comes to Heimdall for guidance more often than not. His clairvoyance gives him a level of authority on Asgard comparable to the throne, which is why he's never punished even though he disobeys a direct order from the throne in every Thor movie. Hell, he might even have more control over the plot than Odin.
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I never got the outrage regarding Heimdall. Sure, the norse god was known for his whiteness, but the Thor movies aren't directly based on Norse mythology, they're based on an adaptation of a series of Marvel comics that draw inspiration from Norse mythology. I see plenty of people whining about Heimdall, but I've never seen anyone complain about Odin-sleep or Thor not having any sons or a wife, or the antagonist of Ragnorak being Thor's sister instead of being Loki's daughter.

All the complaining just seems like racism because Heimdall is the only inaccuracy people bother complaining about while they ignore all of the others. It's just extremely weird to dislike the character because of one tiny bit of obscure trivia while ignoring all of the other massive inconsistencies in the Norse mythos.
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I've read a fair bit about Norse mythology for fun and it didn't even cross my mind that it would be weird for Nordic deities to be portrayed by black actors lol. That's how pure I am >_>
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monkmith posted...

if you're going to try to make a point could you at least use a slightly less irrelevant marvel character? i'm sure people were upset when SLJ got cast as fury.

Fury isnt based on a Germanic-Scandinavian god, hence why I went with Heimdall for this topic.
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eston posted...

monkmith posted...

i'm sure people were upset when SLJ got cast as fury.

Not if they've ever picked up a comic book

Wrong. I read comics and bugged me

He was only black at that point, in the Ultimate Universe. He was still white in the main marvel universe. And no it's more than his race. They totally changed the character. White Nick Fury fought in WW2 and ages slowly. Black Nick Fury is just a normal guy from modern times

3rd_Best_Master posted...

ntagonist of Ragnorak being Thor's sister instead of being Loki's daughter.

I have whined about that

Zikten posted...

eston posted...

monkmith posted...

i'm sure people were upset when SLJ got cast as fury.

Not if they've ever picked up a comic book

Wrong. I read comics and bugged me

He was only black at that point, in the Ultimate Universe. He was still white in the main marvel universe. And no it's more than his race. They totally changed the character. White Nick Fury fought in WW2 and ages slowly. Black Nick Fury is just a normal guy from modern times

That's like complaining Frank Castle isn't a Vietnam vet anymore.
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Then change it so black Nick Fury fought in the Korean war or Vietnam and ages slowly

Of all the complaints I've heard of Marvel movies, Heimdall being black was never one of them.
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Zikten posted...

3rd_Best_Master posted...

ntagonist of Ragnorak being Thor's sister instead of being Loki's daughter.

I have whined about that

Then I'll accept your whining about Heimdall not being steeped in racism. Everyone else that whines about Heimdall while excusing all of the other inaccuracies and inconsistencies are still racist, however.
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No. The Asgardians are an entirely different species. It doesn't matter what race their actors are.

Also funny that people seem to think that the Norse should be the whitest gods from mythology. The entire fucking pantheon is founded on multiple races mixing. They didn't even ever specify that the gods were Norse in the first place, unlike the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, who basically claimed that only their race was descended/created by the gods.

Zikten posted...

Then change it so black Nick Fury fought in the Korean war or Vietnam and ages slowly

We barely know a thing about his past in the MCU because it doesn't matter.

I don't think anyone gives a shit if Nick Fury ages normally or slowly.
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Darmik posted...

Zikten posted...

Then change it so black Nick Fury fought in the Korean war or Vietnam and ages slowly

We barely know a thing about his past in the MCU because it doesn't matter.

I don't think anyone gives a shit if Nick Fury ages normally or slowly.

Zikten wants adaptions to be followed to the letter no matter how dated or illogical it is

Well we will see some of his past in Captain Marvel. It's set in the 90s and he is in it

Zikten posted...

Then change it so black Nick Fury fought in the Korean war or Vietnam and ages slowly

Pretty sure the movie Nick Fury was involved in the Cold War but it's going to be retconned for Captain Marvel.
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Dash_Harber posted...

Also funny that people seem to think that the Norse should be the whitest gods from mythology. The entire f***ing pantheon is founded on multiple races mixing. They didn't even ever specify that the gods were Norse in the first place, unlike the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, who basically claimed that only their race was descended/created by the gods.

Heimdall is specifically described as being the whitest of the Aesir, so the criticism has merit. But since it's the only thing people tend to nitpick on, while ignoring everything else, you can see what the real issue there is.
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The only weird thing about Black Fury is now 616 is White Furys random Black Son
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3rd_Best_Master posted...

Dash_Harber posted...

Also funny that people seem to think that the Norse should be the whitest gods from mythology. The entire f***ing pantheon is founded on multiple races mixing. They didn't even ever specify that the gods were Norse in the first place, unlike the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, who basically claimed that only their race was descended/created by the gods.

Heimdall is specifically described as being the whitest of the Aesir, so the criticism has merit. But since it's the only thing people tend to nitpick on, while ignoring everything else, you can see what the real issue there is.

Yes, and Thor is explicitly described as a redhead with a thick beard, so we are already off to a shaky start.

There is also some confusion over white as a descriptor. Our current conception of white is actually pretty damn modern. There is another example to contrast; Hel, who explicitly is stated to be half white and half black, which can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. I mean, it's likely they meant skin, but it's just as easy to interpret it more metaphorically.

kuwab0 posted...

The only weird thing about Black Fury is now 616 is White Furys random Black Son

And I think his father is now living on the moon if I remember. I hope he comes back someday. Maybe after SLJ's MCU contract is up

Zikten posted...

Well we will see some of his past in Captain Marvel. It's set in the 90s and he is in it

Probably not that much though because it's a Captain Marvel movie and not a Nick Fury one.
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Dash_Harber posted...

and Thor is explicitly described as a redhead with a thick beard

lol I forgot about that one

Beardgate when?
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Darmik posted...

Zikten posted...

Well we will see some of his past in Captain Marvel. It's set in the 90s and he is in it

Probably not that much though because it's a Captain Marvel movie and not a Nick Fury one.

Yeah, my money would be on that. Look at his appearances in Iron Man. They basically revealed nothing about his character what-so-ever. He was simply a plot device to bring about The Avengers.