Let first congratulate the Sony hackers for tipping this iceberg into the ocean and getting this thing going because this is certainly unprecedented. With anything Marvel though at this point you can't count anything out. By introducing the "shared universe" concept to Hollywood Marvel is showing that you can make big money by going outside the box. Cudos, Sony hackers!
Now lets get to the elephant in the room. White guy Peter Parker vs. Black/hispanic guy Miles Morales???
I ultimately think that Sony/Marvel will choose Peter Parker because there is so many stories involving Peter that hasn't been done and missed because Sony was foolish enough to reboot Spider-man and retell his origin again 5 YEARS AFTER THE LAST SEQUEL. But i think we have a unique opportunity presented here with introducing Miles Morales as the new Spider-Man. Let's talk about how many new stories they can mine from a new version that doesn't have the weight of continuity. A lot of creatives can come in and tell new series from their perspective and put everything on a whole new plane. Miles is a very likable character in the comics and his youthful enthusiasm would translate well on screen. On the business side this would be such a great PR move because the attention you would get casting a minority in the role of arguably the second most popular superhero(I would make a case that Batman is the first) you just can't buy enough of.
Let's talk about the race factor. Many people wont say it directly but the idea of a black/hispanic as Spider-Man that is different than the one MANY grew up on and supported over the years rubs them raw. Now I guess that asks the question are you racist if you think this way? Maybe. No one can truly know how you feel about something unless you make your voice known and I'm sure many in the comments will just hide behind the universal comment that "I'm a traditionalist and they shouldn't change an iconic character from white to black just to be changing him." So, okay, we are not gonna out any racists here and thats fine. You can have the opinion that they shouldn't change his skin color because if you are a hard core fanboy who have supported these properties for years in their published forms and you don't want ANY changes to be made! Comics for years were not the most respected form of readership and you were made fun of in school when you were known to read them. You spent your hard earn money to support these publishers when some were even going through BANKRUPTCY(Marvel) and not a lot of folks were buying the books. For that dedication YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY CHANGES ON SCREEN! You want to see what you read put on screen in it's proper form and not put on just to appease some political correctness. Screw that. I get that.
But all things change at some point and sometimes for the better.
Younger fans do not even know there was a white Nick Fury before the current on screen so should it be such a big deal if Marvel decides to go with Miles Morales? Business wise they probably will buy more of the merchandise anyway and for the most part the appeal of Spider-Man isn't changing. He still would be a young boy that would change into a cool costume and swing through the streets of Manhattan fighting criminals. Does back or white really make that much of a difference? Sure it will be a shock at first but we'll get over it and who says they still can't work in a Peter Parker story with Andrew Garfield as the original down the line? Just as we're seeing with this Sony/Marvel collaboration nothing is impossible and nothing is absolute. Let's be open about that fact that the suits are really considering the change and don't get upset at them at the fact of if they do choose Miles that they believe in the character and the decision to pick him would be about race and making a change. Race change is not a bad thing because frankly back then when they were creating a lot of these heroes it was apparent they weren't really trying to be that diverse. It's 2015, People! It's time to update some of these things!
I will be happy with what they do either way because there are pros and cons with both. All I'm saying is that don't be simple minded like Avi Arad and think that Spider-Man can only be Peter Parker.
So, Fanboys? Miles or Peter??
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