Fury After New Black Panther Is Revealed to Be White

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It’s not so fun when the race-swapped rabbit’s got the gun, is it?

Or, something that sounds like that.

Anyone who cares at all about pop culture is probably aware that one of the hottest debates within it involves “race-swapping” established, fictitious characters.

Everyone, from “The Little Mermaid,” to “Spider-Man,” seems to have one — if not multiple — non-white variants of their original designs.

Proponents of these race-swaps argue that it’s a key way to give minorities more representation.

Critics argue that the race-swaps are creatively lazy and dilute established brands.

(This writer tends to agree with the critics.)

In most of these instances, including with the aforementioned mermaid and human-arachnid, the race-swaps will take historically white characters and make them black, or at the very least, not white.

Those who disagree with these race-swaps are often derided as bigots or racists and are unfairly shamed by the fandom’s more liberal-leaning fringes.

Will we see a white actor play Black Panther?

Yes: 32% (164 Votes)

No: 68% (356 Votes)

Well, now that shoe appears to be on the other foot — and those sitting in their ivory, judgmental towers aren’t handling it that well.

To wit, Marvel Comics’ “Black Panther” — the leader of a fictitious futuristic African nation called Wakanda, played most recently by the late Chadwick Boseman — has long been a black-focused superhero world. The description and name make that rather clear.

“Black Panther” is a mantle handed down to the king of Wakanda, and can be wrested by combat.

The current king, T’Challa, is bested by an estranged son in the most recent developments of the comic book. Once that son removes his mask, it’s revealed that the new king of Wakanda had blonde hair and blue-ish eyes.

(T’Challa is black, by the way.)

By besting T’Challa, his white son was now king and thus on a direct path to being Marvel’s new “Black Panther.”

The move proved unsurprisingly controversial, but not from the usual crowd:

Alas, the other side of this debate did not offer much sympathy.

Look, at the end of the day, this is a lot of emotional grievance being spilled over a fictitious character in charge of a fictitious place.

But it’s also a microcosm of the cultural rot at the heart of leftism, which primarily involves identity politics, and the hypocrisy within.

By the warped rules of identity politics, there shouldn’t be anything wrong with a white person assuming the mantle of “Black Panther.”

But since tacit racism against white people isn’t just allowed, but encouraged, by the left, there is apparently something wrong with a white “Black Panther.”

It’s always the same hypocritical song and dance from the left: “These are the rules — unless you’re white, straight, married, etc.”

It’s a sick joke that’s thankfully being exposed on the front lines of the culture war by, of all things, a comic book.

Sr. Editor / Sr. Writer

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Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics.

Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics. He graduated with a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. He is an avid fan of sports, video games, politics and debate.

Birthplace

Hawaii

Education

Class of 2010 University of Arizona. BEAR DOWN.

Location

Phoenix, Arizona

Languages Spoken

English, Korean

Topics of Expertise

Sports, Entertainment, Science/Tech

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