# Why is Marvel Turning All Its Superheroes Into Women? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-marvel-turning-all-its-superheroes-into-women/766374 "2016-09-19T19:53:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-marvel-turning-all-its-superheroes-into-women/766374/81 "2016-09-21T20:57:46Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > I’m not sure about that. > > [http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11114/111144181/4779350-auntmay\_0002.jpg](http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11114/111144181/4779350-auntmay_0002.jpg) GRIN! Happy laughter and comic-book joy! I love you and want to do all your lettering and coloring! ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-marvel-turning-all-its-superheroes-into-women/766374/82 "2016-09-21T21:01:56Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Yeah, it’s pretty routine for bands that aren’t named for a single person to radically change members, although it can happen that a band wants to tour under the name of a member who’s no longer in it, like the J. Geils Band. There are some well-known bands that don’t have any original members at this point, but still keep the name - The Hollies, Blackfoot, Yes, Heart, The little River Band, The Misfits, Thin Lizzy, and GWAR. And there are lots of bands that have had multiple members try to claim the name like Survivor, Pink Floyd, and The Misfits. Those are, though, as you acknowledge, bands, not individuals. That would be more analogous to the Avengers or the Justice League having an ever-changing roster of members, which has been going on since the very beginning of both groups. That doesn’t seem quite as odd to me as having an individual hero adopt the name of a previous hero. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-marvel-turning-all-its-superheroes-into-women/766374/83 "2016-09-21T21:05:35Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I actually think that in a world with superheros you’d have a lot of name confusion, with various people wanting to take a popular name like ‘Captain America’, multiple spider-style heroes wanting to be ‘Spider Man’, and sometimes heroes and villains both wanting the same name. I suspect comic books don’t have a conflict between Tony Stark and guy with magnetic powers over who gets to be Iron Man because it’s too confusing to their branding. There was a recent subplot in a Marvel book where Deadpool starts up a mercenary organization named “Heroes for Hire,” and is hit with a cease-and-desist from Luke Cage. Also, just sort of hit in general. With fists. [Luke Cage is not a Deadpool fan.](http://f.tqn.com/y/marvelcomics/1/S/Y/0/-/-/Luke-Cage-and-Jessica-Jones-by-Scott-Koblish-and-Val-Staples.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-marvel-turning-all-its-superheroes-into-women/766374/84 "2016-09-21T23:13:33Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > As an aside I’ve seen several devoutly christian from both of the big companies. Not fire & brimstone types maybe but they weren’t crapped on either. Espirita/Firebird (Bonita Juarez) is evangelical, yeah? :checks Wikipedia: Wikipedia says she’s Catholic, but she’s pretty seriously Christian, anyway. John ‘USAgent’ Walker might be evangelical, although he’s more of a political/cultural conservative. (Granted he’s also the ‘dumb one’ in the Captain America family, but he’s basically a good guy.) Rahne Sinclair was raised in some kind of intense Calvinist background, I think. That’s not presented as a good thing, but as someone with a pretty religious background, I still find that identifiable; a lot of preacher types in real life \*are \*abusive creeps. Some characters, like Spider-Man, have deliberately unstated/vague religious backgrounds to increase reader identification. Where that trope of ambiguity is averted, it may be used for drama, as with Rahne’s abusive upbringing. But it is very often tied to ethnicity, as with Kamala Khan (Pakistani-American) or the various Jewish characters. Note that Kitty Pryde & Billy Kaplan are both clearly Jewish, but it’s not clear how observant they actually are. Kamala is a somewhat observant Muslim, but of what particular school or movement hasn’t been specified that I have seen. Oh, there are a fair number of Catholics in comics, too, like Daredevil; but that may be largely because it’s a recognizable cultural tag. And remember, Marvel is a deeply NYC company. There are rather more Jews and Catholics than in the heartland, and rather fewer evangelicals as such. And these days, NYC is getting a lot less white, too, which is reflected in books like _Power Man and Iron Fist._ ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-marvel-turning-all-its-superheroes-into-women/766374/85 "2016-09-22T00:11:39Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > Those are, though, as you acknowledge, bands, not individuals… That doesn’t seem quite as odd to me as having an individual hero adopt the name of a previous hero. They’re musical acts touring under something other than one person’s name. Like someone else pointed out, there are multiple Captain Americas. but not multiple Steve Rogers. And in the real world, it’s completely routine for individuals to adopt the popular name of super heroes. Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Ben Afflak have all played Batman, for example. They’re actors playing a role, but does demonstrate the idea of different people taking up a name, especially since most superheros don’t use their real name. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-marvel-turning-all-its-superheroes-into-women/766374/86 "2016-09-22T00:51:52Z")
For at least some superheroes, there’s probably a “Dread Pirate Roberts” dynamic going on. Criminals are afraid of The Batman, and in fact that fear is one of the main tools in Wayne’s arsenal. If someone else has to take over Gotham-vigilante-duties, the job is going to go a lot better if that someone else is also The Batman. This probably isn’t relevant for Captain America, though, who doesn’t wear a mask and is something of a public figure. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-marvel-turning-all-its-superheroes-into-women/766374/87 "2016-09-22T04:07:34Z")
> [@Vicsage](#): > > I’ve read X-Men. My collection goes back to X-Men #1. Read the Graphic novel “God Loves Man Kills”. Fire and Brimstone preacher advocates eliminating mutants. Turns out he"s not a real preacher, just using their methods. I’m curious about your reading, as it is very different from my own. You say he’s not “a real preacher”, but what does that mean? He preaches, and he preaches what he believes, what the combination of his own religious background, a complete ignorance of human neonatology and one of Chuck F Saviour’s oh-so-incredibly-bad speeches\* led him to believe. He believes that mutants are the spawn of Satan and should be destroyed, and that’s what he preaches. How is he not “a real preacher”? - I still want to know how the fuck is someone who’s supposed to read minds so incredibly bad at reading an audience. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-marvel-turning-all-its-superheroes-into-women/766374/88 "2016-09-22T04:15:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > This probably isn’t relevant for Captain America, though, who doesn’t wear a mask and is something of a public figure. …Captain America wears a mask…but is also something of a public figure. ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-marvel-turning-all-its-superheroes-into-women/766374/89 "2016-09-22T14:47:55Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > They’re musical acts touring under something other than one person’s name. Like someone else pointed out, there are multiple Captain Americas. but not multiple Steve Rogers. And in the real world, it’s completely routine for individuals to adopt the popular name of super heroes. Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Ben Afflak have all played Batman, for example. They’re actors playing a role, but does demonstrate the idea of different people taking up a name, especially since most superheros don’t use their real name. Yeah, well, I don’t care what you say…Sean Connery is the \*real \*James Bond. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-marvel-turning-all-its-superheroes-into-women/766374/90 "2016-09-25T03:09:23Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > OK, so how about “the king of rock n’ roll” or “the king of pop” or “the chairman of the board”? All titles, but I haven’t seen any claimants step up to fill those shoes after the deaths of (respectively) Elvis, Michael Jackson, or Sinatra (well, except maybe for that cheesy 70s song about Alan Freed, but I’d consider that an anomaly). Nor do I think there will be someone after Springsteen who is called “the Boss.” My point is that in the real world, people tend to try to identify themselves uniquely, not pick up a name for which someone else was known. I understand that comics aren’t the real world, but they supposedly strive for realism. You know, something seemed absurdly wrong to me about this but I couldn’t put my finger on it. But today it just clicked - there are more than 80,000 Elvis impersonators in the US. And while I was looking that up, I found a webpage where I can hire several dozen different Michael Jackson impersonators right in my own city. So I think there’s at least a hundred thousand counterexamples to your idea that people tend to identify themselves uniquely and not take on the name and persona for which someone else is known. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-marvel-turning-all-its-superheroes-into-women/766374/91 "2016-09-25T06:40:29Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > But, race notwithstanding, GL will always be Hal Jordan in my book. > [@NeonMadman](#): > > Yeah, well, I don’t care what you say…Sean Connery is the \*real \*James Bond. 😛 Now I see your problem. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-marvel-turning-all-its-superheroes-into-women/766374.md?page=4)