Like it or not practically all non-white characters in comics are consiously introduced for diversity, it's only with time and good writing that they become fully-formed characters in their own right. It's not necessarily discrimination on the part of the creators but a side-effect of the majority of the DC and Marvel universes being formed in the 40s and 60s respectively. The new Spider-Man shouldn't be judged this early on, though the fact that he exists in the largely irrelevant Ultimate line means that his success or failure as a character will probably have little impact.Covarr said:
Personally I think the better approach is to create more original characters rather than "legacy" characters with different ethnic/gender backgrounds, but either approach can work.
Spawn is another good example of the type of character you're talking about where the fact that the character is black, was simply a part of his identity rather than his reason for being, like say DC's Vibe.
Finally Marvel have successfully introduced more diverse characters in the past, primarily within the X-Men titles which are of course overtly anti-discriminatory. Of course the cast is still dominated by caucasions, but it has a higher percentage of female characters than most other parts of the Marvel/DC universes.
Finally the Daily Mail is hateful, hypocritical rag and should never be given the benefit of the doubt.
