Originally Posted by
suzene
Yeah. I think the issue is that some of the writers are quite aware of the prevalence of stereotypes and the under-representation of minorities and do their best to address the problem, but they run into issues with edicts from the higher-ups. So, using DC as an example, they fold in the Milestone line, we get a Chinese Atom, a Latino Blue Beetle, a black Firestorm, a Latina, lesbian Question, a gay Batwoman, multi-racial characters like Kyle/GL, the new Robin, and Cass Cain, and greater exposure for some established minority characters, like Pied Piper or Obsidian (with "greater exposure" being relative to what they had before, admittedly). So on the one hand, we do have the writers making a good-faith effort, even if they do fall down on the research sometimes. But then we have an issue with most "iconic" versions of the characters being white characters so then other writers get set to the task of handing the mantles back: Cass Cain gets passed over in favor of a paler, more merchandisable Batgirl; the new Atom gets horribly killed so the old Atom can have the name again (and never mind that there are a zillion Bats out there, obviously we can only have one Atom); the Green Lantern movie stars Hal Jordan, despite an entire generation of movie-goers having grown up with John Stewart as "their" GL from the DCAU; Firestorm gets his old body back; multi-racial characters get whitewashed, etc. So it's often very much a two steps forward, one-point-five steps back deal.
I think Marvel fares a little better in this respect, due to the fact that they have relatively few legacy characters and (recent Spidey-books excepted) less issue with giving old characters new identities or sharing current ones (re: Captain America, Hawkeye, Wolverine, etc.), and are more likely to quietly shuffle new characters off into limbo than kill them off outright. That's a big point in their favor, IMO. Despite their being able to claim the first mainstream gay superhero in Northstar, however, I do think that Marvel's quite a bit more homo-skittish than DC, and that does tend to grate after a while, given my own identity. Usually it comes down to both companies annoying me enough in different ways on this front that I just buy creator-owned unless I'm being made an offer I can't refuse.