Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: Cody Ziglar, marvel, miles morales, spider-man, thor, Yehudi Mercado

Yehudi Mercado Apologises For "Miles Thor-ales" Portrayal In What If?

Last week, comic book writer Yehudi Mercado set the internet abuzz with the release of What If Miles Morales Was Thor? from Marvel Comics. And not in a good way.

Featuring Miles Morales, still a Brooklyn inhabitant but also the God Of Thunder. And rather than going to Asgard, he has brought Asgard to him and his neighbourhood. The comic remakes the rest of the Asgardians as Miles Morales' own family, his mother and father are Odin and Frigga, but it is his uncle Aaron who is Loki in this reality.

Many found this mash-up clumsy, stereotyped, and laughable. Michael Wilson of Lake Forest Park, Washington, posted, "The dude who wrote the Thor miles comic is white, and he put Asgard in the ghettos," along with a photo of the comic's writer – though not his name – Yehudi Mecardo. A reaction that blew up on social media in the winter, with hundreds of people mocking the comic book in this light. Then the dude who actually write this Thor/Miles comic in question, Yehudi Mecardo, countered in reply, "You should get paid by @23andMe! I love how I'm not Mexican enough for Twitter" before adding "I should have added more upskirt shots, and then you would have loved it!" I am not entirely sure that improved things. He also added, "Wait until people find out who created Miles Morales!!!! It's gonna blow their minds!" with shots of Jewish American writer Brian Bendis.

Some found Miles Morales Thor (Miles Thorales?) laughable, others saw him as the equivalent of Marvel writers on Luke Cage in the seventies. Joshua Isaak's article for ScreenRant, "Thor Miles Morales is Marvel's Best New Character In Years," clashed with Liam McGuire's previous article for ScreenRant, "The Surprise New Thor Has Marvel's Worst Catchphrase. While comic book creator Kevin Grevioux posted on Facebook;

STRAIGHT OUTTA AZGARD!!: "THOMEBOY"?? REALLY?? Beta Ray Bill, an ALIEN, got a better hook-up than brother Miles! And a new hammer to boot!! Blonde flattop fade, graffiti on the hammer, speaking Asgardian ebonics? Wearing Air-Valhalla Nikes while he BOPS down the Bifrost? Is this how they see us? I'm surprised he's not palming a BASKETBALL with his other hand and going for that 360 from the top of the key "thunder-dunk". Now, I'm not one that believes that all Black characters should be written by Black creators. After all, very FEW of the Black characters that we know and love like Black Panther, Blade, Black Lightning, Cyborg, Falcon, Luke Cage, Storm, Mr. Teriffic, John Stewart, etc., were created by Black creators. Because, if so, then we would have to logically concede that we shouldn't be the regular writers on the MAIN Iron Man, Wonder Woman, Flash, Batman, Thor, JSA, JLA, Spider-Man, Avengers, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Superman books, etc. (and we haven't in 80 years of comics). But is this what happens when we're not in the room and part of the decision-making process when it comes to creating our own images? Are we that unwanted? And when we do create our own images, do they try to keep us away from them after conception so they can insert their own views about who they want us to be? And how they want us to be perceived? Does this topic really have to be that difficult? I think they sincerely want diversity. They just don't want diversity from US.

Now Yehudi Mercado has responded in a Twitlonger, stating

"I've taken the last few days to step back and listen, and I acknowledge your criticism for my recent issue of What If… Miles Morales was Thor. While I've lived a different experience through my own Jewish and Mexican background, I still know inauthenticity hurts, and I'm sorry this failed on that front. I've appreciated hearing and learning from my Black and Puerto Rican comics peers and hope to use this moment to help promote better authenticity. I'm also going to donate what Marvel paid me to the Brooklyn Book Bodega, which works to build literacy and get more books to kids in NYC."

Of course, it is worth pointing out that Marvel Comics actually edited and published the comic in question. I wonder what will happen when it gets collected in this trade paperback? Miles Thorales is also due to appear in the fifth issue of the series, combined with the other versions of Miles Morales from down the probability axis. Written by Cody Ziglar, odds that Marvel Comics editorial just did a quick check on that one…

WHAT IF MILES MORALES #5 (OF 5)
MARVEL COMICS
MAY220960
(W) Cody Ziglar (A/CA) Paco Medina
HOW MANY MILES DOES IT TAKE… TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE?!
What if…the many Miles of the multiverse assembled to overcome a threat against all realities? The Prowler enacts the final phase of his evil plan alongside LOKI, SABRETOOTH, and CLASSIFIED! SpiderMan's gonna need some help on this one – good thing CAPTAIN AMERICA, WOLVERINE, HULK, and THOR have his back!
RATED TIn Shops: Jul 06, 2022
SRP: $3.99

WHAT IF MILES MORALES #4 (OF 5)
MARVEL COMICS
APR220941
(W) Yehudi Mercado (A) Zagaria, Luigi (CA) Paco Medina
WHOSOEVER HOLDS THIS HAMMER…
…if they be worthy, shall possess the power of…THOR. And what if…the Miles Morales of another universe was THOR, THE GOD OF THUNDER?!
RATED T In Shops: Jun 15, 2022 SRP: $3.99

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