PIPSTRO

Something about this whole thing feels wrong for numerous reasons. I read the message, I saw their reason, and yet this all feels too sudden.

If DC sees that we can't follow through with a boycott started only 3 days ago, they won't learn a fucking thing. For the record, I'm not mad at the DCsowhite movement, as in the people who started it.

I feel like DC saw the movement and instead of starting production on black-led comic books, they instead sent legal threats to the hosts of the movement. That's the only reason I can think of them ending it so soon.

I was thinking about the boycott when it occurred to me that- shit- this isn't just an issue with the comics. Keep in mind this may not be completely accurate, but the numbers are still extremely disappointing. This is based on a combination of my own Letterboxd DC list and others.

Out of the live action movies there are a total of 3 titles that have a black character as the main character. That being Steel and both Suicide Squad movies. For the record, despite the fact that Bloodsport is very obviously the main character of The Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie still shows up first in the cast list. All 3 of those movies being male main characters. Blue Beetle is the only other live action DC movie with a POC main character as far as I can see.

Out of the animated movies, I counted 2 titles with a black main character. Green Lantern: Beware My Power and Vixen. Only 4 movies with a person of color as the main character. The aforementioned 2, Aztec Batman, and Justice League: Gods and Monsters. One of those is fucking Batman. Instead of using their large catalogue of incredible characters they turned Batman Hispanic.

Out of the TV shows there are 5 shows with black main characters. Static Shock, Watchmen, Batwoman, Black Lightning, and Vixen (its the episodes that they combined into a movie.)

I'm not counting ensemble films and shows.

If there are any projects that I have missed please let me know and I will update this.

That is a combined 9 black led projects out of over a hundred shows and movies in DC's catalogue.

So what does the future of DC media look like? Lanterns will have John Stewart as the main green lantern of the DC universe, he is confirmed to have roles in future movies like Man of Tomorrow as well. Static and Vixen have been teased to appear later on in the DCU with no confirmed project quite yet. (Maybe with Static joining the Titans thats a catalyst for a Static movie?) I believe Waller is still in production.

But let's not dismiss the fact that rape/noncon, incest, csa among many things are serious topics. You cannot be angry that someone doesn't want to see that. Write these topic tastefully instead of fetishizing these things. There are ways to have these topics in media without fetishizing them.

And just because you are free to write what you like doesn't mean it isn't concerning that all you write is underage rape/noncon. And you are free to read that if that is what you like, but you are not dismissed completely just because it's fiction.

Fiction affects and represents reality. I'm sure the majority of people who read and write this stuff aren't actively doing it in real life, but there is a minority. And ignorantly saying that it's just fiction desensitizes you and other people to these topics.

I'll get the very obvious part out of the way. His morality is never written consistently. There's always some little change that makes him more or less evil depending on what the writer wants. Sometimes he's more of an anti-hero and others more of a villain.

I'd like it if Deathstroke was written as an anti-villain all the time, a term people don't use enough. They're essentially villains with morals, or a code at the very least.

In Deathstroke 2016 he had this mentality of "if you're not in my way and I'm not paid to kill you, you're probably fine."

He sees the world as a free for all that he's winning. He won't go out of his way to cause unnecessary amounts of damage, though he definitely won't take responsibility for any collateral left in his wake. (Deathstroke 2016 again, when his alternate self was causing all sorts of problems he attempted to calm the situation to prevent too much damage)

Whether civilians die or not, even if he did directly cause it, he won't really care. And he definitely does not give a shit about your mental health. Any distress he caused Rose, Joey, Tara, Tanya- too many people honestly, he will not take responsibility for that either.

But his morality is flexible. He doesn't bow to his code as much as it bows to him. It definitely tends to go downhill when his mental health does. After Grant died, after Respawn "died," after Wintergreen is presumed dead as of right now, it always ends in bloody mayhem. Or his bursts of moments where he suddenly wants to be a better person. Defiance, after Judas Contract, all the times he helps out heroes.

I get that Deadpool is a ripoff of Deathstroke and therefore people think about the two of them more in conversations. But Deathstroke and Captain America have such incredible parallels that people never talk about.

Slade is essentially the blonde hair blue eyed perfect American soldier that Erskine warned about in the first movie. He is that perfect loyal soldier that the serum WOULDN'T work on. Not because he's physically incapable, but because all of his worst traits were enhanced by that serum.

Steve is that same blonde hair blue eyed American soldier with one key difference being that he DOES NOT follow the same violent mindset the military enforces on soldiers, and definitely enforced onto Slade. Steve said that he wasn't in the military to kill Nazis, he was there because he wanted to save people. But Slade joined the military to escape from his violent home life, but never once had he truly cared about protecting people.

Its ironic that the Nazis were taken down by their image of a perfect human, being Steve. While its ironic that the Americans, with a similar vision of humans, failed to curate that perfect soldier and created one of the greatest threats to America.

Unnerving Reflectiong by me, ThePipMonster on AO3, updated once again after 7 months! Did I have some horrible accident that caused me to not update? No. I was being lazy.

If you like the apprentice arc from Teen Titans, or just like to read some Murder Uncle Slade Wilson with his captive (adopted) Dick Grayson, please go ahead and give it a try!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/71712326/chapters/186665376

“When we get to Star, you probably wouldn't want to be wearing your Robin costume.” Slade began, pausing to wait for a reaction from Dick… Nothing. Slade sighed. “I had a new costume made for you.”

“You what?” Dick finally turned to Slade. “How did you even-”

“Seriously?” Slade huffed. “I did your laundry, kid. You practically handed me your measurements.”

Dick groaned and leaned against the window, pressing his cheek to the cold glass.

“We've got a couple more hours to go, why not play a game with me?” Slade blindly grabbed under his chair, feeling for a large box to grab and put on a small table in front of him. 

Dick's face scrunched when he saw what Slade grabbed.

“Chess.” Dick muttered.

“Not a fan?”

“Not with you.”

Goddammit Geoforce we know it's you again

Why was he so scary in TNTT?? Literally thousand yard stare

OH MY GODDD

New 52 wasn't spared from his GOOD GOD-

Teen Titans was such a cute little show and IM SORRY-

I already love Steve, genuinely one of my favorite Marvel characters. Sam is also so good it's just so hard to choose between the two of them.

THEMES. The idea of a white man passing his mantle on to a black man who is qualified in every single way to take on the name. A country so notorious for their dehumanization of African American people and how Sam has to struggle through that just to prove he's even a fraction of what Steve was. No matter how good he does. No matter who he saves. In the eyes of so many, he will never be as good as Steve.

Sam needs to deal with all the struggles of inheriting a mantle plus some. This isn't the same as the Spider-Man games. The people of the MCU would view Sam as replacing the iconic Steve Rogers. Pair that with the fact that racist people will see it as a personal attack against them and their country.

And to ignorant people who don't think that would happen? It happened IN REAL LIFE. Some Marvel fans would rather have Bucky- who not only didn't want the title but also just lost his only friend left in the world, to be Captain America??? Over Sam? The over-qualified vet who literally flies like an eagle and HIS NAME IS SAM FOR CHRIST'S SAKE. His name is legit an Uncle Sam joke.

But no, we want the white guy who's already going through too much of his own shit after years of being a Soviet Slave to be Captain America.

Anytime I see a video of a woman voicing her rightful fear of being assaulted, men in the comments are quick to say she's not pretty enough to for that or that she's dramatic. Or if a woman speaks out about her experience but isn't in the traditional beauty standard she gets mocked. It's as if those men genuinely believe that rape is like winning a beauty pageant and not a traumatic experience for the victim.

This doesn't just target female victims either. Men will constantly call male victims lucky, that he's being dramatic, and that they wish they were in his place.