Site: AO3.Org Genre: TV Shows, Movies Fandom: Marvel Television & Cinematic Universes Ship: NA Characters: James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Sam Wilson, T'Challa, Nick Fury, Mike Peterson, Luke Cage, Misty Knight, Claire Temple, Baron Mordo, Heimdall, Malcolm Ducasse Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Word Count: 14,108 Warning: Racism

Recently, there's been a push for more fan works with black characters and black couples. The reason being is that most black characters, when they are featured in fanfiction, often are only written for the benefit of their white counterparts. If you've ever read an Avengers fic, you'll notice that more often than not Sam Is A Good Bro, but never his own person, and Rhodey is usually nonexistent and usurped by Bruce Banner. Even T'Challa's glorious entry into Marvel's Cinematic Universe hasn't elevated him from more than a background character who happens to come with the scenery.

Black In Fanfiction is a godsend, even if it's not filled with fics that I would usually read. I'm not going to pretend that most of my ships aren't white or interracial, but it's also super annoying that there are a few WestAllen fics that try to subtly erase TV Iris West's blackness. There's no reason for Finn to get less shine than Kylo Ren or General Hux, the Darcy Lewis of the Star Wars fandom. Is it so wrong to want minority characters to be written with the dignity, respect, and importance that they deserve?

That being said, "We Gonna Be Alright" is about how several black characters in the Marvel Universe react to the shooting death of a black teen by a police officer. Quite relevant, all things considered.

I really liked this fic, much more than I expected to. I tend to walk away from fics that talk about racism because I use fanfiction to escape, but a lot of times it's the hard topics that really show a writer's ability. I wonder at the inclusion of Heimdall and Baron Mordo over Monica Rambeau and Blue Marvel (Adam Brashear), but this seems to have been a strictly a live action venture.

I liked all of the different perspectives, especially Claire's personal story about her experience as an Afro Latina. Baron Mordo's experience with the Ancient One was especially telling, although Heimdall's wasn't as relatable. There is a point where it begins to seem a bit monotonous, even though these are entirely different characters, but the way it's brought back together in the end makes it all worth it. Like, it was nice to see how it affected these characters, but it was also much better to see them try to do something about it.

So who is this for? The black kids, mostly. We don't get a lot of fanfiction that is steeped so heavily in realism and actually takes the perspectives of black characters into account. It doesn't help that Rhodey was recently killed in the Marvel Comics Universe, and Sam Wilson handed over his name and is being asked to give up the shield.

This is for the kids who rejoice at how black Black Panther is going to be. You might think writing a character who happens to be black is enough, but how is it being true to the character if you're only writing a default white character in dark skin? The same way you can write Steve Rogers being influenced by his Irish immigrant mother and her culture's particular brand of Catholicism, you could also write about how Sam Wilson's past as a black child from Harlem has influenced the way he lives his life.

This is for people that understand that representation really does matter. I don't watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. so I've only ever heard of Mike Peterson when it's time to talk about how the show treated him. There's only 155 works under the Mike Peterson tag on AO3, and the few that have him as a main character seem to mostly be focused on his relationship with Skye. How much do you want to bet that, even in those few fics, Mike is written in a way that benefits Daisy?

I'm rambling, but the way that most fanfiction is written as far as black characters is pretty insulting.

In any case, go ahead and read "We Gonne Be Alright"; it's truly well done and deserves all of the hype it gets. There is also a fic that focuses on black DC characters, but their response to the situation is entirely different to what’s done in "We Gonna Be Alright".

You got it :) Just give me a bit.