Everybody knows if you’re surrounded by a crowd of ninjas the best way to take them on is to fight them one by one. It seems Roy Thomas, co-creator of Iron Fist, has yet to master this skill. In a recent interview with Inverse, the comic book creator expressed his distaste for people who wanted to see the character as Asian. Of course, not long after, the social justice warriors attacked.
During the interview, Roy Thomas, who created the character in 1974, spoke on some of the controversy surrounding the lead character’s race:
I have so little patience for some of the feelings that some people have. I mean, I understand where it’s coming from. You know, cultural appropriation, my god. It’s just an adventure story. Don’t these people have something better to do than to worry about the fact that Iron Fist isn’t Oriental, or whatever word? I know Oriental isn’t the right word now, either.
He was a character for a comic book at a different time. It’s very easy to second-guess anything. You can argue about Tarzan, you can argue about almost any character who came up then is bound to be not quite PC by some later standard or other. Okay, so you can make some adjustments. If they wanted to kill off white Iron Fist and come up with one who wasn’t Caucasian, that wouldn’t have bothered me, but neither am I ashamed for having made up one who was. He wasn’t intended to stand for any race. He was just a man who was indoctrinated into a certain thing.
Of course, many people were upset about his answer — in particular, his usage of the term “oriental”. One of those people was Jessica Henwick, who plays Colleen Wing in Marvel’s Iron Fist:
Oriental is a term used to describe rugs, not people.
— Jessica Henwick 🐒 (@JHenwick) March 21, 2017
Breaking: Roy Thomas is an old, white racist. "Oriental"?! https://t.co/CMwC3ckQh9
— Gelley (@RyanGelley) March 21, 2017
there's no excuse for Roy Thomas' statement using the word "oriental" when many folks his age get terminology correct #IronFist
— defiant maraleia (@maraleia) March 21, 2017
@Marvel PR rep right reading Roy Thomas referring to Asians as "these people" and "Oriental." pic.twitter.com/MT4ZHhFZYM
— Chewonthispodcast (@chewonthispod) March 22, 2017
Thomas will need more than just an iron fist or special martial arts moves to get himself out of this mess. Regardless, of all the negative press the show is still worth watching! Read our review for Iron Fist here.
Once again, if you DON’T LIKE it, go create your own super Asian hero. Iron fist is Caucasian, always has been always will.
You can’t appropriate all our Caucasian heroes, because you feel hurt, that is called stealing. Create your own and feel better.
Why should he be Asian? White people dont learn king fu? People are very mixed and have knowledge and adopt things from all cultures here in the real world. He knows king fu so he should be Asian is a little hypocritical for the argument. The character is fake. This fake character was a white dude. He should stay a white dude unless they kill him and make a new iron fist. We aren’t taking about the Egyptians. If you want to talk about real people being misrepresented ok. Until then shut up. There are more pressing things in the world that need the energy you are wasting on this dumb argument. He’s not real!
Think his statements of “these people” isn’t directed to a race, it’s directed to the people whining about the character. Last tweet posted infers more racism than what they are arguing about. So over this super sensitive society we live in now. Next thing they going to do is reboot Spiderman as a woman with 8 legs to please the sensitive loud mouths out there.
Limp-Dick social justice wankers. Always looking for something to get their panties in a knot over. It’s a word FFS!
They can go cry in their pastel coloured safe spaces all they want (I said “coloured”, am I a racist?). It’s an accurate recreation of the original story.
When are we going to stop pandering to these Libtard’s who get offended at the drop of a politically incorrect hat.
Still this bullshit exist..maybe care about using martial arts right than the colour of the guy …just maybe..cuz this show was way too poor on the one thing it should succeed
One thing is for sure, SJW are a bunch of assholes.
How do people actually have that many feelings!? There must be millions of depressed people out there going out of there way to be offended!
People should worry about things that matter instead of fucking with someone and then twisting their words i do not believe his intent is disrespectful in any way
This is the same stupid ‘logic’ used by the easily offended. Who cares if he’s white or not? The story was about a rich white kid, not a Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan or Indian one.
Maybe Captain America should be played by a Native American instead?
As for his use of ‘oriental’ then i don’t see him using it maliciously, so stop looking for ways to be offended – I’m offended when they call Chinese and Japanese ‘Asians’ when in the UK it means Indians, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or anyone from the Indian subcontinent.
I’m offended by you taking offence, but i hope that offends you,too – dry your tears and grow a pair!
“Win” being a very loosely used word here.
How did he misuse the word “Oriental”???
Definition of oriental
1
or Oriental : of, relating to, or situated in Asia
2
a : of superior grade, luster, or value
b : being corundum or sapphire but simulating another gem in color
3
or Oriental : Asian oriental food oriental rugs —now sometimes considered offensive especially when used to describe a person
4
Oriental : of, relating to, or constituting the biogeographic region that includes Asia south and southeast of the Himalayas and the Malay Archipelago west of Wallace’s line
See #4 it infers a people from a region in the ORIENT……..grr stop being offended and then pissing your pants for it.
Oriental generally means “from Asia”, so he used it correctly. People need to stop being so easily offended and learn how to use the English language.
This is about the dumbest argument I have ever heard. Iron Fist has been around for almost 40 years. He’s always been white in the comics and in cartoon media. No one had an issue with this then. Why is it a problem now? Seems to me if certain people were offended then they should have said something long before he was ever depicted in real life.