I spend a lot of time on Twitter and I see tons of amazing dialogue and reflections. One of the things that make me sad about platforms like Twitter is how quickly they move — tweets show up for a few minutes on your feed, and then they’re gone. Maybe they resurface again later in their “You Might Have Missed” feature, but even then it can be rare. Thus, “Twitter Thread of the Day” is a feature on my blog where I’ll try to share one thread that was particularly interesting, smart, moving, or impactful for me.
Today’s TTOTD comes from Abigail Nussbaum, who points out some of the issues with Marvel’s universe of characters. [Note: If you’re ever featured here and don’t want to be, feel free to get in touch with me via email at davechen(AT)davechen(DOT)net]
Samuel L Jackson: Why am I not in Black Panther?
Me: Bcs Wakanda’s policy on Nick Fury is probably “shoot on sight”?https://t.co/VC9yVfxYGZ— Abigail Nussbaum (@NussbaumAbigail) February 20, 2017
Wakanda: only African nation to resist colonialism.
Fury: ran a CIA-like agency conducting military and espionage operations all over world.— Abigail Nussbaum (@NussbaumAbigail) February 20, 2017
Wakanda: carefully hoards Vibranium resources.
Fury: wants to develop every sort of exotic weaponry possible, “for the Earth’s protection”.— Abigail Nussbaum (@NussbaumAbigail) February 20, 2017
I mean, is it not obvious that at some point, Nick Fury tried to orchestrate a coup in Wakanda and set up a SHIELD-friendly government?
— Abigail Nussbaum (@NussbaumAbigail) February 20, 2017
Hell, I would LOVE an MCU movie in which T’challa and Fury are enemies on a geopolitical stage. Sounds WAY better than Civil War.
— Abigail Nussbaum (@NussbaumAbigail) February 20, 2017
But somehow I’m guessing that’s not what Jackson is angling for.
— Abigail Nussbaum (@NussbaumAbigail) February 20, 2017
This, by the way, is the problem not only with the MCU’s political tone-deafness, but with its “all our heroes must be friends” approach.
— Abigail Nussbaum (@NussbaumAbigail) February 20, 2017
(Except, of course, for when our heroes fight for vaguely-defined and out-of-character reasons.)
— Abigail Nussbaum (@NussbaumAbigail) February 20, 2017
The X-Men films, for all their problems, do this much better. They know which of their characters would get along, and why.
— Abigail Nussbaum (@NussbaumAbigail) February 20, 2017