r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Character_Growth_397 • 12h ago

Hated Tropes Things meant to be progressive just end up being incredibly offensive

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What If - In one of the comics Miles becomes Thor, and it's full of stereotypes about black people such as the Mjolnir having graffiti on it and the infamous "by Odin's fade"

Emilia Perez - Everything about the movie

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304

u/steventhecow 12h ago

especially since he himself doesnt need a machine to swap races

114

u/MissSharkyShark 11h ago

I hate how hilarious these are. I understand it’s a product of its time and today it’s horrid, but lord is it funny

25

u/LavishnessCurrent726 10h ago

I am fucking crying while watching this.

3

u/Turbulent_Lunch4548 1h ago

I think the joke works better nowadasy in a way. Back then, these were just stupid low effort jokes, barely worth a real chuckle, even to those who would like it.

But nowadays, we don't make these kind of jokes off the cuff. So the writer displaying such a hilarious case of either 'gross social incompetence' or 'intentional absurdist parody' is what brings in new tension and therefore comedy.

1

u/Mist_Rising 4m ago

Superman was a dick on the average anyway.

54

u/sharktail_tanker 11h ago

The only way he could have been more racist is to put a pointed hat on and paint himself yellow

41

u/parabolateralus 10h ago

Not the only way! They could’ve swapped the Ls and Rs.

15

u/____-_______-_--_-_- 9h ago

Rois Rane

5

u/calilac 7h ago

Cralk Kent.

9

u/HoneyPastaSweets 8h ago

Y’know maybe the multiversal resets are a good thing, cause it means every time it happens superman is further separated from this version

7

u/Stackbabbing_Bumscag 7h ago

While the racial caricature is what obviously jumps out here, what's also funny is the "distort my facial characteristics" ability. Many Golden Age or pulp-era heroes had some sort of "precise facial muscle control", whether as a superpower or just a trained skill, that let them disguise themselves simply by moving their face around. The hidden motivation for writing them this way was that the writers worried that the hero using makeup for disguises would seem too effeminate.

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u/____-_______-_--_-_- 6h ago

They got nothing on Jim Carrey

1

u/Mist_Rising 1m ago

Superman still has most of these talents because his power set is basically "physical anything."

For example Superman often "appears as Clark Kent" by claiming he morphed his body, and he has shown off that he can mimic a lot of people besides Clark (he uses the excuse when someone finds out him being too Superman, and Clark gets "inside scoops" from Superman.)

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u/____-_______-_--_-_- 9h ago

I'M ASIAN AND THIS IS FUCKING AMAZING!