Former X-Men '97 Showrunner Beau DeMayo Decries Avengers: Doomsday Trailer For Featuring White Men
Avengers: Doomsday marketing is ramping up, with trailers hitting the internet, and there is a marked shift in marketing tactics from the formerly over-the-top, diverse, and inclusive Disney Marvel. Their former showrunner of the X-Men ‘97 cartoon reboot noticed the change and is calling it out on social media.
Over the last several years, Marvel fans have been mistreated in the MCU as Disney has perhaps pushed the DEI agenda harder than any other company. One watched classic heroes like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor get summarily replaced by Iron Heart (black girl), Falcon (black Captain America), and Jane Foster (female Thor). This was all by design as Marvel has been working through the comics since around 2012 to force diversity across their platforms, which eventually seeped into the movies.
What followed was a string of flops and poor audience ratings. The MCU lost almost all of its cache in recent years as a result as very few are paying attention to their new diverse offerings like Echo and Wonder Man.
Beau DeMayo was working on Marvel’s X-Men ‘97 cartoon reboot during this era, and acted as showrunner for the first season. The show had both low ratings and yet a fanbase that mostly liked the show, though it did suffer criticism because of a depiction of the character Morph being romantically interested in Wolverine, presenting Morph as “non-binary” despite him being a male in the comics.
DeMayo was removed as showrunner under circumstances that caused a lot of internet speculation, and he has spent the last year blasting Disney—rightly—for its bad business practices.
However, he’s noticed a change in the marketing for the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday that has him bothered, tweeting:
Also let’s just be real about #AvengersDoosmday
Trailer #1 — white male
Trailer # 2 - white male
Trailer # 3 - white male
Trailer #4 — a little sprinkle of black but also white male
The fact folks think this isn’t by design is the epitome of looking the other way.
Folks who look like me and those who don’t have penises are not being invited to this movie.
He seems to be correct about the elements of the trailer, and this is much in line with what Fandom Pulse is noticing going on in the culture. However, there’s a difference in the conclusion he’s drawing as to the reality.
While Disney Marvel, Netflix, and others are certainly not advertising the “woke” elements of their storylines anymore, the content is still just as DEI-infused as ever once people reach the theaters or stream their shows. While DeMayo is saying that the advertising makes him feel uninvited, the actual content doesn’t change much in any regard.
Avengers: Doomsday is still going to have Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel, Anthony Mackie as black Captain America, and the whole host of modern MCU diversity replacements. However, they are trying to advertise the nostalgia of the white male characters that drew fans to the movies to begin with, in an effort to win back those fans who have completely ignored the recent phases.
These companies have not changed; it’s still the same hard left individuals running rooms and acting as producers as well as directors, but they do understand that they have to at least try to make a profit. That’s where the advertising comes in.
A viewer would have to be very naive to think that Disney’s going to have these classic characters everyone loves be the central heroes of the movie, however. Avengers: Doomsday is likely going to try to manipulate audiences into a “passing of the baton” movie, which will make people like Beau DeMayo happy once they’re in the theaters, even if they don’t appreciate the advertising.
What do you think will happen with Avengers: Doomsday?
Advertising indeed. If you aren’t buying what they’re actually selling, they always revert to the bait-and-switch. Everything they say really is intended to deceive you.
Hold DeMayo... And give that to me on white bread.