Change-up: A Few Notable Racial Changes in DC and MARVEL History

     So there's a new Ultimate Spider-man in town. Recently deceased Peter Parker will have his legendary mantle taken up by teenager Miles Morales. But superheroes die and are replaced all the time, right? Aside from the fact that this is the first time Parker has ever been replaced (We're just going to ignore the Clone Sage, OK?), the real reason this is news-worthy is that Morales is of African and Hispanic descent. While this is an interesting move, it is nothing new. MARVEL and DC have a long history of replacing some of their second tier characters with people of different descent and nationality.

     DC Comics has built an entire business model around the legacy system, but MARVEL is not without it legacy characters. By replacing aging characters with younger heroes under the same superhero name, the companies can reinvigorate their properties while maintaining name recognition. This has been going on since the dawn of the Silver Age of comic books in 1954, but in more recent years both companies have used this strategy to increase the diversity of their roster of heroes.

     While DC relies on the legacy system, creators at MARVEL have been allowed to take advantage of the alternate Ultimate version of their universe to make changes to some of their characters. The more lax continuity restrictions of the Ultimate line means that creative talent is allowed to change things as they see fit.

Here's a list of some notable changes in the history of the big two:

Miles Morales (First Appearance as Spider-man Ultimate Fallout #4 2011)

At this point little is known about the new Spider-man. Created by Brian Michael Bendis, Morales is a biracial teenager who was inspired by Peter Parker's death.

Ryan Choi (First Appearance DCU: Brave New

World 2006)

Ray Palmer, full-time professor and part-time superhero named the Atom, shrunk himself into oblivion upon discovering that his ex-wife had become a shape-changing, accidental serial killer to get his attention. Choi, created by Gail Simone and Grant Morrison, took up both his professorship and heroic title. He was one of the few high profile superheroes of Asian descent in the DC Universe. Ryan is currently deceased, killed by Deathstroke's team of douchebags, but there are rumors that he will be resurrected in September's DC relaunch.

Nick Fury (First Appearance Ultimate Marvel Team-Up 2001) 

Nick Fury is, perhaps, one of the most famous cases of race switching in comic books. This is interesting considering that many people who have enjoyed Samuel L. Jackson's portrayal of the Sergeant in the Avengers movies may not even realize that the main MARVEL Universe's version of the character is white. Created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mike Allred, the Ultimate Universe version of the character has been fairly successful, perhaps even spawning his own movie.

Jackson Hyde (First Appearance Brightest Day #4 2010)

Created by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis and based on a similar character that was already in development for the Young Justice cartoon, Hyde took up a mantle that had been empty for decades. The original sidekick to Aquaman, Garth, changed his superhero name to Tempest way back in 1996. Hyde's Aqualad is a fairly new character and, so far, there is no indication that he will be part of the new DCU. However, since one of DC's stated goals is to increase the diversity of their heroic roster and Johns is writing an Aquaman ongoing comic book, there is a good chance that the new Aqualad will make an appearance.

James Rhodes (First Appearance as Iron Man Iron Man #170 1983)

Tony Stark is one of the MARVEL universe's smartest minds, but the real measure of his character can be seen in his choice of friends like James Rhodes. Created by Dave Michelinie and Bob Layton, "Rhodey" is a longtime character in the Iron Man book who has taken over for Stark multiple times. He currently fights for good under the name War Machine. Also, he was played by Don Cheadle in Iron Man 2, which is more than any other superhero can say.

Yolanda Montez (First Appearance Infinity Inc #5 1958)

Goddaughter of the original Wildcat, Ted Grant, Yolanda Montez is given superpowers after (I promise, this is not a joke) a mad gynecologist named Dr. Love experimented on her mother while pregnant. Montez' superhero  career was a short one. She took up the name Wildcat after Grant was injured during Crisis on Infinite Earths and is killed by Eclipso just a few years later.

Isaiah Bradley (First Appearance Truth: Red, White and Black 2003)

Created by Robert Morales and Kyle Baker and unofficially known as the Black Captain America, Isaiah Bradley was the result of a clandestine attempt to reverse engineer the super-soldier serum that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America. After taking part in a suicide mission on Nazi soil, he was court-martialed and imprisoned. However, he has become a bit of his own legacy character as his son and grandson have both donned heroic mantles similar to his own.

Jamie Reyes (First Appearance Infinite Crisis #5 2006)

The third person to fight for good under the title Blue Beetle, Jamie Reyes is teenager of Hispanic descent from El Paso, Texas. Created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers and Cully Hamner, Jamie was given powers when he discovered a “magical” scarab owned by the original Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett. The scarab was revealed to be alien technology, fusing to Reyes' body and giving him a suit of technologically advanced armor. Jamie starred in his own series for 36 issues and is starring in one of the new 52 books DC is launching in September.