Actor Donald Glover Joins Grassroots Movement Calling for Black in Lead Role in Next Spider-Man Flick

Actor Donald Glover joins grassroots movement calling for African American to take lead role in the next Spider-Man movie.

As if we don't have more important things to worry about, actor Donald McKinley Glover, star of "Community," has joined a growing grassroots movement calling for an African American to take the lead role in the next Spider-Man movie.

The campaign began inadvertantly Friday with a post on the tech blog i09 titled "The last thing Spider-Man should be is another white guy." "(Stan) Lee and (Steve) Ditko created a wonderfully strong character, one full of complexity and depth, who happens to be white," wrote Marc Bernadin. "In no way is Peter Parker defined by his whiteness in the same way that too many black characters are defined by their blackness."

Since then, someone has launched a Facebook group called "Donald Glover 4 Spiderman," the story has been picked up by the Washington Post and New York magazine, and Glover himself has fired off a blizzard of Twitters spelling out his desire to give it a shot.  "I don't want to just be given the role. I want to be able to audition. I truly love Spider-Man," tweeted the schoolboyish actor and writer, who, incidentally, is not related to Danny Glover. Source: Hispanic Business

Er, is this the only thing Mr. Glover could find to occupy his time with? In case the members of this movement haven't noticed, we are witnessing the worst environmental disaster in our history with the BP oil spill in the Gulf, plus massive layoffs, high unemployment and foreclosure rates.

Stan Lee, Spiderman Creator, To Unveil Thom Creed, First Gay Superhero

On a lighter note, Stan Lee, creator of Spiderman, has reportedly created a character called Thom Creed, a high-school basketball player who is forced to hide his sexuality as well as his superpowers. He will be the first gay superhero. Lee reportedly developed the idea of a gay character from the award-winning novel Hero by Perry Moore.

It is not known what kind of powers Creed will display. Lee, the former head of Marvel Comics - who also created the Hulk and the X-Men - will unveil Creed in an hour-long television special made in the US.

If he proves popular with audiences, and I have every reason to believe there is a good chance it will, the program will be shown in Britain. Lee recently told GQ magazine that the world needed an Economist Man and a Foreign Relations Man to help the world weather the global financial crisis. Well, there you have it, a gay superhero. The religious conservatives will have a problem with this. Remember Tinky-Winky from the Teletubbies? Pat Robertson had a problem with the "purse" the character always carried. Anyway, here's my position. The issue I have with this is why do we need to define the sexuality of our superheroes? I don't think children are wondering why we don't have a gay superhero or a Mormon superhero, for that matter. Is Warner Brothers next to unveil a gay character? Who cares if Bugs Bunny is gay because he wears dresses in some cartoons? It is sad that we have moved into an age where being politically correct means more than just letting kids be kids.

Stan Lee, Spiderman Creator, To Unveil Thom Creed, First Gay Superhero

On a lighter note, Stan Lee, creator of Spiderman, has reportedly created a character called Thom Creed, a high-school basketball player who is forced to hide his sexuality as well as his superpowers. He will be the first gay superhero. Lee reportedly developed the idea of a gay character from the award-winning novel Hero by Perry Moore.

It is not known what kind of powers Creed will display. Lee, the former head of Marvel Comics - who also created the Hulk and the X-Men - will unveil Creed in an hour-long television special made in the US.

If he proves popular with audiences, and I have every reason to believe there is a good chance it will, the program will be shown in Britain. Lee recently told GQ magazine that the world needed an Economist Man and a Foreign Relations Man to help the world weather the global financial crisis. Well, there you have it, a gay superhero. The religious conservatives will have a problem with this. Remember Tinky-Winky from the Teletubbies? Pat Robertson had a problem with the "purse" the character always carried. Anyway, here's my position. The issue I have with this is why do we need to define the sexuality of our superheroes? I don't think children are wondering why we don't have a gay superhero or a Mormon superhero, for that matter. Is Warner Brothers next to unveil a gay character? Who cares if Bugs Bunny is gay because he wears dresses in some cartoons? It is sad that we have moved into an age where being politically correct means more than just letting kids be kids.