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Everyone's a Superhero

Marvel is winning new fans by bringing diversity to comic books

By Eliana Dockterman, for TIME, adapted by TIME Edge editorsSeptember 28, 2015

In the colorful pages of comic books, Thor stands out as one of the most macho of all the superheroes. He is armed with an enchanted hammer and drawn with bulging muscles. He has always been both magical and manly.

Except that now hes a she. Thors hammer was passed last fall to a human woman. The hammer granted her godlike powers. In the comic-book universes, she now is Thor.

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Thors magical hammer deemed the god unworthy last year and transferred its powers to Jane Foster.

The arrival of a female Thor is not the only big change at Marvel Comics. The comic-book makers have added a number of diverse characters, including a half-black, halfPuerto Rican Spider-Man and a female Captain Marvel. This is the work of a team at Marvel Comics led by former journalist Axel Alonso.

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In 2011, halfPuerto Rican, half-black Miles Morales inherited the Spider-Man uniform after Peter Parker vanished.

The changes have beencontroversialamong some comics fans. Complaints on social media have been loud and bitter. But Alonsos new heroes are turning out to be good business. Alonso and his comic-book writers are proving theres a paying audience for diversity. Sales of Marvel titles at comic-book stores reached $186 million last year. Thats an increase of 8% from the previous year.

This could mark a major turning point. Comic-book heroes have been an important part of American culture going back to World War II, when Superman stood for truth, justice and the American way. When it comes togender equality, comic-book creators are at last making a heroic effort to catch up.

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Carol Danvers, once a hero known as Ms. Marvel, got promoted to the role of Captain Marvel in 2014.

From Fan to Creator

Alonso says he learned early just how meaningful the characters in comics can be. When he was growing up in San Francisco, California, the son of a Mexican father and a British mother, comic books were part of a weekly family ritual. Myabuelita,my grandma, used to pick me up on Fridays after schoolbecause my mom worked lateand take me to the dime store, and I would buy a comic book, he recalls.

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Marvel Comics editor in chief Axel Alonso credits Spider-Man cocreator Stan Lee with saying comic books should look like the world outside your window.

In 1994, he got a job at DC Comicshome to Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. After six years, he went to work at Marvel. There he began changing both the faces and the stories of comics.

In 2011, Marvel made Alonso editor in chief. One of his first moves was to cancel an unpopular series called X-23. The series was about a female clone of the character Wolverine. At the time, it happened to be Marvels only comic with a solo female lead.

Even though it was a good business decision, Alonso found it difficult. He knew mothers and fathers on his staff wanted powerful female characters. And he understood where they were coming from.

It was always in the back of my mind that Id like to see superheroes look like me or look like my son. So Im always striving to make the next great Mexican superhero, says Alonso. When we decided to cancel X-23, it just hit us that this was really bad.

So he decided that Marvel would somehow develop a female superhero who would also be a hit with comic book purchasers. I didnt [say] Make Thor a woman. But I just kind of told the editors, Keep this in mind. Write something we can sell.

A New Direction

Writer Jason Aaron was looking to find a surprising new direction for Thor, one of Marvels main superheroes. In comic-book tradition, Thors magical hammer can be lifted only by whoever is deemed worthy to carry it. Aaron decided that the male Thor was no longer worthy. I like to think of Thor waking up every day and looking at the hammer and not knowing if he was going to be able to pick it up, says Aaron.

Buttamperingwith the popular character was risky. Aaron took his idea to the other writers and editors. His pitch was simple. Thors hammer had been handed in the past to an alien and even an amphibian. So shouldnt fans be able to get behind a woman lifting the weapon? Alonso approved, and work began on what would become Thor: The Goddess of Thunder #1.

The push for diverse characters went well beyond Thor. In the past two years, Alonso and his team have launched 16 new titles starring women. In February 2014, the team introduced a new Ms. Marvel: Kamala Khan. The character is a 16-year-old Muslim girl struggling to fit in, who uses her shape-shifting powers to protect her hometown of Jersey City, New Jersey. Some fans blasted the new story line. But the book quickly earned a spot on theNew York Timeslist of best-selling paperback graphic books.

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Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old Muslim girl from Jersey City, N.J., inherited the role of Ms. Marvel in 2014.

G. Willow Wilson, a respected writer who also happens to be one of the few Muslim women in the business, helped develop the character. I have people . . . telling me how they connect to Ms. Marvel because they were made fun of in school for being different, says Wilson.

Good for Business

These new titles are selling well. They show how a diverse cast of characters can attract new readers.Thor: The Goddess of Thunderhas outsold the male-Thor comic by 30%. And Ms. Marvel was the companys top digital seller in 2014.

In 2014, women made up an estimated 37% of Marvel Comics fan base, up from 25% only a year before, according to Facebook data gathered by analyst Brett Schenker. Young women have been really responding to the comics where the female characters are designed to appeal to girls, not boys, says Juliette Capra, who works at Fantastic Comics in Berkeley, California.

When DC Comics put Batgirl in yellow Doc Martens instead of heels, the shoes sold out at major online retailers within hours. DC is increasingly mirroring the strategy of its big rival Marvel. In addition to changing Batgirls look, the publisher is partnering with Mattel to produce a TV show and toys based on DCs female characters.

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D.C. Comics is updating its cast of comic-book characters too. Here, Batgirl is shown in yellow Doc Martens instead of heels.

On movie screens, however, there has been little change. When Marvels Avengers returned this summer, it was the he-man version of Thor who fought alongside Iron Man and Captain America. Only one of the 10 film projects Marvel has announced for the next four years stars a woman, and it wont hit screens until 2018. DCs much discussed Wonder Woman movie will premiere a year earlier.

Alonso is choosing to focus on the possibilities in the pages of the comic books his team is creating. He believes Marvel Comics will help bring about change in future movies. We are responsible for building and occasionally breaking things, he says. If something works, thats an indication for how movie audiences might respond.Pow!