Fear of a black Spider-Man: racebending and the colour-line in superhero (re)casting

Abstract

This paper tackles the way in which fans legitimise ‘whiteness’ in the pantheon of American fictional heroes. Using the 2010 internet meme calling for an African-American actor be cast as the next Spider-Man, and the replacement of Peter Parker with a character of Hispanic and African-American descent, I examine online arguments made by fans that Peter Parker and Spider-Man have been and therefore should remain white. Specifically, I am interested in the way in which fans legitimise the ‘casting’ choices of characters through the use of canon – the officially recognised history of a fictional universe – and dominant characterisations of Spider-Man as a hero.

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