The recent decline in interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe could be causing execs to clean house.  

Victoria Alonso's contributions such as She-Hulk, The Eternals, and Captain Marvel have left some people wondering if the MCU is dying.  When the news of Alonso's firing broke, some MCU fans were relieved, saying, "Good riddance, hope this is the first step to getting the MCU back on track."

In the Marvel comics, we are seeing similar corrections.  The creators of Marvel Comics came close to adding "Snowflake" and "Safespace" into the Marvel Universe.  According to marvel.com, Snowflake would have materialized light blue snowflake-shaped ninja stars.  Snowflake's twin, Safespace, can materialize pink forcefields for protecting others against bullying.  It is probably no coincidence that the female twin sports a blue suit and the male a pink suit.  Thankfully, these characters didn't make the cut.

The MCU may be moving in the right direction.  Does DC need to do the same?

Detective Comics, or DC for short, has made the MCU's woke crusade look like child's play the last few years.  While the MCU is still surviving due to the ongoing support of its pre–fourth phase movies like Iron Man, The Avengers, and Guardians of the Galaxy, DC has been losing writers, losing money, and losing fans due to its unrelenting woke agenda.  DC has taken some of our time-tested heroes and remade them to be transgender, bi, gay, or in some other category of inclusivism.

Pushback began in 2021, when some staffers in DC exited when Superman's motto was changed after nearly 80 years: the writing staff dropped the phrase "the American Way."  This prompted a Superman colorist to announce that he will not seek to renew his contract with DC, claiming that he was tired "of them ruining these characters."  Taking it a step farther, Superman's son is now a bisexual social justice warrior.  Many complained when Clark Kent told his son that his purpose was to preserve "Truth, Tolerance, and Justice."  Jon Kent's kiss with his boyfriend effectively started a sales plummet, which kept the Superman comic out of the top 50 comic book sales in December 2021.

We also have gay pride in Gotham City.  In 2021, Batman's iconic sidekick, Robin, developed a crush on a boy.  According to gayety.com, Robin's homosexuality was to be featured in a fresh DC series recently canceled by HBO's streaming service.

The LBGT online news source Polygon.com reports that DC has a plethora of gay characters now.  Batwoman, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy all identify in the LBGTQIA2 spectrum.

But nothing could prepare the fans for our most recent plunge into character development wokeness.  In a recent edition of Joker comics, the Joker gets pregnant, visits a gynecologist, and births a son by vomiting.

What is going on at D.C. Comics?

These comic book heroes are more than mere child's play.  Superman, Batman, and the cast of DC heroes have character arcs that span generations.  Traditionally these characters have represented justice, truth, family values, and strong moral character.  Comic books used to create culture.  The new approach is to cower to the culture.  This is why we are seeing the backlash from their fan base.

Who are the real victims in the deconstruction of these character arcs?  The adolescent fan base that absorbs their worldview from the culture.  Many comic book consumers are young and impressionable.  Unlike the older fans of DC Comics, the younger generation don't have the nostalgia that guards them from the woke absurdity in the comic book universe.

It comes as no surprise that this is the most sexually confused generation of all time, and it is causing people to fall into depression or worse.  Forty-five percent of LBGT youth seriously thought about attempting suicide in the past year.  The estimate is that there is one suicide attempt by an LBGT youth (13–24 years old) every 45 seconds.  According to The Trevor Project, LBGT youth are four times as likely to attempt suicide as their peers.

It doesn't seem that the pop culture attempt to paint these behaviors in a positive light is making things any better.  Thirty years from now, I am sure that many will look upon the woke era with heartache when reflecting on how much damage woke ideology has done.

What has made comic books so iconic is that they appeal to truth, duty, and high moral character.  By contrast, the woke approach not only lacks imagination, but fuels the toxic culture that surrounds today's youth.

The writers at DC are doing their best to normalize the chaos in our culture.  It will never work.  And so far, the backlash is costing these companies millions of dollars, all while destroying the stories of their iconic characters.

I do not doubt the sincerity of the comic book authors at DC, but I am skeptical of their grasp on reality.  For the sake of the next generation, let's hope DC wakes up.

Bill Scott is an apologist and public speaker.  He holds a Master of Arts in cultural apologetics and a graduate certificate in philosophical apologetics from Houston Christian University.  Bill and his wife Tabitha are residents of Houston and are chapter directors with Ratio Christi, a campus apologetics alliance.
You can reach him at billscott@ratiochristi.org.

Image via Pxfuel.