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It emerged yesterday that Game of Thrones actor Finn Jones will be suiting up to take on the mantle of Iron Fist (aka Danny Rand), NYC's finest martial-arts master, in the Netflix series of the same name. But the reaction has been divided to say the least, with many disappointed that an Asian-American wasn't chosen to fill the role.
This was the perfect chance for Marvel to be progressive and finally cast an Asian superhero lead, but they blew it.
Some will counter that Iron Fist is white in the comics, and that's an undeniable fact. Yet Danny's origin story - written in the 1970s - is horribly outdated and should have been refreshed.
Born in New York City, Danny travels to the Far East with his wealthy parents on an expedition. An unfortunate tragedy of Bruce Wayne proportions sees the lad losing his mum and dad, and he trains with a kung fu master in martial arts, hoping to ultimately get revenge.
Turns out that Danny is the most gifted student of all and is entrusted with the power of the Iron Fist. He then returns to America to fight crime, as you do if you're superpowered. It's essentially a "white saviour" story which - while par for the course 50 years ago - has no place in today's world.
It's a personal journey where switching races makes perfect sense, removing many of the contentious racism issues while also providing an opportunity to give the origin story a fresh angle.
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One could argue that an Asian being a kung fu master is hugely stereotypical. But by keeping Danny's American roots and the contemporary NYC vibe in the story, an Asian-American actor would have helped to subvert some of these tropes. A while ago, Nerds of Color writer Keith Chow suggested that the arc "can be viewed through the lens of cultural reconnection".
Netflix even considered it: if reports are to be believed, they met with a number of Asian-American actors before plumping for Finn Jones.
The casting is all the more disappointing given the whitewashing of Doctor Strange's mentor The Ancient One (despite a win for gender representation). Tilda Swinton will be playing the character, who is male and from Tibet in the comics.
Marvel's Kevin Feige justified this decision by saying: "We are always looking for ways to change. I think if you look at some of the early incarnations of the Ancient One in the comics, they are what we would consider today to be quite, sort of, stereotypical. They don't hold up to what would work today."
That's all well and good, updating characters for the present, but a white Iron Fist is very much a concept that doesn't "hold up to what would work today". Granted, the TV and film divisions at Marvel are separate and have very little to do with each other, but to the average viewer, everything happens in one shared Marvel Cinematic Universe.
How many prominent Asian superheroes have there been? Agents of SHIELD has Agent May and Skye, and Daredevil's Elektra - of Greek descent in the comics - is played by Elodie Yung (which didn't seem to attract much controversy, funnily enough). But there are very few out there worthy of a mention.
It's not like having an Asian lead would have been a huge risk, either. ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat, which follows an Asian-American family, is on its second season while Marvel is a big deal in China, and any Asian casting would have surely only raised their profile further there.
Even the comics have shown signs of being progressive, with Korean-American Amadeus Cho recently replacing Bruce Banner as the new Hulk.
The topic of diversity is under the spotlight more than ever following the Oscars nominations, and Marvel has blown the opportunity to be ahead of the curve. But then, with its track record, maybe it isn't a complete surprise - its first black superhero movie lead is still two years away (2018). And the female-led Captain Marvel is an extra year out...
