That makes so much sense! I would absolutely watch that version of Shang Chi (and I love the phrase, "Homophobic Supervillain Parents").
But . . . I think I'm also okay with that as a _reading_ but not necessarily canon. I haven't really been following the character, but I have read the new books by Gene Luen Yang, and the character is definitely presented as being romantically clueless and not good at relationships -- and that's also a familiar trope of comic book characters.
I think you are correct when you wrote (in your post on _Sovereign_), "Critics and fans have argued that this can be read as a metaphor for queerness, or as a parallel to the way that LGBT people are treated. That’s true. But the metaphor resonates a lot more powerfully when the superhero in question is actually queer."
But I'd be happy if that meant Kristen Stewart getting a chance to play a gay superhero . . .
That makes so much sense! I would absolutely watch that version of Shang Chi (and I love the phrase, "Homophobic Supervillain Parents").
But . . . I think I'm also okay with that as a _reading_ but not necessarily canon. I haven't really been following the character, but I have read the new books by Gene Luen Yang, and the character is definitely presented as being romantically clueless and not good at relationships -- and that's also a familiar trope of comic book characters.
I think you are correct when you wrote (in your post on _Sovereign_), "Critics and fans have argued that this can be read as a metaphor for queerness, or as a parallel to the way that LGBT people are treated. That’s true. But the metaphor resonates a lot more powerfully when the superhero in question is actually queer."
But I'd be happy if that meant Kristen Stewart getting a chance to play a gay superhero . . .