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In 1989 the new warriors first appeared in
issue #411 of The Mighty Thor.
They were a group of young heroes that were
supposed to speak to the teenage culture of
the time.
Now in 2020 there is a group of new new warriors
that are being trained by the original cast
that are also supposed to speak to today's
teenagers. Written by Daniel Kibblesmith.
There are five characters that are supposed
to speak to contemporary teen culture just
as their predecessors did.
There's Screentime, a meme obsessed teenager
whose brain was permanently connected to the
internet after he was exposed to internet
gas.
Trailblazer, a foster kid who has a backpack
that apparently leads to alternative dimensions
and B-Negative...
a goth kid....but the two characters,
that have everyone talking are the psychic
twins named Safespace and Snowflake.
Safespace is described as a typical jock who
has the ability to create pink force fields
that are only effective when they're being
used to protect others.
And snowflake is Marvel's first openly non-binary
character who has the ability to create sure.
Akins made them ice combined.
Their powers are supposed to compliment each
other.
Kibblesmith claimed that the twins chose these
names because they wanted to reclaim words
that were thrown at them.
And you know, I gotta say I've consulted the
muses and I think we all agree that this ain't
it chief, this ain't it.
Now I know it's some you were thinking, Kathryn,
you're a black transgender woman.
This is the sort of character that you should
love.
I mean, after all, isn't this the representation
that you're asking for?
And you know what?
No, we didn't ask her for this.
I don't think anyone did when I first saw
these characters.
I honestly thought that someone was trolling.
I mean, they seem like something that like
some right wing comic book would have.
Right?
But when I looked up who created these characters?
Daniel Kibblesmith is a four time Emmy nominated
writer and Luciano Vecchio is a openly queer
man who clearly has a good understanding of
LGBT representation and history, so where
exactly that they missed the Mark.
Some of you know that I'm actually an illustrator
who has a degree in character animation, so
I figured that I would actually try my hand
at redesigning these characters and dissecting
exactly what I think is wrong with them.
Now, first things first, while this video
is mostly gonna be focusing on star flight,
star flake, wow, snowflake and save space,
I want it to make it clear that I think all
of these characters are bad.
You know, I love the idea of, you know, these
characters that represent today's generation.
I think that's amazing, but honestly, looking
at these characters, it kind of feels like
Kibblesmith is just like out of touch with
what the kids are into these days, especially
especially because he seems to think that
people these days still use terms like snowflake
and safe space, but on the subject of their
name.
Let's talk about the name.
Let's talk about why these names don't work
because Kibblesmith isn't a black trans person.
What I think you might struggle to understand
is that when you're black and trans, regardless
of how you actually may feel, regardless of
what your actual political alignment may actually
be, you're always going to be regarded as
inherently radical.
Now, as a trans person who openly speaks about
being black and transgender on the internet,
this may shock you, but I've been called a
snowflake in desperate need of a safe space
quite a bit in my life, right?
But the thing is is that those things don't
ever really like offend me because I know
that there are things that are said to me
just to get me to shut up.
And also most of the times when people use
terms like safe space, they don't even really
know what they're talking about.
A safe space isn't like this metaphorical
place that I withdraw into when I don't want
to have tough conversations.
It's a physical place like you know, a sober
home or a women's shelter or even more relevant
an LGBT center, right?
That's what a safe space is, so it's hard
for me to really be offended by a lot of this
stuff when it seems like they just don't really
know what they're talking about.
To be totally honest, I really can't remember
a time where I've been called a snowflake
by someone who wasn't just some angry white
dude on the internet and if I were sitting
down and trying to think of a cool word that
I could use as my superhero name, I don't
think I would even start to consider snowflake
or safe space because that would be overstating
the importance of those people in my life.
And you know what?
I though a little research, a little investigation,
it really does seem like Kibblesmith is the
kind of person who does use these terms.
Ironically all the time, and these aren't
like offensive jokes or whatever, but I'm
just pointing out the fact that he does use
these terms.
Ironically all the time.
Now, I could be totally wrong about this,
but my impression is that when Kibblesmith
was designing these characters, he had a lot
of ideas about what these characters are supposed
to look like and who these characters are,
but he was pulling from his imagination and
not some observation of how black teenagers
navigate through their gender in 2020 which
brings me to my next general criticism of
these characters.
These characters are not created for my gaze,
right?
There are characters that are, I believe,
created for a well-meaning liberal to read
about and feel like they're actually getting
some sort of information about the realities
of a black trans and queer person.
But the reality is, is like I said, these
characters are based on Kibblesmith's approximation
of who black trans and queer people are.
So ultimately people reading these books and
hopes of learning something or really only
getting a very, very watered down version
of who black trans and queer people actually
are.
And to be honest, because of that, I don't
really think it's representation at all.
These characters don't feel like they were
designed with the input of people like myself
who live with both blackness and transness.
Interestingly enough, Luciana [inaudible]
is actually one of the lead artists on iron
heart, which is the comic book about Tony
Starks, young black female protege.
When I look at Ray Williams as a character,
now we're not going to talk about whether
or not it's a good story or whether or not
she on her own is a great character overall.
We're not here to talk about that.
But when I look at her, I identify with her
and it's clear that black girls all around
the world looked at, reread Williams and felt
that there was a part of her in everyone.
Right?
And I think part of the reason for that is
because reread is based on real people and
she's inspired by Brian Michael Bendis's,
real black children, right?
And so I think because of that, there's a
layer of realism that allows these characters
to feel like they are based in reality.
When you're black and trans, you're going
to feel ostracized by even the communities
that are supposed to be for you.
You're going to feel racism from the larger
LGBT community and you're going to feel transphobia
from your black family members or your black
extended community.
So part of being black and trans is finding
your own unique way of celebrating both your
blackness and your transness.
So that being said, when I'm redesigning these
characters, my goals going to be to make them
feel like they're more rooted in realism and
make them feel more familiar to me as a black
transgender person.
Now before we get into the redesign, I want
to make two things really, really clear.
First of all, this book has not been published
yet.
We don't know the story.
We don't know exactly who these characters
are.
All we're going off of is a character design
sheet and some character descriptions, right?
Also, I am not non-binary.
I'm a binary identified trans woman, and those
are my experiences and as we redesign these
characters, I'm going to be pulling from my
experiences, but also some of the experiences
of my friends who are non-binary.
Now, while I don't like these characters,
I want to maintain the, what I think is integrity
of these characters, right?
I don't want to change them super, super drastically.
I'm going to work within their character description.
I'm going to keep their colors the same and
I'm not calling to change their name.
So we're going to start with redesigning snowflake
and I wanted to start with them because I
feel like that's the one that people are mostly
upset with and I think that in the way that
snowflake factors into the story, they're
likely going to play more of a leading role
then save space.
At least that's what I'm imagining.
So let's start, when I'm designing a character,
I really like to start with a sketch of their
face because it helps me understand what sort
of character they're supposed to be.
Now, I think one of the first things we should
establish when we're designing a non-binary
character is that there is not one way to
look non-binary, right?
People who are non-binary have a really, really,
really large array of ways of expressing their
gender.
Right?
Um, and I think one of the reasons why this
design feels so trite is because it's so obvious.
You know, the person who was designated male
at birth is wearing pink and the person who
was designated female at birth is wearing
a blue.
It's just kind of obvious and I'm sure that
that felt really subversive in the design
process.
But I think the thing that is fairly universal
for nonbinary people is that they feel less
beholden to, you know, a lot of the conventions
that a lot of other people have around gender.
So colors are just colors, you know, but oftentimes
when a defib person is expressing their gender
in a non-binary way, it's true that they might
want to lean towards a more typically masculine
presentation as a way of breaking away from
the gender that they were raised to express
from birth.
Snowflake is still very much in the early
phases of figuring themselves out, but they've
never been more sure of anything in their
life.
Then their non-binary identity now in 2020
kids have these super computers in their pockets.
Right.
And that means that they are way smarter and
way more, you know, outspoken than I was when
I was in high school.
And as I'm drawing, I'm snowflake, I'm imagining
that they are a really outspoken person.
Maybe the sort of person who is maybe a little
too outspoken, maybe it's maybe in a way that's
off putting to other people.
Um, I'm imagining that they are an activist
for many, many causes and I kind of imagined
Stoweflake as being kind of a serious person.
You know, a person who really does take themselves
very, very seriously and kind of has a hard
time showing that they, you know, have fun
or that they enjoy themselves.
Right?
So they have a lot of things about themselves
that they don't really like to share at school.
In fact, they don't really like school.
They love to learn, but they don't like school.
That's, that's the kind of person that I'm
imagining snowflake to be.
One of the first things I notice about these
redesigns was their hair.
Right now, their hair looks like my hair in
high school, right?
When I used to chemically straightened my
hair and it was dry and it was a hot ass mess
because I was deep, deep, deep, deep, deep,
deep, deep, deep, deep in the sunken place.
Right?
But it's 20, 20 natural is in having your
own natural hair is in.
And especially being a black person, especially
being somebody who is very socially aware,
I imagined that snowflake is going to rock
their natural hair, right?
So I want it to give them a hairstyle that
feels, you know, modern and contemporary and
is a little edgy.
So I gave them this on lock hairstyle that
I've seen a lot of black men wear.
Um, it's a very like sort of Killmonger esque,
um, hairstyle.
And I love it because I think that it is kind
of androgynous and cool and it's very, very
now.
So, um, that's the hairstyle we're going with
and we're going to keep it blue, of course,
or maybe turquoise.
You guys know turquoise is my favorite color.
So yeah, we're going to keep it blue.
Now we're going to redesign Snowflake's costume.
And I kind of do like in the original design
how they're wearing basically the same outfit.
But in my imagination, these are two very
different characters.
So I wanted to give them both their own sort
of designs or own story outfits.
Um, right.
So when thinking about snowflakes power, right?
Snowflake can generate shurikens out of ice.
Right?
Um, and when I start thinking about, sure
Akins, I start thinking about ninjas.
And when I started thinking about ninjas,
I started getting the sneaky, sneaky, sneaky
suspicion that snowflake is a disgusting,
dirty, dirty, dirty.
We abou who loves Naruto, you know, the kind
of kid that used to, you know, do the Naruto
run through hallways at school, but you know,
that was in middle school.
So we don't talk about that anymore.
Um, they're the sort of kid who watches subs,
not dubs, you know, that's who they are.
And so I wanted to give snowflake assertive
Ninja, ask mortal Kombat Naruto inspired outfit.
And of course they cosplay snowflake cosplay
and, and of course they made this outfit themselves,
right?
Snowflake is a sophomore in high school and
they're really on the fence about starting
T. but one of the things they really do know
about themselves is that they really, really,
really hate being read as a woman.
So when they dress, they think less about
fashion than more about ways that they can
dress themselves to make themselves feel less
dysphoric.
They're very, very, very insecure about how
small they are.
So, so in my head, Canon snowflake binds,
they bind it because they again, feel really
uncomfortable with people looking at them
and reading them as female.
And I think that, um, what I love about this
sort of Ninja costume is that in so many ways
it's very genderless, right?
A lot of times you'll look at a Ninja and
you'll assume, Oh, that's a guy, right?
But when you really think about it, a Ninja
costume is very sort of, it is really genderless.
It's actually supposed to subverts the appearance
of the person wearing it and I think that
that's going to be really attractive to somebody
who is non-binary and doesn't really want
to draw a lot of attention to their body.
Now disclaimer, of course not all non-binary
people feel that way.
A lot of non-binary people are very much about,
you know, having their body be a thing that
people look at and people celebrate.
But in my vision of snowflake, still flake
is this sort of this the sorta non-binary
person who really just feels uncomfortable
with people looking at their body and making
assumptions about who they are.
All right, now we're going to move on to safe
space and I want safe spaces designed to be
similar or two snowflakes design but different
enough.
Like I said, I want them to be, you know,
still look like twins still look like they
could be related, but I also want them to
be their own unique characters.
So much like with snowflake, we're going to
start with sketching his face so that we can
kind of start to figure out what kind of character
he is.
So as far as we know, safe space is not non-binary,
but he is a guy who likes to wear the color
pink.
Right?
And he's also described as Kibblesmith as
being a sort of typical jock character.
So when I start thinking about those sort
of ideas around the character, especially
with the fact that his power is to generate
these shields that are only really able to
protect him if he's also protecting another
person, I started thinking about our current
ideas around masculinity and how in 2020 it's
really common for men to do this thing where
they'll wear something that is typically considered
to be very feminine.
And because they're so confident in their
masculinity, it doesn't contradict it.
Right.
And when I think about this, I think about,
you know, these sort of sexy K-pop guys like
Kai from XO especially.
Um, in the obsession of music video, he wore
this kind of like sexy kind of midriffs showing
kind of crop top situation with a blazer.
It was really cool, kind of luck, but he's
still very much seemed masculine and sexy.
And so when I'm imagining on safe space as
a character, I'm imagining him as being that
kind of guy, that kind of guy who can wear
that sort of shit and it's still seen as like
a really sexy, cool guy.
Right.
Um, I imagine that safe space is a sophomore.
I mean, of course he is because you know his,
his sibling is as well and they're twins,
but he's way more popular than snowflake.
While snowflake really cares a lot about labels
and is all about them and seems to be all
about them.
Same space is just the kind of person who
doesn't really identify with that.
Right?
He's a Sonic sort of guy where because of
the way that he dresses and the way that he
expresses himself, people always think he's
gay.
And, and whenever they ask him if he's gay,
he always just says, you know, I don't really
believe in labels.
You know, he's that kinda guy.
And then we'll go on to date.
Like the hottest girl in school.
Right?
He's a black man.
He was very, very aware of a lot of the pressures
that he's facing being a black man to upload
these sort of typical masculine ideas.
Right?
But he just doesn't care.
Right?
He's the kind of guy who you can look at from
afar and you assume that he's probably a bit
of a jerk, right?
Because he's like good looking and confident.
But when you talked, when you realize that
he's actually a really nice guy, but at the
same time you also realize that he's kind
of in his own world a little bit.
He's kind of, you know, in his own, sorry,
I'm getting so excited about this character.
I dropped my pen.
He's kind of in his own world.
Right?
And because he's always sort of in his own
world, he's a little selfish.
He's a little selfish, right?
He is protective of other people and defensive
the other people, but he's mostly doing that
as like this sort of performance that makes
him look good.
You know, he's the sort of person who when
snowflake gets mis-gendered, he's all about
calling people out and saying that they shouldn't
do that.
He makes a really, really big deal about it
when they're in public, but privately he also
kind of, you know, feels like still flake
is a little bit, you know, too sensitive and
thinks that, you know, they don't really need
to be as worried about these things or is
upset about these things as they are.
Right?
I'm going to give him the same hairstyle I
gave snowflake, but I'm going to make it a
little longer and I'm going to add some lock
fuels just to make it a little bit more extra
because that's the kind of guy he is.
He takes every opportunity to start for the
gram.
So when it comes to safe space costume, I
want to give them something that is hard but
also soft.
Right?
I really just enjoy that dichotomy.
So I'm going to give him a pinkish, purplish
wax, boiled suit of armor and I'm going to
make the midriff exposed because you know,
the, the XO reference because I have to absolutely
have to.
Um, and um, I'm also going to give him this
sort of kilt, sort of leather armor situation
that kind of again, looks like a kilt.
Cause I also think that that's kind of an
iconic sort of look that for some men feels
like they're very, you know, it's one of those
things that's very, that's very masculine
and you know, Scottish culture but seems feminine
to people who are outside of that culture.
Right?
And I'm also gonna make sure that the hardware
on his leather armor matches his lock jewels
because of course that he just has to, he
has to, he has to have that extra, the extra
little bit, you know, the extra little bit,
you know, and I'm also going to give him the
same sort of boots that snowflake has.
Well, I'm going to adjust them a little bit
so that they look like they're more appropriate
for his outfit, but they're going to be a
very similar boot.
Right?
So snowflake kind of had this bat wing sort
of design going with the whole Ninja outfit.
So what I'm going to actually do is I'm going
to sort of mimic that shape by giving him
a shield that goes on his back and that is
going to kind of make it so that they have
very similar silhouettes even though they're
very distinctly different characters.
That's how I would redesign snowflake and
save space.
Now I'm not the best artist.
This is just the first draft, but I'm really
curious to know what you guys think about
my redesign of these characters.
When I look at these two characters, they
feel familiar to me in a way that when I look
at Kibblesmith and Vecchio his designs, they,
I just don't, I just don't feel right.
I feel like these could be real people and
I feel like they have a lot of markers that
would reflect the reality of what being a
black person navigating through gender in
2020 would be.
Of course they have these sort of nerdy outfits,
but that's also very much a reflection of
kids in 2020 who are falling deeper and deeper
into nerd culture and D and D is coming back
and you know, it's just, I think that it that,
that, that my character, my designs are just
a little bit more relatable to me.
Right?
Here's the thing, I really do want to see
more black trans and non-binary characters
in comic books.
I really, really do.
I think representation is incredibly important,
but when the most interesting thing about
your character is that they're nonbinary or
that they have a sexuality outside of heterosexuality,
I don't really think that's good enough.
That's really not what we're asking for.
You know, I obviously support diversity in
comic books and in video games and in all
media, but I don't really want to do it unless
you're going to do it correctly and with the
proper consideration.
Right.
I believe that these characters in their original
design were created to simply pander to people
like me, but a character being nonbinary.
It does not seem uninspiring character design.
We deserve bad-ass characters that are created
with us in mind and not created to pander
to us.
If you want to create characters like us,
a bit of first step is to talk to us, to get
us to look at what you're doing, but an even
better step would be to actually hire us,
right when it comes to comic book representation.
I want to fall in love first with a really
solid character that's really bad ass and
really cool, so cool that I start to think
about who they are outside of this.
Who are they when they're not trying to keep
the city's tape.
You know?
I want to be able to then fall in love with
this non-binary nerd who puts their life on
the line to defend not only what they believe
in, but often to defend people who don't believe
that their gender is even valid.
Right?
Because that's a very real part of being black
and trans in this world.
Being able to accept that there are always
going to be people who will never see you
as valid and continuing to fight on.
Anyways, I would love to hear what you guys
have to say about my redesign.
If you guys like it, if you guys feel connected
to it, especially if you're a black trans
or non-binary person, it definitely would
like to hear from you and yeah, let me know
what you guys think about this whole situation.
I can't believe that this is real.
I can't believe that this is actually a comic
book that's going to come out.
Like I said, it's not out yet.
I think it comes out on the 20th of April.
I might be wrong about that.
Um, but yeah, um, I was flabbergasted when
I found out this, that this was real.
So I'm really curious what you guys have to
say about this.
Um, Marvel is getting a lot of flack on for
this release and a couple of other releases
that they've, they've had, especially in a
time where the virus is making it so that
a lot of comic book shops can't stay open
anymore, which is really, really, really unfortunate.
Um, so yeah, I want to know what you guys
have to say about all of this stuff.
And you guys know that I read all the comments,
so I'd love to hear what you guys have to
say.
I think I've said that like five times now.
I guess that's my cue to go anyways.
If you're not already subscribed to this channel,
I hope you will.
And you know my Patreon supporters saw this
video before everyone else, and if you're
interested in that, join me on Patriot and
you've helped me do videos just like this.
So yeah, I'll talk to you guys next time.
Bye.
