Yes, the video addresses that Casper is biracial and that he is not necessarily white, just white passing. 4:53 However Christopher Priest went out of his way several times to explain that his name literally being Kasper is a reference to his skin tone and his debut storyline is again, LITERALLY called "Black and White". Priest wanted to make it explicitly clear that we are supposed to be viewing Kasper as a white character for his stories even though he more accurately is depicted as a poc with light skin. Thankfully, as the series went on, the artists made him increasingly biracial in depiction.
I think the funniest thing is they thought it would be a good idea to replace BP with someone named Casper, which is specifically used as a way to make fun of the very pale.
Considering black on black violence. Honestly it is not suprising to see brothas being at odds with each others. Cliché hey, reality🤣🤦🏿♂️😑😆😑 Not something I fine amusing to considering I can look at reality. There is a Saying in the Modern Brotherhood of Brothas. *Everybody is a Brotha; Yet Nobody is* Which reflects how being a brotha in modern times is about lipservice an imitation of culture. With zero beef in the game. Which is funny because Mr.Tiger does not give a damn🤣🤣🤣🤣😆🤣🤣. The irony is not lost on me. Although as a writer, that would not be a topic I would cover; I actually would have Captain America take up the Mantel for a while [like a thor's hammer moment], to help Panther root out spies.
Casper Cole seems like a character that could've worked; there are plenty of biracial readers who could've benefitted from reading about a hero like them. It's unfortunate Priest's writing was...unfortunate. But now there's new characters to fill that space so he can stay in the background
To be honest why does it matter what color they are. As a black man, I grew up with nothing but white super heroes and I really didnt care what color they were. I think black panther is the only comic book I didnt read as a kid. I simply just was not interested in the character. I loved Deadpool more then I like black panther. There would be more people of color if white people just start accepting people that don't look like them. I feel Marvel is intentionally race swapping simply because they know their readers wont accept anything less then white. As in Marvel is trying to train white people to accept characters that dont look like them, almost like they trained people of color to accept super heroes that are white. If it worked for people of color, it should probably work for young white readers. The younger white youth probably wont complain as much as the older white readers cause they will be raised on comic books that have a more diverse cast of characters.
@@anthonygordon9483 exactly! I agree with every word. Spider-Man and Hulk are my favorite marvel characters, and it never bothered me that Peter and Bruce are White. So what? I related to them because of who they are characters. Not what they look like. Being misunderstood and seen as an other is an universal concept. It’s not holy unique to Black People/POC. When Miles was first created, i didn’t think “ wow. A black spider-man. Finally, I’m represented”. Instead, I thought “Okay. And…?”
@@Dhampir101980 Same, I was not overly excited about Miles Either. I did get excited over blade. Cause I was like Wow this is a bad ass movie first and he is black second. Which from my pov did make it even better.
This may just be because they had different artists working on said books but am I the only one who noticed that Cole's facial structure and skin tone seem to shift back and forth like they couldn't decide on how they wanted him to look? Edited for grammar corrections
No. You’re not. I saw it too. If Drake didn’t keep mentioning Cole’s name, I would have thought it was a different character each time. They wanted to have their cake and eat it too, by having him pass for white, but also have his mixed heritage constantly brought up through the narrow-minded attitude he has and the things he says
It's just how comics work. I mean Storm is canonically supposed to be dark-skinned, but depending on the book she can look anywhere from Lupita Nyongo to Mariah Carey.
@@WhiteRaven696 and damien wayne, his mother, and jesdica cruz the hispanic green lantern have all had different skin colors. Probably many other chacters. As the other poster said this seems to be a common problem for characters of certain ethnicities and charcters looking completely different jusy comes from so many styles and artists.
@@WhiteRaven696 Got ya, yeah I just thought it was kind of jarring to see all the shifts of the character. Then again I'm not a avid comic reader which it is why I was probably unaware of it
If i am not mistaken, there was also a comedic "What if Black Panther was white" Where after unmasking he gets pissed off at the Avengers because he realises the only reason he got recruited is so they wouldn't look racist for having only white heroes
I also vaguely remember something where another character on The Avengers found out T'Challa (only known to the other character as "Black Panther") was black. He was surprised because he just never assumed that a character with "Black" in his name would be black.
Priest most likely made Casper unlikable on purpose, since he was against the idea of Replacing T’Challa in the first place, but was forced to do it. So he wrote Casper in a way to deliberately illustrate why the concept of making the BLACK Panther a more edgy, street white guy just doesn’t work. The very idea completely goes against the point and purpose of the black panther as a character. And Priest knew that. So Cole was his mouthpiece on the matter. Now that I think about it, The situation with Cole is very similar to what we have today with Jace Fox in I am Batman. Except there, it’s a black man taking the mantle of a white man. Yet Cole and Jace’s personalities and approach mirror each other to an almost uncanny degree. They would definitely be friends
@@Dhampir101980 i kinda of understand why he would be mad about it Their were so little black characters that got an shine now they (The Industry) wanted to take 1 of the most popular black characters mantles and make them white.That wasn't right at all.
@everyones equal and matters not treated that way Affirmative action means a mandated policy of giving opportunity (jobs, scholarships, loans, etc) to groups who are disadvantaged in some way, at least in certain amounts. It could mean making sure a certain amount of new hires in a year are of certain demographics. People used to (and I'm sure still do) like to throw the term around when a person of color, a woman, or person with a disability was hired instead of a white male. When someone says a person was "affirmative actioned" into a situation, what they're saying is they were only given the opportunity for being non-white/female/disabled. This is, of course, an attempt bigots to make their bad opinions seems like reasonable arguments.
@Caitlyn Carvalho No, because people before weren't as triggered by diversity. When Nick Fury was changed from a white guy to a black guy nobody really cared, but if you change a character nowadays it's "woke sjw mob ruining comic books". This is a recent thing. This only became "woke" and "political" in the past decade. There was a female Thor in the early 2000s and nobody cared, but when Jane became Thor everyone lost their mind. When Rhodey became Iron Man nobody cared, but when Sam became Captain America it was "woke to replace a white guy with a black guy".
@@HotDogTimeMachine385 Yeah. I can't tell how much is right wing media making things worse in America. Some of it is self inflicted. Comic companies have their marketing and PR department announce big diversity or representation changes (or news articles at least having headlines about them) in controversy bait ways. Marvel and DC also seem to expect a pat on the back for them. but that's been a media issue for a long time, and used to just be met with eye rolls instead of vitriol in other fields. Liberal biased awards seeking either lands or doesn't. It rarely ever hurts the media. A lot of creators do want to tell stories with diverse characters and shouldn't be dismissed or objected to just because of that. Also I hate how Reactionaries think "they turned a character from one to another" Not quite getting that Comic Book codenames are now like team positions in sports. It's a different person filling that role. Usually it's been supporting cast already stepping up, sidekicks and offspring, not randomly giving the mantle...on that note, Drake covered this very well with his videos on Riri Williams.
There's also a White Tiger. It's a mantle passed between various members of a Puerto Rican family. I'm sure that fact would piss the people who ask that question off a great deal. Panthers are not a species, it's the general evolutionary grouping for big cats as distinct from small cats. In Africa the only panther that can be black are leopards. Outside of Africa, jaguars from South America can also be black panthers. This does in fact mean that white tigers are white panthers.
The thing that's funny to me is how when Casper returned, he suddenly returned he's no longer white passing but more biracial looking, and with abosulty no reason.
I gave you a like but, in all honesty we don't need Kilmonger lit (no pun intend) if anything I feel like Cole can still be tge way he is but. Have him grow from a self hatred black, to a man loves his skin and ppl, also learn to stop being so sexist and be more of a father/respectful man toward his baby mother. Witt all that he should get a new name
He’s literally mixed. Comic Drake, as always, doesn’t know what he’s talking about. “The son of Jonathan Payton "Black Jack" Cole, hardline African-American cop nicknamed "Black Jack" because of his dark skin tone, and Ruth Cole, a white Jewish mother, Kevin Cole was nicknamed "Kasper" by his peers because of his light skin tone. “
The idea of a new character salvaging what was left of the suit and become an urban vigilante for a short time was kinda neat for me. Too bad the writing didn't live up to the concept.
Writing stories about dirtbag protagonists seems to be a tricky thing to do. The way you described his story it seems very clear he's supposed to be someone the reader doesn't like or agree with, but it seems to be done in a way where it's just joyless and annoying. Nice characters just make for a better read usually. Also I was about to throw in a "I doubt people had a problem with black panther", but then I remembered that the first exposure I had to him (besides like one avengers issue at the back of a Spider-Man comic) was the Earth's Mightiest Heroes cartoon, where he was fucking awesome, so I guess I can't judge. Not sure how he was in the comics really
Nice characters can be just as underwhelming. I think the Spider-Man comics could've benefitted from a protagonist who turned the "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" theme on it's head. And no nothing like Superior Spider-Man.
@@mikhaelgribkov4117 well considering I said NOT Superior Spider-Man... I mean having someone with Spider-Man powers using them for personal gain or entertainment. Sort of a Chronicle type situation.
The ending is kind of funny for the karmic justice of Casper winding up in the same media place as T'Challa was seen as at the start. Just that one dude filling out the background roster of the group shots.
There are multiple points in this video where I'm like, "oh, I know where they're going with this!" and then it goes in an entirely different and vastly worse direction
Hunter/White Wolf is back now in a main role as the main antagonist in the Sam Wilson/Captain America book. I think Ross showed up here and there in the comics in minor supporting roles throughout the years (plus, he appears in the MCU Black Panther movies, so that's something) Kasper's only appearance since the early 2000s was in a recent cameo in a background group shot of many heroes in the Black Panther book.
I have this run and this arc seemed so weird and out of nowhere. I hated Cole for all the reasons you mentioned. His attraction to Okeye to that level made no sense to me. I was also creeped out how young his girlfriend was. He's self-centered, entitled, and just was not worth reading about. The worst part is that I didn't and still don't know what to read after that to get T'Challa on the road to where he is now.
@@ctl6985 In that case I agree with Michael Head, go for the Hudlin run. There's also Ta-Nehisi Coates' very recent run, which was fascinating and intense but, like Priest, not always focused on T'Challa.
@@joelpartee594 Read that too 😅. It was jarring how it felt like an entirely different continuity. But I read that Shuri's run and Doom War. Soon I'll start BP: Man Without Fear and then Coates run.
"What if we took a character that was groundbreakingly unique and unfortunately still is, has an entire corner of the universe to play with basically all to himself...and made him into the same gritty, street level bullshit that the audience can get from 400 other mediocre comics" Genius Marvel, truly genius.
I actually quite enjoy Kasper. I don't like the idea of him as Black Panther but there's just enough good ideas with him that I can't really hate him. If they were to ever bring him back in a major role, maybe make him essentially T'Challa's Venom. You know, a dude who he'll do stuff with and isn't opposed to helping out, but they're not even remotely friends and are essentially just anime rivals lol.
I did as well and I was looking forward to more stories with him especially in The Crew which went more into his family and also featured someone I wish they would use more, Josiah X, I mean c'mon marvel you got a natural born second generation super soldier who has been fighting since Vietnam and you never use him?
@@ampocalypsew3883 I never really saw him as self hate theme. It was more of hating the situation he felt stuck in, nothing really seemed to be going his way. Yet he was still big on doing the right thing. He was basically a Spider-Man of color characterization wise to me. Without the school stuff
Casper's fate as a background character is really ironic when you consider that, it was that status, what Marvel Knights was supposed to remove for Black Panther, he became the background character that T'Challa could have been.
Evert Ross faced some criticism in the movie (which I think Wakanda Forever Addressed) But his original protrayal DEFINITELY has him falling under those complaints.
16:40 "So what was the point?". Probably "trying up the loose ends". Having an ex-BP just hanging around in the limbo probably annoyed some writer in Marvel, so they decided to "wrap him up" by promoting him to a background character who will just cameo here and there and will most likely be killed next time a big storyline will require a body count among the heroes
There was a white Black Panther in DC comics. He was a REALLY obscure character. Like, almost no one has heard of him. I think I remember an old timey DC toy of the character when I was a kid, but that may be a fever dream or something. Like Mystic Knights of Tir na Nog or the Robeasts from Voltron.
I completely forgot about Casper, I deadass thought this was gonna be about his brother Hunter (white boy adopted by T'Chaka and Ramonda before T'Challa's birth... Despite the fact that Ramonda didn't meet T'Chaka until after T'Challa was born...)
Making Casper a completely insufferable character that no one would want to read about/want back seemed like Priest's private method of protest for this silly idea and taking the shit out of the very type of people that would unironically say "why can't MLK be played by a white person?" It's too bad that his real Black Panther run was riddled with a lot of internalized anti-Blackness and general cynicism around race relations. A very wild run for someone that managed to have the most influence on a hero that eventually became a very beloved character in the MCU.
Yeah... I definitely picked up on a lot of what seemed like anti-blackness in Priest's run and it rubbed me the wrong way. However, after talking to some of my friends, apparently a lot of that kind of sentiment was going around in the black community in the 90s and early 2000s? I've been trying to understand, but I definitely don't have the perspective and knowledge to make any definitive comments which is why I tried to steer away from mentioning that stuff in this video. I've been trying my best to learn about POC discourse and it's history, but I'm definitely still ignorant about a lot.
Not pertaining to Kasper, but Black Panther related. I am wondering if you did a video on your thoughts of when T'Challa became the protector of Hells Kitchen after the Shadowland fiasco. This was informative though
Ah yes, make the Black Panther, one of the most iconic black superheroes of all time, and also inspired from the Black Panther Party, a white (passing) character who hates his pregnant girlfriend, assaults women, and has very little reason to even like him. Then later change his name to White Tiger, a Latina superhero. What could possibly go wrong?
casper cole could definitely work, but in my opinion as a villain (he could even become sympathetic, figuring out his mistakes and growing as a person) who turns into a hero and finally lives up to all that was given to him on a silver platter.
@@hoangkienvu7572 you misunderstand, i didnt say he was a good guy. that's why i said he could do great as a villain, but if marvel wanted to go the route of complete 180, they could put him through hell so he atones for his sins and comes out a better person.
@@lightningjules658 Oh I meant he would be a good punch-able villain, just not a sympathetic one. He's the kind of villain that I would hate to have redeemed, like Omni Man from Invincible or Endeavor from MHA
I love that Vin Diesel quote by Priest. While this is unquestionably the worst part of his time on the book, it's still worth a read. I'd love to see someone reasses and take another crack at Casper.
these ding dang republican comic writers, trying to white wash all my favorite characters you go racist go broke If you could not tell this is a satirical twist on common conservative talking points when referring to fictional characters and in this essay-
Kind of unrelated, but the book I know Priest from is the Rebirth Deathstroke series, which people praised to no end. However I had always forgotten the plot by the point a new issue came out, meaning I never really knew what was going on. I think I dropped it like 5 issues before its conclusion which is honestly kinda sad. I should probably give it an actual read sometime soon.
6:10 It's almost as if nobody wants a whiny protagonist who blames everyone else for their own problem... be that character white, male, or any other types. It must be some kind of grand secret that nobody can figure out, since Marvel keeps making whiny protagonist who blames everyone else for their problem and then is shocked that everyone hate it. lol
I actually enjoyed reading and collecting that storyline. It led to a new superhero team called "The Crew". I don't remember the character being such a jerk though. He seemed to use some tech for his powers. Also later I think he did end up getting powers from a synthetic version of the heart-shaped herd.
But can you imagine an MCU entry with Cole as an antagonist. Have it play off of the MCU KillMongers ideology from the first movie. Hell have Killmonger appear in a vision to him and have even him talk down to him for just being an asshole. It really could work with the MCU of wrote correctly. And bonus points if they cast Vin Diesel in the the role.
@@GruntCatcher There was a 616 villain (eventually redeemed) who stole the suit and named herself Yellowjacket. Plus another one after the movie, of course.
Kevin "Kasper" Cole is depicted as biracial, the child of an African man and a Jewish woman. As a result of the sharp contrast between his light skin and the dark skin of his father, he has been nicknamed Kasper, after Casper the Friendly Ghost.
Okay, I gotta say, even with how much this character sucks... I absolutely love that costume. Like that's such a cool look. I honestly adore the aesthetic of it so goddamn much
I think a video about Crazy Jane and all of her personalities would be really fun! You could use the Doom Patrol show ending as an excuse to make the video maybe
I feel like the whole idea of this works much better in American Carnage as it actually explores the nuances of the protagonist’s position as white passing while being a cop
The brain anneryism thing is odd. Its supposed to explain kirby's very wacky incarnation, with that version being in the future with anneryism. Said version even appears in the run but then its ignored.
Can't wait for Casper to have a 6 episode mini-series on Disney+ were he is played by Ryan Gosling and changes his backstory completely (I feel like I did this same joke with another character)
As a halfrican American male...who the hell did they even reference for this guy? He goes from white to black to white. They really should have stuck to a consistent look if they were going to do this.
I've not heard of this character before, and you paint a very bad picture of him, but I do feel you've justified bringing him back as a background extra. There's potential for some sort of a redemption story here, will it be told? probably not if its told will it be good? depends on the writing but I see a potential storyline here and the beauty of these long running stories is how someone can come along one day look at the discarded strands left by the previous writers and make something out of them.
If the MCU was able to reinvent Everett Ross into a more compent pov side character in the movies, they could do the same with Cole in Black Panther 3. Preferably with a complete reinvention in the personality department.
Drake: He didn't suck BECAUSE he was white. He sucked because he had nothing in common, especially in tone, with T'Challa and in many cases, literally represented the antithesis of his character. And because his nationality is such an important part of to tell his character, replacing the Black Panther with somebody that has literally nothing to do with Wakanda is an incredibly stupid idea because his race and country are major parts of his character.
@@ComicDrake My point is that your video implies that people who argue that characters should keep their original look and alter ego are applying some kind of double standard, which is not the case.
As a Biracial person (Half Black Half White) thier aren't many Biracial characters like me. Thier are plenty of Afro Latinos and lots of other biracial characters which is cool. But not many that look like me and Casper Cole is like the only one and he's not that great. Any one got any reading recommendations for Half White/Half Black characters???
Just discovered your channel and I have to say even though I haven't kept up with big two comics since the 90s, it's very refreshing to see someone making comics content with this kind of attitude. Unfortunately it seems like a lot of comics TH-camrs are boomers who hate it when their funny superhero books have brown people in them, or just generally raging over anything newer than the silver age.
so disrespectful that this grown ass man casper just stole his identities from other POC heroes like you coulda just made your own shit up but nah imma just take all that
"How would you like it if Black Panther was white?" "There already was a white Black Panther, and he sucked." So... you wouldn't like it. So the dude was right.
I kinda love how every character from the Black Panther cast just take a look at Casper Cole and says "You wanna cosplay as the Black Panther? Ugh, fine, take this bootleg thing. Now, Go. Away".
@@akhonaluthuli5931 he's half white plus I highly doubt the MCU would actually use him in a movie or show in a serious manner. So they could easily use him as a joke character to make fun of the idea of a white/white passing man non Wakandan being the Black Panther
3:12 Ribs are racist? I thought the only racist foods were fried chicken and watermelon. And bananas. What about okra and beans, are they racist? Coconut milk?
Thank you so much for finally dropping all the info on T'Challa's adopted brother,Hunter (the White Wolf),and Kasper Cole..I was getting tired of explaining this point on other channels everytime some douche in the chat would ask that same stupid question, like somehow we (Black readers),need hand-me-down race swapped characters to enjoy comics.Maybe they'll listen to you?
I think this is one of your best vids yet, an editor cut(I got to see your room), a good raising of the voice at point where I know if I had to read all this I'd have done the same, and good comedy. I'd have never known about this casper cole fella if you never mentioned him.
Ahaha... i love how not only this character shares a name with me, but we're both mixed 🥲. ... But low key i do like the visual idea behind a gun weilding black panther. *its like a fusion between punisher and him!*
![Does Ironheart Suck? [Riri Williams]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/N1PBPBshXfQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Yes, the video addresses that Casper is biracial and that he is not necessarily white, just white passing. 4:53
However Christopher Priest went out of his way several times to explain that his name literally being Kasper is a reference to his skin tone and his debut storyline is again, LITERALLY called "Black and White". Priest wanted to make it explicitly clear that we are supposed to be viewing Kasper as a white character for his stories even though he more accurately is depicted as a poc with light skin. Thankfully, as the series went on, the artists made him increasingly biracial in depiction.
I think the funniest thing is they thought it would be a good idea to replace BP with someone named Casper, which is specifically used as a way to make fun of the very pale.
Ngl I lowkey thought he looked more lightskin or ultra-lightskin black. This is coming from someone who is white passing.
Considering black on black violence.
Honestly it is not suprising to see brothas being at odds with each others.
Cliché hey, reality🤣🤦🏿♂️😑😆😑
Not something I fine amusing to considering I can look at reality.
There is a Saying in the Modern Brotherhood of Brothas.
*Everybody is a Brotha; Yet Nobody is*
Which reflects how being a brotha in modern times is about lipservice an imitation of culture.
With zero beef in the game.
Which is funny because Mr.Tiger does not give a damn🤣🤣🤣🤣😆🤣🤣.
The irony is not lost on me.
Although as a writer, that would not be a topic I would cover; I actually would have Captain America take up the Mantel for a while [like a thor's hammer moment], to help Panther root out spies.
@@boingo3908 yh he deffo looks lightskin…..even is hair lol
Ok.
Casper Cole seems like a character that could've worked; there are plenty of biracial readers who could've benefitted from reading about a hero like them. It's unfortunate Priest's writing was...unfortunate. But now there's new characters to fill that space so he can stay in the background
Ironically, Casper probably would work and be accepted if he was created today. Look at Miles Morales
Priest cellars hated the idea. Casper *could* have worked but they needed 1. A writer who cared about the idea and 2. A clear direction
To be honest why does it matter what color they are. As a black man, I grew up with nothing but white super heroes and I really didnt care what color they were. I think black panther is the only comic book I didnt read as a kid. I simply just was not interested in the character. I loved Deadpool more then I like black panther. There would be more people of color if white people just start accepting people that don't look like them. I feel Marvel is intentionally race swapping simply because they know their readers wont accept anything less then white. As in Marvel is trying to train white people to accept characters that dont look like them, almost like they trained people of color to accept super heroes that are white. If it worked for people of color, it should probably work for young white readers. The younger white youth probably wont complain as much as the older white readers cause they will be raised on comic books that have a more diverse cast of characters.
@@anthonygordon9483 exactly! I agree with every word. Spider-Man and Hulk are my favorite marvel characters, and it never bothered me that Peter and Bruce are White. So what? I related to them because of who they are characters. Not what they look like. Being misunderstood and seen as an other is an universal concept. It’s not holy unique to Black People/POC.
When Miles was first created, i didn’t think “ wow. A black spider-man. Finally, I’m represented”. Instead, I thought “Okay. And…?”
@@Dhampir101980 Same, I was not overly excited about Miles Either. I did get excited over blade. Cause I was like Wow this is a bad ass movie first and he is black second. Which from my pov did make it even better.
This may just be because they had different artists working on said books but am I the only one who noticed that Cole's facial structure and skin tone seem to shift back and forth like they couldn't decide on how they wanted him to look?
Edited for grammar corrections
No. You’re not. I saw it too. If Drake didn’t keep mentioning Cole’s name, I would have thought it was a different character each time. They wanted to have their cake and eat it too, by having him pass for white, but also have his mixed heritage constantly brought up through the narrow-minded attitude he has and the things he says
It's just how comics work. I mean Storm is canonically supposed to be dark-skinned, but depending on the book she can look anywhere from Lupita Nyongo to Mariah Carey.
@@WhiteRaven696 and damien wayne, his mother, and jesdica cruz the hispanic green lantern have all had different skin colors. Probably many other chacters. As the other poster said this seems to be a common problem for characters of certain ethnicities and charcters looking completely different jusy comes from so many styles and artists.
@@WhiteRaven696 Got ya, yeah I just thought it was kind of jarring to see all the shifts of the character. Then again I'm not a avid comic reader which it is why I was probably unaware of it
@@Dhampir101980 Bingo
If i am not mistaken, there was also a comedic "What if Black Panther was white"
Where after unmasking he gets pissed off at the Avengers because he realises the only reason he got recruited is so they wouldn't look racist for having only white heroes
That sounds fan made
@@gokanshurisbabyfather4003 Nope, it's a short story from Marvel Wha...Huh? #1.
I know it's real but it sounds like something The Seven would do
I also vaguely remember something where another character on The Avengers found out T'Challa (only known to the other character as "Black Panther") was black. He was surprised because he just never assumed that a character with "Black" in his name would be black.
@@ironmaster6496 I know right that's so wild the comics have been overtly woke in funny ways for decades
Priest most likely made Casper unlikable on purpose, since he was against the idea of Replacing T’Challa in the first place, but was forced to do it.
So he wrote Casper in a way to deliberately illustrate why the concept of making the BLACK Panther a more edgy, street white guy just doesn’t work. The very idea completely goes against the point and purpose of the black panther as a character. And Priest knew that. So Cole was his mouthpiece on the matter.
Now that I think about it, The situation with Cole is very similar to what we have today with Jace Fox in I am Batman. Except there, it’s a black man taking the mantle of a white man. Yet Cole and Jace’s personalities and approach mirror each other to an almost uncanny degree. They would definitely be friends
I like that reasoning. Malicious compliance since he didn’t want to write the “urban” character in the first place.
@@malcolmmayes6594 it just makes the most sense to me. Priest is too capable and too intelligent to have not known what he was writing
I actually read this for a college course as an example of an author working on something they’re not interested in.
@@delongjohnsilver7235 it’s so obvious that Priest’s heart was NOT in this new direction at all.
@@Dhampir101980 i kinda of understand why he would be mad about it Their were so little black characters that got an shine now they (The Industry) wanted to take 1 of the most popular black characters mantles and make them white.That wasn't right at all.
Got to love how the people that complain the most about comic books have never actually read them
God damn, they scream so loud, too.
@everyones equal and matters not treated that way
Affirmative action means a mandated policy of giving opportunity (jobs, scholarships, loans, etc) to groups who are disadvantaged in some way, at least in certain amounts. It could mean making sure a certain amount of new hires in a year are of certain demographics.
People used to (and I'm sure still do) like to throw the term around when a person of color, a woman, or person with a disability was hired instead of a white male. When someone says a person was "affirmative actioned" into a situation, what they're saying is they were only given the opportunity for being non-white/female/disabled. This is, of course, an attempt bigots to make their bad opinions seems like reasonable arguments.
A small albeit loud minority
@Caitlyn Carvalho No, because people before weren't as triggered by diversity. When Nick Fury was changed from a white guy to a black guy nobody really cared, but if you change a character nowadays it's "woke sjw mob ruining comic books". This is a recent thing. This only became "woke" and "political" in the past decade.
There was a female Thor in the early 2000s and nobody cared, but when Jane became Thor everyone lost their mind. When Rhodey became Iron Man nobody cared, but when Sam became Captain America it was "woke to replace a white guy with a black guy".
@@HotDogTimeMachine385 Yeah. I can't tell how much is right wing media making things worse in America. Some of it is self inflicted. Comic companies have their marketing and PR department announce big diversity or representation changes (or news articles at least having headlines about them) in controversy bait ways. Marvel and DC also seem to expect a pat on the back for them. but that's been a media issue for a long time, and used to just be met with eye rolls instead of vitriol in other fields. Liberal biased awards seeking either lands or doesn't. It rarely ever hurts the media. A lot of creators do want to tell stories with diverse characters and shouldn't be dismissed or objected to just because of that.
Also I hate how Reactionaries think "they turned a character from one to another" Not quite getting that Comic Book codenames are now like team positions in sports. It's a different person filling that role. Usually it's been supporting cast already stepping up, sidekicks and offspring, not randomly giving the mantle...on that note, Drake covered this very well with his videos on Riri Williams.
There's also a White Tiger. It's a mantle passed between various members of a Puerto Rican family. I'm sure that fact would piss the people who ask that question off a great deal.
Panthers are not a species, it's the general evolutionary grouping for big cats as distinct from small cats. In Africa the only panther that can be black are leopards. Outside of Africa, jaguars from South America can also be black panthers. This does in fact mean that white tigers are white panthers.
Ultimate Spider-Man
@@fredbearchannel976 Yup, that's how I knew about the character.
Also White Wolf, AKA Hunter, T'Challa's adopted big brother
I was just about to mention that. There’s a White Wolf too isn’t
@@jordanloux3883 I just asked if there was a White Wolf as I heard about him but didn’t remember who he was. I forgot he was BP’s brother.
The thing that's funny to me is how when Casper returned, he suddenly returned he's no longer white passing but more biracial looking, and with abosulty no reason.
The hit him with the Robert De Costa effect, went from black passing to racially ambiguous
Lol yeah but in this case it's the reverse. He went from white passing to black passing for no reason.
He never was white passing to begin with.
@@lmao2302 thank you!
He pulled a reverse Micheal Jackson
Them: "why isn't their a white panther"
Me, an El Tigre fan : "There is. His name is Rudolfo Rivera. The White Pantera."
Hell yeah, that show was my jam back in the day!
HOLY SHIT, loved that show! I just heard the theme song in my head after you said that.
Back when people cared about making good characters not
Check boxes.
HELL YES I REMEMBER THAT SHOW
Honestly Casper would make a good ANTAGONIST for the real Black Panther
I feel like this would just cause more controversy
@@kaijuroar8415 plus how his creation come to be it'll have been poor choice
I gave you a like but, in all honesty we don't need Kilmonger lit (no pun intend) if anything I feel like Cole can still be tge way he is but. Have him grow from a self hatred black, to a man loves his skin and ppl, also learn to stop being so sexist and be more of a father/respectful man toward his baby mother. Witt all that he should get a new name
@@ampocalypsew3883 Killmonger lite 💀💀💀💀 fatality
@nail inthefashion based on their comment, it'd actually be nearly the complete opposite of Killmonger. Idk how you thought they'd be similar.
Technically speaking, there were two: Casper and Ultimate Captain America.
And their was an alternate universe black panther found in wha HUH
Didn’t Captain America wore the Black Panther suit just so he can trick Nick fury
@@Nova-su3fp Yeah, I think that was the case
True, but usually Drake just focuses on the main universe
Hunter too.
It's really funny that Kasper sometimes look like a biracial guy but also sometimes kinda look like Shane from Walking Dead season 2
He’s literally mixed. Comic Drake, as always, doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
“The son of Jonathan Payton "Black Jack" Cole, hardline African-American cop nicknamed "Black Jack" because of his dark skin tone, and Ruth Cole, a white Jewish mother, Kevin Cole was nicknamed "Kasper" by his peers because of his light skin tone. “
@@WhatDoesEvilMean what are you talking about he addressed that he's mixed
@@anasloyal A person who has a black parent is black. And in none of the drawings of this character was he ever in any universe “white passing”.
And what *exactly* does a biracial person look like? President Obama? Wentworth Miller? SMDH.
@@WhatDoesEvilMean the whole reason he's called Casper is because he's so white
I love how everyone in Wakanda is just like "dude we'll give you whatever you want just back the hell off"
The idea of a new character salvaging what was left of the suit and become an urban vigilante for a short time was kinda neat for me. Too bad the writing didn't live up to the concept.
So like Steel Superman but bad
Writing stories about dirtbag protagonists seems to be a tricky thing to do.
The way you described his story it seems very clear he's supposed to be someone the reader doesn't like or agree with, but it seems to be done in a way where it's just joyless and annoying.
Nice characters just make for a better read usually.
Also I was about to throw in a "I doubt people had a problem with black panther", but then I remembered that the first exposure I had to him (besides like one avengers issue at the back of a Spider-Man comic) was the Earth's Mightiest Heroes cartoon, where he was fucking awesome, so I guess I can't judge. Not sure how he was in the comics really
Nice characters can be just as underwhelming. I think the Spider-Man comics could've benefitted from a protagonist who turned the "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" theme on it's head. And no nothing like Superior Spider-Man.
So Dan Slott run?
@@paladinluke37 what about Cain?
@@mikhaelgribkov4117 well considering I said NOT Superior Spider-Man...
I mean having someone with Spider-Man powers using them for personal gain or entertainment. Sort of a Chronicle type situation.
The ending is kind of funny for the karmic justice of Casper winding up in the same media place as T'Challa was seen as at the start. Just that one dude filling out the background roster of the group shots.
There are multiple points in this video where I'm like, "oh, I know where they're going with this!" and then it goes in an entirely different and vastly worse direction
Hunter/White Wolf is back now in a main role as the main antagonist in the Sam Wilson/Captain America book.
I think Ross showed up here and there in the comics in minor supporting roles throughout the years (plus, he appears in the MCU Black Panther movies, so that's something)
Kasper's only appearance since the early 2000s was in a recent cameo in a background group shot of many heroes in the Black Panther book.
Racist people would hate Kasper Cole even more than the Black Panther. He's of African and Jewish descent at the same time.
I have this run and this arc seemed so weird and out of nowhere. I hated Cole for all the reasons you mentioned. His attraction to Okeye to that level made no sense to me. I was also creeped out how young his girlfriend was. He's self-centered, entitled, and just was not worth reading about. The worst part is that I didn't and still don't know what to read after that to get T'Challa on the road to where he is now.
The next most impactful run is the Reginald Hudlin storylines.
He created Shuri and shaped the Dora Milaje into what we see in the MCU
Did you read the main run by Priest in which T’Challa was Black Panther, or just the Kasper Cole coda?
@@joelpartee594 I have the whole run
@@ctl6985 In that case I agree with Michael Head, go for the Hudlin run.
There's also Ta-Nehisi Coates' very recent run, which was fascinating and intense but, like Priest, not always focused on T'Challa.
@@joelpartee594 Read that too 😅. It was jarring how it felt like an entirely different continuity. But I read that Shuri's run and Doom War. Soon I'll start BP: Man Without Fear and then Coates run.
"What if we took a character that was groundbreakingly unique and unfortunately still is, has an entire corner of the universe to play with basically all to himself...and made him into the same gritty, street level bullshit that the audience can get from 400 other mediocre comics"
Genius Marvel, truly genius.
I actually quite enjoy Kasper. I don't like the idea of him as Black Panther but there's just enough good ideas with him that I can't really hate him. If they were to ever bring him back in a major role, maybe make him essentially T'Challa's Venom. You know, a dude who he'll do stuff with and isn't opposed to helping out, but they're not even remotely friends and are essentially just anime rivals lol.
I did as well and I was looking forward to more stories with him especially in The Crew which went more into his family and also featured someone I wish they would use more, Josiah X, I mean c'mon marvel you got a natural born second generation super soldier who has been fighting since Vietnam and you never use him?
I kinda like tge idea of him being T'Challa's rival, I can see Cole bring kinda dumb where T'Challa has to either put him in his place or correct him.
I honestly think Kasper would do well with a tv series or something. I think Kasper was a cool White Tiger
@@TheDistantWave if they do they need to tackle his issues that a lot of black ppl have had, and that is self hate or hating your own race
@@ampocalypsew3883 I never really saw him as self hate theme. It was more of hating the situation he felt stuck in, nothing really seemed to be going his way. Yet he was still big on doing the right thing. He was basically a Spider-Man of color characterization wise to me. Without the school stuff
Casper's fate as a background character is really ironic when you consider that, it was that status, what Marvel Knights was supposed to remove for Black Panther, he became the background character that T'Challa could have been.
Rhodey trying to pawn off his War Machine armour is possibly the funniest thing i've ever heard
Kevin Feige: Hey Ryan Gosling! We got a role for you!
Bro savage.
Honestly this guy sounds like he could make a pretty good villain if he ever comes back.
Just a thoroughly deplorable guy.
lmao "just like 40% of real police officers" sent me, drake is so real for that
Same
Bye
Evert Ross faced some criticism in the movie (which I think Wakanda Forever Addressed)
But his original protrayal DEFINITELY has him falling under those complaints.
Nobody mentions that Priest clearly intended EKR to be Michael J. Fox...
4:09 Was Not expecting overanalysing avatar's voice just to randomly pop in like that. XD
Neither did I
kinda wish he credited the voice.
16:40 "So what was the point?". Probably "trying up the loose ends". Having an ex-BP just hanging around in the limbo probably annoyed some writer in Marvel, so they decided to "wrap him up" by promoting him to a background character who will just cameo here and there and will most likely be killed next time a big storyline will require a body count among the heroes
There was a white Black Panther in DC comics. He was a REALLY obscure character. Like, almost no one has heard of him. I think I remember an old timey DC toy of the character when I was a kid, but that may be a fever dream or something. Like Mystic Knights of Tir na Nog or the Robeasts from Voltron.
There is nothing I love more than good old malicious compliance. Christopher priest is my dude.
I completely forgot about Casper, I deadass thought this was gonna be about his brother Hunter (white boy adopted by T'Chaka and Ramonda before T'Challa's birth... Despite the fact that Ramonda didn't meet T'Chaka until after T'Challa was born...)
why couldnt they at least give Cole a different animal than White Tiger of all things
I think everyone misses the point of Casper, he isn’t supposed to be good, he is malicious compliance from Priest.
Yeah but I don't think he's exceuted well and not that interesting
I just can't get over the fact that he just looks like Punisher if he wanted to dress like Black Panther.
Making Casper a completely insufferable character that no one would want to read about/want back seemed like Priest's private method of protest for this silly idea and taking the shit out of the very type of people that would unironically say "why can't MLK be played by a white person?" It's too bad that his real Black Panther run was riddled with a lot of internalized anti-Blackness and general cynicism around race relations. A very wild run for someone that managed to have the most influence on a hero that eventually became a very beloved character in the MCU.
Yeah... I definitely picked up on a lot of what seemed like anti-blackness in Priest's run and it rubbed me the wrong way. However, after talking to some of my friends, apparently a lot of that kind of sentiment was going around in the black community in the 90s and early 2000s? I've been trying to understand, but I definitely don't have the perspective and knowledge to make any definitive comments which is why I tried to steer away from mentioning that stuff in this video.
I've been trying my best to learn about POC discourse and it's history, but I'm definitely still ignorant about a lot.
Not pertaining to Kasper, but Black Panther related. I am wondering if you did a video on your thoughts of when T'Challa became the protector of Hells Kitchen after the Shadowland fiasco.
This was informative though
That's coming in my video on every Daredevil.
Ah yes, make the Black Panther, one of the most iconic black superheroes of all time, and also inspired from the Black Panther Party, a white (passing) character who hates his pregnant girlfriend, assaults women, and has very little reason to even like him. Then later change his name to White Tiger, a Latina superhero. What could possibly go wrong?
In my opinion Casper has the potential to be a decent character if he was written like a decent person that cared about others than himself
casper cole could definitely work, but in my opinion as a villain (he could even become sympathetic, figuring out his mistakes and growing as a person) who turns into a hero and finally lives up to all that was given to him on a silver platter.
I don't know it's kinda hard to have sympathy for a guy who ghosts his girlfriend because she isn't young and fuckable anymore.
@@hoangkienvu7572 you misunderstand, i didnt say he was a good guy. that's why i said he could do great as a villain, but if marvel wanted to go the route of complete 180, they could put him through hell so he atones for his sins and comes out a better person.
@@lightningjules658 Oh I meant he would be a good punch-able villain, just not a sympathetic one. He's the kind of villain that I would hate to have redeemed, like Omni Man from Invincible or Endeavor from MHA
YO THAT ROXAS NECKLACE LOOKS AMAZING!
I love that Vin Diesel quote by Priest. While this is unquestionably the worst part of his time on the book, it's still worth a read. I'd love to see someone reasses and take another crack at Casper.
Was going to go outside today but then I saw comic drake uploaded so I guess I will do it next week.
these ding dang republican comic writers, trying to white wash all my favorite characters
you go racist go broke
If you could not tell this is a satirical twist on common conservative talking points when referring to fictional characters and in this essay-
You lost me at republican
@@kwayneboy1524 ?
So Ryan Gosling can still be the new Panther.
Kind of unrelated, but the book I know Priest from is the Rebirth Deathstroke series, which people praised to no end. However I had always forgotten the plot by the point a new issue came out, meaning I never really knew what was going on. I think I dropped it like 5 issues before its conclusion which is honestly kinda sad. I should probably give it an actual read sometime soon.
0:08 damn near spat out my coffee 😂😂😂😂
6:10 It's almost as if nobody wants a whiny protagonist who blames everyone else for their own problem... be that character white, male, or any other types. It must be some kind of grand secret that nobody can figure out, since Marvel keeps making whiny protagonist who blames everyone else for their problem and then is shocked that everyone hate it. lol
0:40 40 seconds in am I already regret not clicking this video sooner. I about died with the sunglasses bit.
Sooooooo Casper is just Andrew Tate? 😂
LOL!
0:08 Oh no Drake from a dark alternate universe.
It would be so easy to sell out and make manosphere content. Those people love being pandered to.
@@ComicDrake Major respect for calling out those people. Hope the comment section doesn't set on fire. Wish more youtubers were like you!
@@ComicDrake Sounds like a fun satire idea for an April fools video where you let your evil twin take over.
I actually enjoyed reading and collecting that storyline. It led to a new superhero team called "The Crew". I don't remember the character being such a jerk though. He seemed to use some tech for his powers. Also later I think he did end up getting powers from a synthetic version of the heart-shaped herd.
That intro was great
But can you imagine an MCU entry with Cole as an antagonist. Have it play off of the MCU KillMongers ideology from the first movie. Hell have Killmonger appear in a vision to him and have even him talk down to him for just being an asshole. It really could work with the MCU of wrote correctly. And bonus points if they cast Vin Diesel in the the role.
Saying Vin Diesel could be confusing abuse he’s already Drax.
@@akhonaluthuli5931 Yellow Jacket wasn’t a villain either. But the MCU can play with these kinds of things.
@@andrewmanchiraju8005 Vin Diesel doesn’t play Drax, he does voice Groot but that’s just a voice role.
@@GruntCatcher There was a 616 villain (eventually redeemed) who stole the suit and named herself Yellowjacket. Plus another one after the movie, of course.
This seems like a perfect role for Ryan Gosling
Nothing but facts in this video. The Black panther suit with the trench coat is so cool
Kevin "Kasper" Cole is depicted as biracial, the child of an African man and a Jewish woman. As a result of the sharp contrast between his light skin and the dark skin of his father, he has been nicknamed Kasper, after Casper the Friendly Ghost.
...did you bother to watch the video before commenting this? Or do you like repeating information in the vid?
Okay, I gotta say, even with how much this character sucks...
I absolutely love that costume. Like that's such a cool look. I honestly adore the aesthetic of it so goddamn much
I think a video about Crazy Jane and all of her personalities would be really fun! You could use the Doom Patrol show ending as an excuse to make the video maybe
I feel like the whole idea of this works much better in American Carnage as it actually explores the nuances of the protagonist’s position as white passing while being a cop
Im betting Christopher Priest made this guy suck on purpose. Just to give a middle finger to the higher ups.
Can’t wait for MCU’s White Black Panther to be played by Ryan Gosling!
It's a very hard sell to change a character with a prominent identity, and swap them for someone who is very much not that. This wasn't it.
The brain anneryism thing is odd. Its supposed to explain kirby's very wacky incarnation, with that version being in the future with anneryism. Said version even appears in the run but then its ignored.
Were people crying “Go woke. Go broke” when Jim Rhodes donned the Iron Man armor?
No, because back then comic books were for bully victims. Now, decades later, we can see that they were right to get treated the way they were
@@jordanloux3883 What the hell.
@@jordanloux3883 wow, what a douchebag...
Can't wait for Casper to have a 6 episode mini-series on Disney+ were he is played by Ryan Gosling and changes his backstory completely (I feel like I did this same joke with another character)
Another very cool vidéo ! (loved it when you said danger zone with the top gun background 😂
As a halfrican American male...who the hell did they even reference for this guy? He goes from white to black to white. They really should have stuck to a consistent look if they were going to do this.
I've not heard of this character before, and you paint a very bad picture of him, but I do feel you've justified bringing him back as a background extra.
There's potential for some sort of a redemption story here,
will it be told? probably not
if its told will it be good? depends on the writing
but I see a potential storyline here and the beauty of these long running stories is how someone can come along one day look at the discarded strands left by the previous writers and make something out of them.
If the MCU was able to reinvent Everett Ross into a more compent pov side character in the movies, they could do the same with Cole in Black Panther 3. Preferably with a complete reinvention in the personality department.
*Car Dude:* "How would you like it if Black Panther was white?"
*Drake:* "There was a white Black Panther. He sucked."
*Car Dude:* "That's my point."
Drake: He didn't suck BECAUSE he was white. He sucked because he had nothing in common, especially in tone, with T'Challa and in many cases, literally represented the antithesis of his character.
And because his nationality is such an important part of to tell his character, replacing the Black Panther with somebody that has literally nothing to do with Wakanda is an incredibly stupid idea because his race and country are major parts of his character.
@@ComicDrake You should make that more clear in your vidoe.
@@jbfullmer My guy, it is very clear.
@@ComicDrake My point is that your video implies that people who argue that characters should keep their original look and alter ego are applying some kind of double standard, which is not the case.
They could have called him "Silver Lion"... or unseasoned chicken
It was crazy hearing Overanalyzing Avatar’s voice cameo
“Half Jewish and half African America”
So not white literally at all…
I’m stood in my kitchen laughing my head off
😂😂😂
Arent most jews caucasians?
As a Biracial person (Half Black Half White) thier aren't many Biracial characters like me. Thier are plenty of Afro Latinos and lots of other biracial characters which is cool. But not many that look like me and Casper Cole is like the only one and he's not that great. Any one got any reading recommendations for Half White/Half Black characters???
You know.. Ive read 1000s of Marvel Comics and im still amazed at how much crazy shit they have put out, that ive never heard of.
Just discovered your channel and I have to say even though I haven't kept up with big two comics since the 90s, it's very refreshing to see someone making comics content with this kind of attitude. Unfortunately it seems like a lot of comics TH-camrs are boomers who hate it when their funny superhero books have brown people in them, or just generally raging over anything newer than the silver age.
Casper Cole’s costume design is the only thing worth half a fuck
so disrespectful that this grown ass man casper just stole his identities from other POC heroes like you coulda just made your own shit up but nah imma just take all that
"How would you like it if Black Panther was white?"
"There already was a white Black Panther, and he sucked."
So... you wouldn't like it. So the dude was right.
I kinda love how every character from the Black Panther cast just take a look at Casper Cole and says "You wanna cosplay as the Black Panther? Ugh, fine, take this bootleg thing. Now, Go. Away".
HOLY SHIT RYAN GOSLING BLACK PANTHER IS REAL
@@akhonaluthuli5931 he's half white plus I highly doubt the MCU would actually use him in a movie or show in a serious manner. So they could easily use him as a joke character to make fun of the idea of a white/white passing man non Wakandan being the Black Panther
3:12 Ribs are racist? I thought the only racist foods were fried chicken and watermelon. And bananas. What about okra and beans, are they racist? Coconut milk?
I literally dropped an extended list of stereotypically black foods and YT censorship deleted it 😂
They really made the lowtiergod variant of Black panther
As someone who read all of Priest’s Black Panther & loathed Casper Cole, this video is giving me life. Thank you
I'm very surprised to hear that there are people who think there should be a white Black Panther, is every other Marvel hero not good enough?
He went from T'challa to T'chandler
Thank you so much for finally dropping all the info on T'Challa's adopted brother,Hunter (the White Wolf),and Kasper Cole..I was getting tired of explaining this point on other channels everytime some douche in the chat would ask that same stupid question, like somehow we (Black readers),need hand-me-down race swapped characters to enjoy comics.Maybe they'll listen to you?
Maybe Ryan gosling can play him in the mcu
The writer clearly hated the character when he's wrote them.
I think this is one of your best vids yet, an editor cut(I got to see your room), a good raising of the voice at point where I know if I had to read all this I'd have done the same, and good comedy. I'd have never known about this casper cole fella if you never mentioned him.
how did I miss this video.....also dope Shuriken pendent
What happened to your join button?
1:40 I hate it here LoooooooooL!!!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣The end of this video is isane OMFG!!!!!!! 😅
If they introduce this character into the MCU it wouldn’t surprise me if they turn him into a villain
Between this, your video on Riri Williams and her appearing in Wakanda Forever, it makes me wonder, what if Riri Williams became Black Panther? 🤔
Ahaha... i love how not only this character shares a name with me, but we're both mixed 🥲.
...
But low key i do like the visual idea behind a gun weilding black panther.
*its like a fusion between punisher and him!*
Someone call Ryan Gosling!
Ryan Gosling
Need it