Late last week, Inverse published an interview Roy Thomas, co-creator with Gil Kane of the comic book character Danny Rand a.k.a. The Iron Fist. Obviously, with the unveiling of the Netflix show about the character, Thomas' creation is gathering renewed attentionânot all of it positive.Â
During the interview, Thomas spoke on some of the controversy surrounding the lead character's race. Although Rand is white in the original comic, many people have wondered why the new incarnation of the martial-arts-loving hero couldn't actually be Asianâand, in fact, an Asian-American actor was considered for the role. But Thomas had no time for such talk.Â
I have so little patience for some of the feelings that some people have. I mean, I understand where itâs coming from. You know, cultural appropriation, my god. Itâs just an adventure story. Donât these people have something better to do than to worry about the fact that Iron Fist isnât Oriental, or whatever word? I know Oriental isnât the right word now, either.
Despite Thomas' pleas that "if they had decided to make Iron Fist an Asian, that would have been fine with me, too," many people took umbrage with his answerâin particular, his usage of the term "Oriental." One of those people was a star of Iron Fist, Jessica Henwick, who plays Colleen Wing. On Tuesday, Wing tweeted a rebuke to Thomas:
But Henwick was far from the only one bothered by Thomas' use of the term.
You can see Iron Fist (if you're willing to ignore all the bad reviews) on Netflix.
