Friendly Neighbor Spider-Man voice actor happy Spider-Man doesn't care about injustice
In a recent interview, Hudson Thames, who voices Spider-Man, expressed concern that the character might actually care about something, which would be "annoying."
Image courtesy of Disney+
Showing the incredible speed with which American culture has forgotten 2020, the latest voice actor to take on the coveted role of Spider-Man was happy to learn that the web slinger’s latest series wasn’t “annoying and woke.” Speaking to Collider, voice actor Hudson Thames admitted that his “biggest fear” for the show Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man was that it would be “woke,” a term used to describe the recognition of the systematic oppression of Black Americans. More recently, as we’re sure readers know, it’s been used by very smart people to describe the uncomfortable feeling of acknowledging said oppression. It’s a pithy, empty buzzword used to denigrate multiculturalism and the idea of treating people with dignity and respect.
“I thought it was awesome. I mean, my biggest fear was that it was gonna be annoying and woke, and it wasn’t, and I was like, ‘Yes, this is great, it’s so well written,’ like it feels real,” Thames told Collider. “I’m the oldest of five boys, so I feel like I kind of know what’s happening in their lives and in high school, and it felt like it was doing that justice.”
We have to imagine that that’s what Stan Lee would’ve liked to hear from the guy voicing his most famous character. Lee, who often said X-Men was a metaphor for the Civil Rights Movement, just as often denounced racial bigotry and didn’t find it annoying to do so.
“Let’s lay it right on the line. Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today,” Lee wrote in Stan’s Soapbox in December 1968. “[I] t’s totally irrational, patently insane to condemn an entire race—to despise an entire nation—to vilify an entire religion. Sooner or later, we must learn to judge each other on our own merits. Sooner or later, if a man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill our hearts with tolerance.”
In 2017, Lee publicly denounced bigotry in a video for Marvel again. “Those stories have room for everyone, regardless of their race, gender, religion, or color of their skin,” Lee said. “The only things we don’t have room for are hatred, intolerance, and bigotry.” We’ll give an” Excelsior!” to that.
Of course, despite the show not being “woke,” it has spurred outrage from fans who—get this—aren’t happy that Norman Osbourne (voiced by Colman Domingo) is Black on the show. But we’re sure Thames will attract the perfect audience for his new apathetic Spider-Man.