When we think of super intelligent “good guys” in the Marvel
Universe, there’s a few names that come to mind. We might think of Tony Stark,
who built the Iron Man suit (and
Spider-Man’s new threads), or Reed Richards AKA Mister Fantastic, who has
basically mastered all aspects of physics, biology, and chemistry.
But according to an announcement
made at San Diego Comic-Con, the smartest
hero in the Marvel Universe is not Tony Stark or Reed Richards or any of the
other superheroes that might have claimed the title in the past. The smartest
protagonist in all of Marvel is a little black girl named Lunella Lafayette.
Lunella is the main character in the Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
comics, which is a remake of Devil Dinosaur, a
classic graphic novel that follows a T-Rex that is magically transported to
modern day NYC. In the new version,
Lunella replaces the original hero, Moon Boy, and she eventually teams up with
the monstrous dino. Part of what makes Lunella so
smart is the fact that she carries an “inhuman gene,” and she
also is a skillful engineer.
BuzzFeed spoke to
Marvel senior editor Mark Paniccia about what’s in store for Lunella in the
upcoming issues of the series. Mark said that, “In the third arc of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur,
Lunella faces an impossible half-dozen science-challenges that might not only
prove her smarts, but also save the world.”
And that is pretty exciting, not just for older fans of
comics, but for the young girls who might read them while growing up.
Representation matters, and this news, which follows on the heels of the news
that Roxane Gay will write a Black Panther book, is a sign that Marvel is moving
in the right direction.
Source: Now This Entertainment/ Teen Vogue
Source: Now This Entertainment/ Teen Vogue
