Candian psychology professor and YouTube personality Joran Peterson is feeling some kind of way about Marvel Comics villain Red Skull supposedly being modeled on his philosophical views. Peterson has apparently been checking out the current run of Captain Americacomics by acclaimed author and comic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and found Coates’ version of Red Skull to be upsettingly close to his own teachings and views. After Twitter users alerted him to some pages of Red Skull doctrine in one of Coates’ comics, Peterson posted “What the hell?” in response. Naturally, that interaction set Twitter off, with people weighing in with humor, outrage, and everything else you see below:
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What Universe Is This?
Do I really live in a universe where Ta-Nehisi Coates has written a Captain America comic featuring a parody of my ideas as part of the philosophy of the arch villain Red Skull? https://t.co/waFsAvWlfd
โ Dr Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) April 6, 2021
Needless to say, Jordan Peterson did not take it well when he finally looked at Coates’ย Captain Americaย comic.ย
Man In The Mirror
Jordan peterson and the red skull pic.twitter.com/KcebXinfZp
โ Ducksfortea (@ducksfortea) April 6, 2021
Of course, this is Twitter we’re talking about, so Peterson’s reply immediately opened the floodgates of Marvel-themed mockery.ย
The Battle Begins
The fact that you can paste your culture hero’s words into thought bubbles coming from the Red Skull and they are an exact thematic match is not an indictment of Ta-Nehisi Coates.
โ Kevin O ‘Malley (@platitudes_r_us) April 6, 2021
Jordan Peterson has just as many fans and supporters as he does detractors – so immediately this observation morphed into a full-blown flame-war.ย
Die A Hero…
Or you live long enough to see yourself become the fash pic.twitter.com/FDVJrE7ERX
โ The Serfs (@theserfstv) April 6, 2021
This quote fromย The Dark Knightย will never get old. And if it does, it will become the villain.ย
Skull Fans
I’ve never been more of a fan of Red Skull as i have from this point forward…. https://t.co/mEslSyRIsV
โ pixelnog (@pixelnog) April 6, 2021
This guy’s tweet isn’t going to age too well.ย
Will It Even Matter?
I love that his reaction is โwhat the hell,โ like, is he about to self-reflect on the fascistic slant of his messaging? Or is he about to double down on his message that proper masculinity has gone out of style, playing right into the comicโs narrative?
โ Mexican-American Muscle (@RickyMemory) April 6, 2021
Peterson is upset; the public is talking – but will it lead to any real discourse? Does Twitter ever lead to that?ย
What Kirby and Simon Wanted
Red Skull is trending, and people are talking about politics in comics, so it’s time to remind everyone that this is exactly what Jack Kirby and Joe Simon wanted.
โ ๐ธ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ โ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ (@hawthornandrewj) April 6, 2021
Jack Kirby’s artwork has been censored throughout his career. Notably, his run on Jimmy Olsen for DC in the early 70’s. His Marvel artwork was also censored. Here is the cover to Captain America 101, with the Red Skull’s head redrawn by John Romita. Original inks by Syd Shores. pic.twitter.com/iNr5MV8dfL
โ Kevin Stawieray (@skeezix161) April 6, 2021
Do some research on the history of Marvel Comics’ earliest creators. They definitely had an agenda.ย
