If you were on Twitter today, you may have noticed that “Snowflake and Safespace” was a trending topic. But surprisingly, it had nothing to do with politics this time. In fact, those are the names of the latest additions to the Marvel Universe. Yesterday, Marvel unveiled the first look at their upcoming New Warriors series, which will also introduce a handful of new heroes, including psychic twins Snowflake and Safespace.
The relaunched title finds OG members of the team (Night Thrasher, Firestar, Rage, Speedball, Namorita, and Silhouette) reuniting to mentor a new generation of costumed adventurers. Writer Daniel Kibblesmith and artist Luciano Vecchio came up with five new teenage heroes to headline the series. In addition to Snowflake and Safespace, there’s the “meme-obsessed” Screentime, whose brain gets connected to the internet after an accident involving “experimental internet gas;” B-Negative, a young vampire who was exposed to Michael Morbius’ blood as a child; and Trailblazer, who possesses a “magic backpack” that also functions as a dimensional gateway.
RELATED: Marvel Releases a New Trailer For Empyre #1
So far, the response to these heroes has been…less than enthusiastic, particularly when it comes to Snowflake and Safespace. Obviously, those words carry some weight. Those words have become go-to pejoratives used by right-wingers to attack anyone they perceive as overly sensitive. It also doesn’t help that the creators chose to give the “Snowflake”name to a character who identifies as non-binary. Kibblesmith himself has acknowledged the words’ connotations and also insists that the characters wear those names “like badges of honor.” Unfortunately, his explanation isn’t going over well on social media.
The new Marvel characters “Snowflake and Safespace” can bring us all together in hating equally! pic.twitter.com/iyFGqQBdSX
— Chad Hutsebaut (@ChadHutsee) March 18, 2020
Why on EARTH would you name Marvel’s first non-binary characters ‘Snowflake’ and ‘Safespace’? Not sure if purposeful but this reads like a pisstake. At a glance I genuinely thought this was a CG project. https://t.co/baGY0auKFm
— Zoe Thorogood (@zoethorogood) March 18, 2020
did they name nb characters snowflake and safespace and just…….didnt see the issue https://t.co/cBIg4AJndg
— josuke’s maxed out credit card (@josukeluvbug) March 18, 2020
Look, I’m sure everyone at Marvel has the best of intentions but by god read the room on naming two black NB characters Snowflake and Safespace
— Justin Carter (@GigawattConduit) March 18, 2020
The New Warriors #1 hits comic shops on April 15. You can check out a trailer for the new series below. What do you make of the controversy surrounding the series? Let us know in the comment seciton!
Recommended Reading: New Warriors Omnibus – Volume 1
