So after the many many posts mourning the passing of Stan Lee earlier today I’ve started seeing an inevitable wave of backlash about how he actually wasn’t a good person and we shouldn’t be mourning them. And these posts are par for the course when a celebrity dies because no one is all good or all bad, and that’s fine. And Stan Lee was human, he was a person with a complicated life and a complicated legacy, and I’m not here to whitewash any of that. However, I’d like to refute a couple of the points I’ve seen people making.
The first is that Stan Lee sexually harassed nurses who were taking care of him. This story came from the Daily Mail, which is not a credible news source. The original story does not name any of the nurses who supposedly came forward with the story, or their employer, and the legitimacy of this story is pretty shaky. I’m not saying it categorically isn’t true, but I am saying that we should take stories from the newspaper that ran a headline about the discovery of the “gay gene” with a grain of salt.
The second is that Stan Lee was told that Andrew Garfield wanted to play Peter Parker as bisexual, and as retaliation forced Sony to only depict Peter Parker as straight and white. This isn’t quite true. There is a contract from 2011 that lists mandatory character traits for Spider-Man, and in that list is included that Spider-Man is “not a homosexual (unless Marvel has portrayed that alter ego as a homosexual).” Whether Stan Lee himself personally was involved in writing up this contract is pretty doubtful seeing as his role in the company was fairly limited by that point (and that’s not to mention the fact that in his later years he was being abused and manipulated by the people closest to him), but he did mention it in an interview with Newsarama. What he specifically said was, “I wouldn’t mind, if Peter Parker had originally been black, a Latino, an Indian or anything else, that he stay that way, but we originally made him white. I don’t see any reason to change that (…) I think the world has a place for gay superheroes, certainly, But again, I don’t see any reason to change the sexual proclivities of a character once they’ve already been established. I have no problem with creating new, homosexual superheroes (…) It has nothing to do with being anti-gay, or anti-black, or anti-Latino, or anything like that,” he said. “Latino characters should stay Latino. The Black Panther should certainly not be Swiss. I just see no reason to change that which has already been established when it’s so easy to add new characters. I say create new characters the way you want to. Hell, I’ll do it myself.”
And while your mileage may vary on how much you agree with him there, it’s a far cry from him cruelly declaring Peter Parker having a boyfriend would be an affront before God and man and an insult to his authorial intent or whatever. Also, I think the original post that started this story was about Andrew Garfield saying something while doing press for Amazing Spiderman 2 and Stan Lee writing the contract as a result, but the contract is from 2011 and the first Amazing Spiderman came out in 2012, so the timeline doesn’t work. I could be misremembering the post though. There’s also this implied narrative that Andrew Garfield got axed for saying his Peter Parker was bi, but uh, no. No, they cancelled the franchise because Amazing Spiderman 2 bombed at the box office.
Now, to wrap it up, was Stan Lee a good and perfect man? No. His legacy is very much a mixed bag, especially when it comes to his relationship with his long-time co-creator Jack Kirby (although that’s a whole other suitcase to unpack some other time). I would like to point out, however, that the posts praising him aren’t all just blindly hero-worshipping him and being willfully ignorant. When someone you admire dies it’s natural to forget about the bad parts of them for a bit and get a little misty eyed, and not everyone’s gonna be totally objective about this man that they never met but who represents something important to them. I think that speaks more to the way we interact with celebrity as a culture than it does about the way Marvel fans see Stan Lee frankly. And hey, we gain nothing by pretending that Stan Lee wasn’t an important figure in comic book history, one who co-created the first black character in mainstream comics just two years after the Civil Rights Act was passed, who fought the Comic Code Authority censors to use comics to tackle heavy subject matter, who helped bring legitimacy to the art form and humanity to its characters. So as long as I’ve got you here I’m gonna leave you with his thoughts on racism in 1968, words that feel just as relevant today:
“Racism and bigotry are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today. But, unlike a team of costumed supervillains, they can’t be halted with a punch in the snoot or a zap from a ray gun. The only way to destroy them, is to expose them — to reveal from the insidious evil they really are.”
May his memory be a blessing.
Hermione: I wonder what would happen if the The Sacred 28 just…disappears
Ron: *mindlessly* We’ll all die a horrible death.
Hermione: *is confusion*
Ron: And the streets will be run by magical creatures. They’ll be screaming like it’s the end of the world. Yelling about “monsters” and the devil was coming to saw their legs off. Totally unhinged.
Hermione:
Ron: They’ll be like dogs without horses. They’ll be running wild.
💚 (For ask game:))
Ty for the ask anon ^^
Gosh it’s a hard question because I love so many characters and they all have some horrible misinterpretations.
But for this I think I’ll go with Ron, as I rlly love this boy
Alright so let’s first get over some things ppl like to say about Ron or write Ron as being like ( all of these are horrible and just bashing ):
- Ron being abusive towards his partner and friends
- Ron written as very unattractive, being fat and nasty
- Ron written as a cheater
- Ron written as dumb, unintelligent, illogical
- Ron being shunned back from the trio and replaced by another character ( Neville/Luna/Ginny ) bc they are better friends
I hate all of those takes, Ron doesn’t deserve this treatment by the fandom TwT
So let’s establish some facts now
Ron’s magical abilities are on the same level as Harry’s with the only exception being Defense against the dark arts.
However he does have his own abilities that he’s good at. Ron’s an outstanding chess player, he wins with almost everyone, even with Hermione which really frustrates her
He’s a pretty good keeper (unfortunately, due to stage fright, it is difficult for him to show his best side when playing in front of a large audience)
Ron could drive a car at the age of 12. This is an extremely amazing achievement considering that even adults often have trouble operating the vehicle, and Ron was able to fly it all the way to Hogwarts. This means that within a dozen or so hours, Ron drove a car and flew from England, London to Scotland, without using a map and only following the tracks he saw beneath him. It is also important to remember that the car had additional functions as Arthur Wesley magically improved the vehicle, meaning it was even more complicated to operate than a standard car.
Now here's something you may not have noticed, although it's partly just me looking deeper but a lot of things points to Ron having some future-predicting power within him. Why do I think so? Especially since no one, not even Ron himself, seemed to think so?
The answer, of course, lies in the books. Just look at those quotes :>
1. Ron predicted Harry's getting unexpected cash and more
In the third book: Prisoner of Azkaban, during the first lesson - making predictions with tea leaves - Ron was examining the leaves in his friend's cup.
"(...) "There's a blob a bit like a bowler hat," he said. "Maybe you're going to work for the Ministry of Magic…” He turned the teacup the other way up.
"But this way it looks more like an acorn... What's that?" He scanned his copy of Unfogging the Future. “A windfall, unexpected gold.” (…)
- H.P. and the Prisoner of Azkaban
As we know, Harry became an Auror after the end of the Wizarding War. So, as expected, he works for the Ministry. But what's the deal with cash? A Well, for example, unexpected gold for Harry was the prize for winning the Triwizard Tournament - 1,000 galleons, which amounts to about 5,000. GPB or 28,000. PLN. That’s a lot right?
Another unexpected influx of money was Harry receiving Sirius's estate after his death. Because how could he expect that his godfather would end his life?
2. He predicted that Voldemort killed Moaning Myrtle
“I wish I knew why someone did try to chuck it,' said Harry. 'I wouldn't mind knowing how Riddle got an award for special services to Hogwarts, either.'
'Could've been anything,' said Ron. 'Maybe he got thirty O.W.Ls or saved a teacher from the giant squid. Maybe he murdered Myrtle, that would've done everyone a favour..?”
- H.P. and the Chamber of Secrets
3.He also predicted their argument during GOF and along with Harry most of what would happen in the book
“(…) Why don't you get stabbed in the back by someone you thought was a friend?"
"Yeah... cool.." said Harry, scribbling it down, "because Venus is in the twelfth house."
- H.P. and the Goblet of Fire
Ron was very brave.
Despite his fear of spiders, went with Harry into the forbidden forest, that most of the school avoided, following a spider trail. We know well that this situation ended with a meeting with Aragog, but despite his obvious fear, Ron waited for Harry to finish asking Aragog questions.
He also went with Harry straight to the Chamber of Secrets, knowing full well that the Basilisk was there. One of the most dangerous creatures in the entire wizarding world.
He overcame his fears in order to help his friend.
Ron was very loyal. Yes, they had arguments, but all of the trio had, Hermione abandoned the boys a few times too, but that’s how life works, friends sometimes argue and don’t agree with each other but what makes them a good friend is that they apologize and always come back. Harry appreciated him very much for this, after all, Ron was the person Harry missed the most and whom he had to save during the 2nd task of the Triwizard Tournament.
Ron also has an absolutely amazing sense of humor, here are some of the funniest things he said that I quoted:
GOF
OOTP
All in all, I love Ron, he’s an amazing character and I hate how much he’s mischaracterized and brushed aside or bashed he is.
Shout out to all the Black ppl that can no longer participate directly in the fandom they love because of the stresses of racism 👍🏾 you contain multitudes of value and I'm sorry that the color of your skin and the power of your voice makes people not want to acknowledge that.
Draco: *being a brat* Oh look, it a she-weasley. Red hair, fr-
Ginny: *doesn’t spare him a glance as she runs by him* Oh look, it a dumb bitch who can't tie his shoes.
Draco: *flabbergasted* E-excuse me?! Once my father-
Ron: Your father couldn't find his way out a paper bag *jumps over his head to catch his sister* Ginny, back off! It my day to be with Harry!
Ginny: *farther down the hall, cackling* Suck it bitch!
Draco: *taken back, confused but still trying to gain his footing* I-I'll have you know, my father and I are part of-
George: *pops out from Draco’s right side* You guys aren't even that high on the pure-blood list
Fred: *pops up from the left* On either list to be exact.
Twins: *takes off placing bets on their younger siblings*
Draco: *fumbling for the last word* How dare-
Percy: *speed walking past to get his siblings* Oh hush child of the ninth branch of the 18th house. You're in the presence of the fourth branch of the 10th house
Pansy: *facepalms*
Can you believe Dazatsu Month starts tomorrow?😱 How are you sorted?
Ron grew up with five older brothers and a little sister, his parents love each other, his mother is really sensitive and loving. Of course Ron's good with emotions. Maybe Hermione got it wrong.
Because later in life, Hermione saw it clearly. It was in the way Ron was able to talk Harry into telling them when he needed help. In the way he hugged Ginny tightly before every mission. In the way he called Hermione everytime to let hee know if he was going to home late from work. In the way he was the sweetest father in the world, like he was born to be one.
Ronald Weasley has more emotional intelligence than you give him credit for.
Just a psa for fic writers who use the “trauma bond” tag, please make sure you’re using it correctly. A trauma bond is not two people who experience similar trauma and bond over it. It’s a carefully curated, manipulative bond between abuser and victim to keep the victim coming back because of the addictive highs and lows that come with abuse.
If you want to tag two characters bonding over shared trauma, a good substitute tag would be “bonding over shared trauma.” Trauma bonding is, by definition, an abusive relationship and may steer people who have experienced it away from your fic. Please spread the word and happy writing!
Wally: how about for two weeks straight, you, say no quips, actually no, you say nothing when bad guy do anything, and if you do that I'll do all your chores and taxes and whatever else you want someone else to do for two months with no complaints.
Dick: deal, but why?
Wally: I want to see my boss (Batman) feel fear.
Dick, also an evil little shit: oh hell yeah!
Two weeks later
Bruce, fidgets: Kent has... Has Nightwing talked to you in the last week or so?
Clark: well... He said hello too me at the Bodega on the corner, something wrong?
Bruce: no, just checking... *Walks over at Wally* you married my son, what the hell is wrong with him and how did you break him.
Wally, gasp: I would never break my favorite bird, but since you asking, what did you do to him? He's been avoiding me, and when I run up to see him my birdie is all huffy, the same type of huff after you fired him. So, what the hell did you do to my husband?
Bruce: I did nothing!... I think? Shit— *spiraling*
Wally: well whatever it is, fix it I want my husband back to cuddle with.
Wally, internally: that's it bastardman, spiral, teach you to eat my lunch.
How does one link? Asking for a fiend. Ao3 @JonoDragonPrimeCan I do an ask blog? Hmmm...
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