The critically acclaimed animated series, ‘Invincible’, had been gathering dust on my watch list ever since its first season came out. When I found out its third season had just been released, I decided it was time to start watching the show. After bingeing the entire 3 seasons in just a couple of days, I was dying to know what happened next in the story. As it was a superhero show adapted from finished comics, I turned to the original source material to satiate my desire. 

I, however, opted to start reading the comic from the beginning because I had read on the internet that the adaptation changed quite a few things. It also felt right to begin from the start, as I didn’t want to be kept in the dark about anything that transpired in the latter parts of the comics, no matter how trivial. 

While reading the comic, I was confronted with two glaring changes: one supporting character and 3 minor characters were race-swapped while adapting the comic to the series. While both changes were of a similar kind, only the latter disturbed me. The 3 minor characters were members of a superhero group, which was only relevant for an episode. The racial change of such minor characters should be a trivial issue, so why does it disturb me? 

Well, for that, we have to look into the other race swap, which I didn’t mind. Amber (the girlfriend of the protagonist) was also white in the comics, while she was African American in the show. This change didn't bother me because the comic Amber and the show variant seem like different characters altogether. Besides sharing a name, the two don’t share much in common. The show Amber actually affects the plot to some degree, and while this variant is hated in the fandom for some valid reasons, she is not generally criticised for being race-swapped. 

The pivotal difference between this change and the one I disliked was that the 3 minor characters were race-swapped just for the sake of it. In their case, it was a shallow and superficial attempt by the writer to make the show more “inclusive”, despite that inclusivity offering no substance.

Writers want to promote inclusivity and diversity in their shows, and race swapping is a lazy and half assed attempt if the only change is the skin colour of the character. I believe this race-swapping, ironically enough, accomplishes the exact opposite of what the writers intend. People are more than their skin colours; when writers plaster the same white character with a black skin colour, they overlook this exact point. Audiences don’t want inclusivity just for the sake of inclusivity—they want characters who are shaped by their race. Black characters who are a carbon copy of their white counterparts are demeaning to the cultures that the writers attempt to include, as it implies they are nothing more than their skin colour. If race swapping is to be done, it should be done correctly: race-swapped characters should be distinct from their counterparts and should be affected by their cultural and racial backgrounds, which should alter their personality in a meaningful way.

Content Disclaimer: The views & opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VoiceBox, affiliates, and our partners. We are a nonpartisan platform amplifying youth voices on the topics they are passionate about.