Honestly, that's the double edged sword of comics going mainstream with these constant blockbusters. Yeah, you get to see all your favorite heroes on the big screen, but, suddenly, all those other ticket sales are what these companies start to take note of; the untapped markets, and, in a way, I do think it becomes a bit of an "us vs. them" scenario, but, moreso, in an "old guard vs. new" sort of way. I'm all for diversity in comic books, though, but I do think there has to be a balance. I think DC learned that the hard way. I actually quite liked the DC You initiative. Some great stories came out of it, but I feel like that was really their push to be accepted by the Tumblr/Buzzfeed market, and, if you look at the sales records, they kind of didn't show up.
Take a look at Rebirth, though. You have the, from what I've heard, great Midnighter series returning in the form of a Midnighter and Apollo mini-series, Jessica Cruz is now a Green Lantern, and there's a new Green Lantern title focused on her and Simon Baz, and you still have new characters like Duke Thomas playing a key role in the Batman mythos, but look at what you have returning, too; Wally West, the JSA, Pre-Crisis Superman, and the best part is that DC is diversifying in a big way by bringing back fan favorite characters like Ryan Choi (The Atom), Jaime Reyes (Blue Beetle), and Jackson Hyde (Aqualad from Young Justice). The way they're doing it, though, is spectacular, because it isn't "us vs. them," it's us and them. No longer does Ted Kord have to get his brains blown out for Jaime Reyes to become Blue Beetle, now, they work together as a team. Similarly, Ryan Choi must become The Atom to rescue Ray Palmer.
I don't read Marvel, so, I can't speak to it, but, from an outsiders point of view, it seems like they're more about gimmicks than anyone. It seems like there's a relaunch with all new, all different #1s every year, and it does seem like they just do it for the headlines. "Who is the NEW, FEMALE Thor?" "Meet Sam Wilson: Marvel's New Captain America!" Truth is, though, I have no problem with Riri. More power to them if they can introduce another minority character and have it catch on. I am a white, straight male. I make no apologies for who I am, but, if there's one thing I learned growing up, it's that I had no shortage of heroes to look up to, so, if a young black girl can walk into a comic shop in Brooklyn and find someone to be inspired by as much as I've been by characters like Batman and Superman, that's great.
I get it, I do, and I think people on both sides need to take a more nuanced view of things, because too often do I see conversations devolve into "racists" vs. "the PC Police." To the "racists," (I'm making a point, by the way, I don't actually think you're racists), like I said, diversity should not be an issue. If you do it well, you can have an enduring character that stands the test of time, and, honestly, I think only good things can come from more representation of groups that have been under represented. The world's changed a lot over the years, and I do think this is a medium that's still got some catching up to do, but I think you've got to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water, and that brings me to my next point, in regards to "The PC Police," don't assume that someone's a racist just because they might be judgemental or critical of an initiative to diversify the marketplace.
You have to understand, and I'm guilty of it myself, at times; people are territorial of these characters. Before The Avengers, before Batfleck, and Robert Downey Jr. and, even, Tobey Maguire, there were these guys. When comic companies were on the verge of bankruptcy in the '90s, there were these guys. When Christopher Reeve made people believe a man could fly, and Lynda Carter twirled her way into America's hearts as Wonder Woman, there were these guys. Some of these guys were around when the comics code authority butchered the medium into near obscurity, some arrived during Crises, but there was one constant: these were their heroes. It's not always been cool to be a nerd, and "geek chic" hasn't always been a thing, and I do get where Snake Doctor is coming from with the "cultural appropriation" thing, though, I feel he could've expressed it a bit better, because, at times, the directions these companies take can seem a bit callous in regards to the customer base who supported them before they were a billion dollar industry.
Like "you've been here with us through thick and thin, but now, more and more people are being exposed to our brand, and, in an effort to expand into these untapped markets, we're going to take everything you knew and completely alienate you as we try to bring in fresh blood." These are guys that knew the same Thor, the same Cap, the same Spider-Man, and the same Hulk for decades, and, now, everything is changing. If there's anything I've learned over the years, it's that people don't like change; particularly when it's happening to something that they've grown familiar with, but, just because they might disagree with a change that has to do with race, gender, or sexuality, that does not make them a racist, a sexist, or a homophobe, and painting people with such broad strokes is both unfair and dangerous. Anyway, moral of the story: be good to one and other, change doesn't have to be bad, and there's nothing to be afraid of when it's done right, and we should all make more of an effort to get along and bond over our love of funny books.
I think, maybe, I'm done, so...