We were so excited to see the images of Riri Williams, the new “Iron Man,” when the first came out. That excitement turned to concern when Entertainment Weekly, posted a collage of Black actresses who would be good for the role. While the original illustration of RIri, by Stefano Caselli, was a dark-skinned girl with coarse hair, the one that appeared on a recent cover looked completely different. She was lighter complected, her hair had a looser curl and the biggest complaint that people had was that this never version of Riri looked nothing like a 15-year-old girl should.
Not only does her face resemble that of a grown woman, there really is no justifiable reason that we should be seeing a 15-year-old’s pelvic bones. Even if it is just an animation. Well, after Black Twitter expressed their grievances, the artist, J. Scott Campbell, responded, getting a bit testy and defensive.
Hmmm.. This is the character I was asked to draw, people understand that, right? Is it THAT different? #nonconroversy #movealong pic.twitter.com/Rcb6krAAV0
— J. Scott Campbell♠️🎨 (@JScottCampbell) October 19, 2016
Yes. It is that different. And I find it hard to believe that an artist, someone who specializes in visual details can’t see just how dramatic the difference is.
Thankfully, Marvel did the right thing and pulled the cover. Afterward, artists all over the internet drew their own versions of what Riri might look like if she, you know, was drawn like a teenager.
Check out some of our favorites on the following pages.
https://twitter.com/ElleOnWords/status/789175519522623489
This is an old piece and I've improved a LOT since I did this. But even then, I knew what was up. #TeensThatLookLikeTeens pic.twitter.com/643Vj97HGs
— Jessica Treviño 💀 (@StirvinoLady) October 19, 2016
All of characters in my book. #TeensThatLookLikeTeens https://t.co/SXEJJ2hGE0 pic.twitter.com/IceteYHJgZ
— Sophia Chester (@SophiaTheAuthor) October 19, 2016
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Chocolate City Comics (@chocolatecitycomics) on
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Black Nerd Squad (@blacknerdsquad) on
@noribearr and I are working on a comicbook about a 18 year old with super powers. #TeensThatLookLikeTeens pic.twitter.com/Ee4YRvu4gU
— baby yoda (@JordanSaidSo) October 19, 2016
And as an additional bonus, we know that Marvel is able to draw darker skinned characters because Ariell Jackson, the owner of Amalgam Comics and Coffeehouse in Philadelphia, who also appeared on our recent “She’s The Boss” episode, was drawn magnificently, on one of their covers.

Source: Marvel
Veronica Wells is the culture editor at MadameNoire.com. She is also the author of “Bettah Days.” You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter @VDubShrug.