Almost Like a Surreal Marvel Comic Book Title: "What If a Black Sif?"

Longtime listeners of Afronerd Radio are keenly aware that the "jury is always out" when it comes to cross-racial casting relating to beloved comic book characters that are fortunate enough to get cinematic interpretations.  On one end of the spectrum, there are die-hard fans that desire an almost exact translation of their fantasy heroes on screen and conversely, you have open minded supporters that are more welcoming of a fresh interpretation of characters that are oftentimes decades old (and White).   According to Hitfix.com, there were concept designs depicting a Black Lady Sif for 2011's Thor which obviously fell somewhere on the artist's cutting room floor never to be used again-perchance to dream.  Here's an excerpt from the aforementioned Hitflix.com piece:

Trying to get the feel of Asgard just right, Marvel ended up hiring several different artists to give their take on the world of Thor. Warren Manser was one of them. To give you an idea of his credentials, Manser’s portfolio includes official concepts for everything from “Man of Steel” to “The Matrix.”

Based purely on conjecture, this is VERY early concept art since Jaime Alexander was cast as Sif fairly quickly. In fact, if you go through Manser’s entire Thor gallery, you can see the stylistic change that occurs once he was told Alexander had gotten the role. All the Grace Jones-inspired looks have numbers in the teens while Official Sif™ shows up at 26.

Whether Manser had insider casting information now lost to the mists of Hollywood lore, or he just like the aesthetic of 1980s dystopian future fashion is a mystery. What isn’t though is how amazing some of these designs are. After the jump, enter a world where Lady Sif was a fashionably fabulous woman of color.

For more on the Sif of color:

http://www.hitfix.com/news/check-out-these-fantastic-black-lady-sif-designs-from-early-thor-concept-art#aZg0MErDEHeCtmsK.99

and

http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/lady-sif-thor-couldve-been-a-black-woman-check-out-some-early-concept-art-of-the-character-20150102