Jamie Berke created a Change.org petition, "Marvel Comics - Apologize to Adoption Community!" asking Marvel Comics to permanently stop using adoption as the punch line of jokes and apologize for its inclusion of the offensive joke. The petition is yet to pick up much steam, having received fewer than 300 signatures so far.
The line in question comes when the Black Widow says, "[Loki] killed 80 people in 2 days," and Thor, Loki's brother, replies, "He's adopted."
One parent, EricQelDroma, wrote on the Disney Boards that his daughter, who is adopted, was not old enough to discern the humor behind the line.
"I almost laughed, too; the line is well played. But the laughter stuck in my throat when all of the joke's implications crashed down on me. My daughter never got for a second that it was supposed to be a joke.
"'Are people laughing because they think adopted kids are bad? Am I bad?'"
Not all adopted children and parents have rallied behind this petition.
"As an adoptee (now an adult) I would like to add my voice to this and say that you do not speak for me," Shannon Cuttle commented on the Change.org petition. "You do not represent me, and I find this kind of evocation of nameless children for your own petty and bitter purposes to be vile exploitation."
Is this joke an tasteless provocation or a harmless one-liner? Sound off in the comments.
BONUS: 8 Hilarious 'Avengers' Parodies