'Magic: The Gathering' debuted a Black Aragorn on Twitter, and it sparked a bitter online debate about the fictional character's race
Martin Schutt/picture alliance via Getty Images
- "Magic: The Gathering" on Monday tweeted an image of Aragorn as a Black man in its official design.
- It's sparked online debate about Aragorn's race and J.R.R. Tolkien's intention for the character.
- The new design features in a new "The Lord of the Rings" set for the fantasy card game.
"Magic: The Gathering" art for a Black Aragorn has Twitter users embroiled in a bitter debate over the fantasy character's race.
The character design, part of the card game's new "The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth" set, was tweeted by the brand on Monday.
—Magic: The Gathering (@wizards_magic) May 28, 2023
The tweet has since been viewed over 8.5 million times on the platform, with thousands of people retweeting the artwork with their hot takes on what Aragorn should look like.
The debate ranges from arguments over how J.R.R. Tolkien described the character as having a "pale, stern face" to the author's European inspiration for "The Lord of the Rings" to his comments on racism and apartheid.
Many are upset that the character doesn't look like actor Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn in Peter Jackson's film trilogy, while others said Aragorn's skin color makes no difference in his lore or identity.
"Thanks for reminding me why I quit this game," one Twitter user commented.
"Thanks for leaving," another wrote in response with a thumbs-up emoji.
The "Magic: The Gathering" Twitter account has hidden dozens of replies, many of which contained racist memes or jokes.
On the other hand, some fans just said they enjoyed the quality of the art.
"That sword looks amazing," one person wrote.
Wizards of the Coast, the company that publishes "Magic: The Gathering," wrote in a Monday post that its new Tolkien set was "driven by two guiding principles" — diversity and originality.
"The Lord of the Rings is about the different peoples of Middle-earth coming together to fight Sauron, finding strength in their diversity," the firm wrote. "Fans of all backgrounds have been enjoying these stories, characters, and locations for decades, and we wanted this set to reflect on that broad inclusion."
The new Aragorn design features on at least one card in the new set.
Wizards of the Coast's "The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth" is slated for a full release on June 23.
Hasbro, which owns Wizards of the Coast, and Middle-Earth Enterprises, which owns the licensing rights to "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit," did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.