Christian NBA star Jeremy Lin — whose amazing exploits with the New York Knicks in 2012 sparked a global following known as "Linsanity" — is going to appear in the pages of the Marvel comic book "Totally Awesome Hulk," which is due for release this December.
Lin made such a huge impression on comic book writer Greg Pak that he decided it would be great if his Asian-American character Amadeus Cho would meet his favourite Asian-American athlete.
"I was here in New York when Linsanity happened and it never stopped for me," Pak tells CBS Sports. "I followed him everywhere. I just love the guy. And at a certain point, I just found myself thinking, 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if the biggest Asian-American superhero met the biggest Asian-American sports star?'"
Pak is going to team up with artists Luke Ross and Bernard Chang to turn the Brooklyn Nets point guard into a comic book character. When Pak told Lin about his plan, Lin became giddy with excitement.
"They had me with Hulk's hair. We're kindred spirits," Lin says. "It is an honour and a cool opportunity to become part of the Amadeus Cho, 'Totally Awesome Hulk' storyline. Additionally, I think it's great that Marvel is making real efforts to add diversity to its superheroes and their origin stories."
Speaking of diversity, Lin has often spoken up about racial discrimination even in the NBA. "There's gonna be racism everywhere I go, and some of it's more subtle, some of it's less malicious. I mean, every day there [are] guys with certain stereotypes or whatever, and it's not just me. But yeah, I still go through it," he tells the New York Post.
Lin says every time he travels with his teammates, he is the only one who gets stopped and questioned. While this used to bother the Christian athlete a great deal, he has learned how to handle discrimination better. "I just shake it off, it's not a big deal," he says. "I really don't let it affect me... I'm so used to it now. It doesn't bother me."
