Earlier this week news came down that Joss Whedon will again write and direct the second Avengers movie. This is no huge surprise, despite every geek news site and blog exploding in ALL CAPS GLEE OVER THIS EXCITING AND COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED NEWS, RAAAAAWWWWRRRR! Calm down, people.

What is actually news is that Whedon will also helm a new TV show set in the Marvel universe. There aren’t many details, but given that there are a ton of characters and storylines to play with, the possibilities are intriguing.

Let’s face it, though: this is a Joss Whedon show we’re talking about. And while the prospect of that fills other fannish hearts with glee, I still remember Dollhouse.

Even before Dollhouse I had no illusions about Whedon. I liked Buffy just like everyone else and find the least fault in that show compared to the others. I never could get into Angel in part because every time I poked my head in I saw problematic shit around the character of Gunn. I never did watch Firefly (I did see Serenity) because from the very beginning I read the criticism around the lack of Chinese characters and the handling of Inara.

In the end, I don’t trust Joss Whedon. And nothing he’s said or done — including the Avengers movie — has given me a reason to change my mind on that. I know I’m not the only one.

And thus, in the spirit of this petition to save Whedon’s Marvel TV show1 from being cancelled2, I’m starting a petition to cancel the show right now in the hopes that we’ll have enough signatures by the time something racist or misogynistic or in any other way problematic3 happens to actually get Whedon tossed back to the movie side of things where he belongs.

Seriously, he’s better off cranking out big screen stuff where he only has 2 hours and thus less screen time for fuckery.

Click here to sign the petition and give Disney a smokescreen for the real reason they intend to cancel the show prematurely and also run the episodes out of order: to become besties with Fox and get the rights to Silver Surfer and Galactus back. It’s a fair trade.

Given the general reaction to my post celebrating the cancellation of Dollhouse with champagne and confetti, the reaction from this one ought to be priceless4.

1. That site is down temporarily. Possibly because angry anti-Whedon fans did not appreciate the petition. However, the Google cache of that post is here.  [↩]
2. Yes, I know that is satire. It is funny satire. What I’m about to propose is satirical as well. Keep that in mind. [↩]
3. Like casting Eliza Dushku [↩]
4. And I bet no one will get the joke. [↩]