I agree with this sentiment. Our perception of who characters are and what they should look like tend to be how you grew up with them or were introduced to them.
For me, growing up in the 90s:
- Black Panther has no cape or a short one
- Tim Drake is Robin, Grayson is Nightwing
- Spider-Man and MJ are married
- Wally is the Flash
- Scarlet Witch had her actual powers (hex bolts to alter probability)...
- ...and her and Quicksilver's dad IS Magneto
- Gambit & Rogue
- Jean Grey & Cyclops
- Kitty is still just a bit too young to date her teammates without getting a side eye
- Luke Cage wears a black leather jacket, fade hairstyle and uses words like "boyeeee!"
- Iceman is straight not because there's a problem with him being gay, but simply because he doesn't like men
- Bishop isn't evil, or crazy, or whatever the excuse is nowadays
- Steve is Captain America, Sam is Falcon, Bruce is the Hulk, THOR IS THOR!, Logan is Wolverine, Eddie Brock is Venom and the Fantastic Four is important even if the front of the comic has to tell you as much
- Wolverine's sidekick is Jubilee
Lol. Some changes I like a lot (Tim as Red Robin, Damian as Robin, I didn't grow up with Barry Allen but I like him now mainly because of the TV show). But I tend to not like many of the major changes to the things I grew up with.
That said, as a fan of the character I just don't prefer Black Panther with a long cape. But for the sake of the statue's visual appeal the long cape is more dramatic and it works.
