Comic Book Stuff: Black Superheroes

After my link to Batman’s political endorsement, my brother Joel asked, “Why aren’t there more African American superheroes?”

And for some reason, today seems like a good day to talk about black superheroes. Probably because yesterday was when new comic books come out. Yeah, that’s it.

I’ll break this down into three categories:
I. The Answer to the Question
II. Important Black Comic Book Creators
III. Important Black Comic Book Characters

I. The Answer to the Question
I think the most likely answer to “why aren’t there more black superheroes” is: there aren’t very many black comic book creators. And there were almost no black comic book creators involved during the most prolific and influential periods of comic book creation.

In the Golden Age of Comics of the 1940s, when millions of comic books sold every month, there is one (1) known African-American artist, Matt Baker. This is the period in which many iconic characters were created and a lot the mythos of comic books became concrete. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Aquaman, secret identities, arch-nemeses, and the rest were created in this period. All of these heroes are white, and all of their supporting cast members and villains were white. (Lucius Fox, the CEO of Bruce Wayne’s family business, played by Morgan Freeman in the movies, first appeared in 1979).

The next big comic-book universe building period (the “Silver Age”) was the 1960s, and again, there were not many black creators at the time. Marvel comics and all their characters started then – Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, the Hulk, X-Men, etc. DC revitalized several of their older characters, like Green Lantern and the Flash. Again, all of these characters were white, and all of their original supporting casts and villains were white. So the two big character-building eras of comics were (mostly) devoid of black creators, heroes, and characters in general.

It really wasn’t until the 1970s that black superheroes started showing up with regularity in Marvel or DC comics, and it wasn’t really until the 1980s that black creators began working on, and especially writing, comic books to any large degree. Since that time comic companies have done a much better job of having their fictional universes reflect the diversity of the real world, featuring black, Hispanic, and more international characters. There have been interesting, exciting, black characters since the 1960s (see below), but they usually didn’t have their own comic books. So, black superheroes have been playing catch-up in a lot of ways with older, more established characters.

II. Important Black Comic Book Creators
The most influential black comic creators are, in my opinion:

Christopher Priest – starting in the 80s, has worked steadily as a writer and editor for both Marvel and DC, working on such titles as Conan the Barbarian, Wonder Woman, and Spider-Man, and many, many more, including a long run on Black Panther

Kyle Baker – a multiple award-winning writer and artist (no relation to Matt)

Reginald Hudlin – A former BET executive and movie director who writes Black Panther for Marvel

Dwayne McDuffie – One of the writers for the cartoon Justice League and then Justice League Unlimited, he has written a LOT of comic books and is currently writing - wait for it - Justice League of America

III. Important Black Comic Book Characters
A. The Replacements –
A persistent trend concerning black superheroes is that a black hero will serve as a replacement to an existing white hero, or take on the role as a sort of legacy to that hero.

This has happened most notably with:
Green Lantern – John Stewart took over for Hal Jordan starting in 1972, and the two have been co-lanterns since. Stewart is obviously the one they picked to be on the Justice League cartoons.

Iron Man – James Rhodes (played by Terrence Howard in the movie) takes over for Tony Stark when Stark was recovering from alcoholism. He later got his own (black and silver) suit with more guns on it and calls himself War Machine.

Steel – When Superman was dead for a while back there in the 90s, John Henry Irons built himself a big flying suit of armor with an “S” on the chest and was the new “Man of Steel.”



This has happened with a bunch more minor DC characters like Firestorm, Dr. Mignight, and Mr. Terrific. Yeah, that’s right. Mr. Terrific.

One of the strangest, coolest, and most important replacement is Nick Fury, head of the secret spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. In his 1960s debut (another Stan Lee and Jack Kirby collaboration), he was white. When Marvel launched a parallel line in 2000 featuring versions of popular characters with origins in the modern day, Fury was re-imagined as black. And every time Bryan Hitch drew him, he looked like this:



Remind you of anyone? A certain Mr. Jackson? Look for him in the movies.

B. The Originals -
Black Lightning – The first black hero to appear in DC comics, he debuted in 1971. He has yet to appear on TV or movies, although a version of him was on the SuperFriends cartoon.



Marvel has a near monopoly on original, cool black characters.
There’s Luke Cage, aka Power Man, who first appeared in 1972.


Dig those crazy threads! Blaxploitation? Maybe a little.
These days he's not really a costume kind of guy, and fights crime in jeans and a black t-shirt.

There’s Blade, the vampire hunter, who showed up in 1973.



There’s Storm of the X-Men, who debuted in 1975.


And there’s the Falcon, who is the first African-American superhero. Created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan in 1969, he started out briefly as a villain before changing sides. He was a longtime crime-fighting partner (not sidekick) of Captain America. He is a cool character.


But the coolest black character, in my mind, is a native African, and also happens to be the first black superhero. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and debuting in Fantastic Four in 1966, it’s the Black Panther.



The concept here is cool – at one time in history, tribes in Africa were forging iron while everyone else was still using stone tools. The Black Panther is the king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, whose people stayed that far ahead of everyone else on the technological curve. They were a strict isolationist nation until the mid-20th century, and are now a minor world power. The Black Panther is the nations’ spiritual symbol, and the king wears the costume as a result.

The current Black Panther’s father was killed by a supervillain trying to steal Wakandan technology, inciting his meeting of the Fantastic Four. He has served in the past as a member and leader of the Avengers (the Justice League of the Marvel universe). A few years back he married Storm.


So, as far as superheroes go, he’s got it all. A semi-believable motivation for dressing up to fight crime. A heart-breaking back-story. A very cool costume. He is an expert combatant (think ninja), a scientific genius, and king of his own country. Look for a movie about him in the near future.

Except…

The only thing missing from bringing him to Batman-level prestige is: he doesn’t really have very good villains. There’s Ulysses Klaw, the guy who killed his father:


Yikes.

There's the Man-Ape, a guy in a gorilla suit with super-human strength who wants to take over the throne of Wakanda:

Double yikes!!

And there's Killmonger, who wants to – kill things:


(Yawn) They don't exactly seem like epic villains, do they?

Black Panther's best conflicts have been with enemies he’s borrowed from other people, like the Red Skull from Captain America, or Dr. Doom from the Fantastic Four.

Oh, well. He's still awesome. And will always be first.

C. Random! –
1. Aquaman’s arch-enemy, who you may remember from Superfriends, is Black Manta. Underneath that helmet, Black Manta is...black. Crazy.



2. Muhammad Ali called himself the “Black Superman.” I’m not sure if that makes him a superhero or not, but it earned him a shot at the title.



This is one of the best comic book covers ever. Know why? You want to know what happens next, don't you? Well, I can't tell you - cause I don't know. What we can tell from the cover is that "they fight to save the earth from star warriors," both Batman and Jimmy Carter showed up to watch the bout, and Superman is hovering. Float like a butterfly, indeed.

3. Finally, watch out for this guy, as painted by Alex Ross – if he starts flying or develops x-ray vision, he could really go places.

Penguins and the Interpretation of Dreams

Last night I dreamed I was a penguin. A cartoon penguin, like the ones in Mary Poppins, but without the bow-tie. I heard, as if being narrated in one of those nature shows, that I and other penguins like me were on the decline because we had lost the skills needed to work together to catch fish. I remember trying to rally the other penguins around me to prove the narrator wrong, and together we caught some fish and some small crabs and ate them. Raw. As I think back, that sounds disgusting, but in my dream I remember thinking the fish in particular was quite good. After eating some of the crab, I heard the narrator say that I would eat up to seven times my weight in crab in a week. I thought "Man, I better pick up the pace" and "I'm not sure I like crab that much." Later in the dream I was a person again. I don't normally remember my dreams, but this one was awesome. A cartoon penguin! My subconscious mind is a strange place, I tell you what.

As far as interpretation goes, I have no idea, I leave that one up to you.

Later this week I'll tell you about the time I swam in the ocean with Jesus, and about the time my wife got to do something really cool.

P.S. I did a little "research" on dream interpretation (I typed "dream interpretation" into Google and read the first link that didn't also advertise serenity crystals). I found a site with a list of stuff people have dreamed about and a short description of what it may mean. Here are some relevant to the post above.

Penguin - "To see a penguin in your dream, signifies that your problems are not as serious as you may think. It serves as a reminder for you to keep your cool and remain level-headed. Alternatively, a penguin seen in your dream suggests that you are being weighed down by your emotions or by a negative situation. You need to find some balance and inner harmony."

I was pleasantly surprised to find "penguin" in the list, by the way.

Cartoon - "To dream that your real life is depicted in a cartoon world, signifies that you are perceiving the world in a comical and unserious manner. This dream may also serve as an escape from the stressful realities of your life. It is your way of obtaining moments of lightheartedness and fun. Additionally, you may need to learn to laugh at yourself and at your mistakes."

Crab - "To see a crab in your dream, signifies your perseverance and tenacity. On an extreme note, you maybe be too clingy and dependent and hanging on to a hopeless endeavor."

Swimming - "To dream that you are swimming, suggests that you are exploring aspects of your unconscious mind and emotions. The dream may be a sign that you are seeking some sort of emotional support. It is a common dream image for people going through therapy. To dream that you are swimming underwater, suggests that you are completely submerged in your own feelings. You are forcing yourself to deal with your emotional difficulties."

I was disappointed that there weren't any entries for "raw fish," or "nature show narrator." But, after reading the above, and deciding that they were written by the same qualified people who write the notes on the inside of fortune cookies, I decided to try my hand at it.

Raw Fish - "To dream that you are eating raw fish signifies your willingness to confront uncomfortable circumstances in your life. By ingesting an aquatic animal, you hope to gain its power to move fluidly through chaotic situations. Alternatively, this may signify that you live in Japan or California."

Nature Show Narrator - "To dream that your actions are being narrated by another suggests that you feel your life's course is determined by forces beyond your control. If the narrator is Morgan Freeman, David Attenborough, or Peter Coyote, this signifies that you watch too much National Geographic channel."

Movie Moment - Morgan Freeman and My First Date With My Wife

The year was 1998. It was Christmas break after my freshman year of college, and this nice girl I had become friends with had made the trek down to Palestine, Tx to visit my family. I needed a date - something good. But we were in Palestine, so we settled for the movies. I don't remember what else was on, but based on the list of releases from January 1998, and what I know about Palestine's six screen theater, our choices were - Wag the Dog, Half Baked, Spice World, Fallen, Titanic (still out), and Hard Rain. We had both seen Titanic, I don't like scary movies, so Spice World and Fallen were out, so that narrowed the field a bit. I decided to trust Morgan Freeman.

It's not hard to see why. At the time I had only seen Driving Miss Daisy, Glory, The Shawshank Redemption, and Se7en. Robin Hood Prince of Thieves and Unforgiven were also in his recent past. I had not seen them yet, but I heard good things. So we went to see Hard Rain.

It was...not great. It turns out Morgan Freeman can't carry an entire movie by himself. But that's really the only bad thing you can say about the man.

Since then, I've been a little more careful in my Morgan Freeman selections, and tried to weed out the shows like Hard Rain and Deep Impact, that are trying to buy a little credibility with a casting coup (I'm looking at you High Crimes and Sum of All Fears!). Since then, it's been Million Dollar Baby, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, March of the Penguins, Bruce Almighty, and Lucky Number Slevin (in no particular order). Not bad, I think.

Morgan Freeman movies I haven't seen yet and would like to: Feast of Love, Gone Baby Gone, Amistad, and maybe The Bonfire of the Vanities and Nurse Betty. Prolific, isn't he?

Oh, despite the so-so movie (with a particularly horrible end - the end credits rolled to: "Flood" by Jars of Clay), Jeni and had our first kiss later that evening. Thank you, Morgan Freeman, and I'm glad you're feeling better.