By: PK Krenstil (’19), Managing Editor
Black Panther, the most anticipated movie of the year thus far, finally opens on Friday, February 16th. Directed by Ryan Coogler, an all-star cast including Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o will bring Wakanda to the silver screen for the first time as Marvel Studios looks to continue their hot streak of films. Fans of the comics and movies are obviously very excited for this release, but it’s garnered an almost nuclear buzz in the Black community since it was announced. It feels repetitive to say at this point since the issue will continue to be addressed until it’s no longer an issue, but representation is important for marginalized communities, and the fact that we’ll be able to sit in a movie theater and watch a (hopefully excellent) movie about superheroes that look like us is a big deal, especially for younger fans. To date it may be the biggest, but Black Panther isn’t the only superhero story, adapted for film/television or otherwise, that stars a Black person or people.
Introduced in 1966, T’Challa (Black Panther) is the first Black superhero in mainstream comic books. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby changed the landscape of the industry with his introduction, going on to tell the story of a young leader who must balance his duties to Wakanda and the rest of the world with ensuring that the country’s vast vibranium reserves and technological innovations are not “acquired” by colonial powers over the course of the last 52 years. Marvel continued to set precedents in bringing diversity to the world of comics, introducing the first African-American superhero (The Falcon) in 1969 and the first Black woman superhero (Storm) in 1975. They are also responsible for Luke Cage (1972) and Blade (1973). In 2011, Marvel’s Ultimate Universe series birthed Miles Morales, an Afro-Latino teen who takes on the role of Spider-Man after Peter Parker’s death. All of these characters have appearances in either film or television except for Morales. Most notably, Blade received a trilogy of movies from 1998 to 2004 starring Wesley Snipes, and Halle Berry played Storm in 4 of the X-Men movies.
DC Comics did not introduce a Black superhero until 1971, when John Stewart became the Green Lantern. Since then, we’ve seen Black Lightning (1977) and the very popular Cyborg (1980). We watched and loved the latter on Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans, while the former recently received a TV series on The CW starring China Anne McClain. 1993’s “Static Vol. 1” saw DC introduce fans to Virgil Hawkins, better known as Static, Miles Morales’ predecessor in a way. Seven years later, Static Shock debuted on Kids’ WB. The show only lasted four seasons, but it received critical acclaim for touching on societal issues in certain episodes. More importantly, being a Black kid watching another Black kid fight crime was really cool. While they lagged behind Marvel in creating Black heroes (among other things), DC is responsible for some important characters in their own right.
Separate from the comic book discussion but equally important to the world of superheroes are the Power Rangers. Two decades in and squads of young adults are still saving the world from intergalactic villains. Since Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers in 1993, most of the teams have included at least one Black character. Mighty Morphin’s Zack Taylor, played by Walter Emanuel Jones, was the first African-American Power Ranger; whether intentional or not, he was the Black Ranger in the original series. Zack was an important character, serving as second-in-command to the Jason, the original Red Ranger, but TJ Johnson, played by Selwyn Ward, was the first African-American Red Ranger in 1997’s Power Rangers Turbo. Karan Ashley played Aisha Campbell, the first Black woman Power Ranger, from 1994 to 1996. Her successor in the next two series, Power Rangers Zeo and Turbo, was also a Black woman, Tanya Sloan (played by Nakia Burrise). Both played the Yellow Ranger.
We’ve come a long way since 1966, but even though representation is on the rise there still aren’t enough of us in fictional worlds. Still, there is hope for the future. In 2016, acclaimed author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates started writing issues of the Black Panther comics drawn by Brian Stelfreeze; the first issue sold over 250,000 copies. We could see Black writers and illustrators contribute to the current canon or create new heroes in new worlds for young Black kids to grow up on. The potential to have superheroes for us and by us is high. For now though, we can support and appreciate our current heroes on the big screen, small screen, and between the pages of comics.
Sources: marvel.com, dccomics.com, worldofblackheroes.com
Image Source: YouTube
