15 of the Greatest Black Superheroes of All Time
Luke Cage One of the original badasses of the '70's and former partner to Iron Fist Danny Rand, Luke Cage embodied the 70's concept of Black Power and was one of the first Black superheroes to kick ass and take responsibility for cleaning up the hood. Impenetrable skin, super strength, and the ability to fight heroes in an open chested yellow shirt, leather pants, and a tiara without looking funny, Cage fought all those who threatened the innocent. In recent relaunches, Cage ditched the duds for regular clothes because real men don't have to wear tights. Storm Goddess. Weather Witch. Mutant. Ororo Munroe has been known by many names and identities. Born to an American Mother and African father who died in her youth, Ororo was left to her own devices and survived as a thief. When her mutant abilities manifested, she was feared as a witch by some and praised as a goddess to others. Eventually joining Charles Xavier's X-Men, she became Storm, one of the X-Men's most powerful members, and eventually was chosen as bride to another member of this list, T'Challa, AKA The Black Panther. The Watcher attended their wedding, stating that their union would be one that will change the course of the Marvel Universe's history. Green Lantern There have been several iterations of Green Lantern, even running concurrently, but none quite as tough or hardcore as John Stewart. Originally selected as a back up by the Guardians to Hal Jordan, Stewart proved himself worthy of the title. Often filling in for Hal Jordan when he was off world, the Green Lantern Corps was eventually reorganized so that two Green Lanterns would cover each sector; as such, Hal Jordan and John Stewart are equally responsible for Earth's sector, 2814. Stewart becomes a full fledged member of the Justice League. The interesting thing about Stewart as Green Lantern is that because of his background as an architect, his Lantern creations have a unique, solid quality. He is also recognized as the best flyer in the Corps and has so much willpower that it actually exceeds the limit of his ring (as he once tried to recreate a planet from scratch). Also, Stewart is one of the only Lanterns who refuses to wear a mask because he is not ashamed to let people know who he is. Spawn What can be said about Al Simmons, the soldier who was betrayed by his superior, Jason Wynn, murdered in cold blood, and sent to hell? Simmons was deeply in love with his wife, Wanda, who he would do literally ANYTHING to return to, including making a deal with the demon Malebolgia to accept demonic powers and become the general of his unholy army to get back to her. The tradeoff? 5 years had passed, and Al Simmons was no more. Simmons' wife had remarried to his best friend and he was now only Spawn, left to cope with new powers and lament the loss of his life and his wife. The story of Spawn is telling of the ties of love, tragedy, loss, and eventual redemption. Captain Marvel/Photon/Pulsar Monica Rambeau was a lieutenant in the New Orleans police force. A friend of the family, Professor Andre LeClare, had been forced to create a device which would harness other-dimensional energies. In the process of helping to destroy that device, Rambeau was bombarded with those energies and found that she could, as a result, transmute her body to energy and back again at will. She eventually became a full fledged member of the Avengers and inherited the moniker Captain Marvel from the press. Eventually, she gave up the name out of respect to its former owner and his progeny, and changed her name, first to Photon, and finally to Pulsar. She is one of the most underrated characters in the Marvel Universe, yet one of its most powerful, as seen during the World War Hulk storyline. Cloak Tyrone Johnson was a poor 17 year old South Boston youth who was a good student with a chronic stutter. After witnessing a convenience store murder and the murder of his innocent best friend at the hands of the police, he ran away to New York City, where he contemplated robbing a rich runaway named Tandy Bowen. When someone else tried to rob her, he instead stopped the thief, returned her purse, and became her friend. The two stuck together, but were forcibly taken to a criminal chemist who was experimenting with a new synthetic heroin. The two survived the experiment, but were changed. Johnson took on the properties of darkness, Bowen, with the power of light. With this new power over shadows, he found he could engulf criminals in his darkness, which he covered with a cloak. War Machine James Rhodes was a soldier in the US Marines and had been shot down in the jungle. A chance meeting with Iron Man, who had just escaped from Wong-Chu, led to them escaping together. Stark hired Rhodes as his pilot, and the two became close friends. Tony Stark, being the alcoholic that he was, went into battle as Iron Man drunk, and was humiliatingly defeated at the hands of Magma. It was then that Stark inadvertently revealed his secret to Rhodes, who stepped in and donned the armor to save Stark International. Since Rhodes had proven himself, Stark asked him to be Iron Man while Stark continued to be drunk. Eventually, as Stark faked his own death, Rhodes was given control over Stark Enterprises and the new "War Machine" armor. Roadblock While not a superhero in the traditional sense of the word as he doesn't have any superpowers, Roadblock was one of the first Black GIJoe's we grew up with and one of the baddest characters on the force. Even though his animated counterpart was a rhyming, jive talking brother that had some laughable (at best) dialogue, the comic book version was tough, uncompromising, and virtually unstoppable. He represented the armed forces respectably and with style. Deathlok Michael Collins lived the life that many dream of: loving family, high salary job, wanted for nothing. However, working for Cybertek, a division of the Roxxon Corporation, had a higher cost than he had anticipated. Colliins believed that he was developing computer code that would help people utilize artificial limbs, but the reality was that he was developing code for a murderous machine codenamed "Deathlok". When Collins shared his discovery with his bossand supposed friend, Harlan Ryker, he was betrayed, and his brain was placed into the cyborg. Eventually, Collins gained control of the cybernetic interface of the cyborg and set out for vengence against his boss. Just as he was about to turn Ryker into authorities, ryker revealed that his human body was still out there and he could be returned to humanity, if he could find the doctor who did the original transfer. Deathlok's new mission was clear, and he embarked on a quest to find his human body once again. Falcon Falcon is from the same generation as Luke Cage, and was one of those characters that was rather low on the radar but still kept up the good fight. Falcon had the ability to communicate with aviary creatures and developed a costume that allowed him limited flight ability. Recently an integral part of the resistance to the Registration Act, Falcon stepped up to the fore as a prominent character in the investigation of the death of Captain America. His costume, however, is still kind of ridiculous. Steel John Henry Irons was a steel mill worker who was rescued by Superman. During the time when Superman was "dead", Irons created a powered suit of armor and became Steel, a stand-in for Superman to help fight the evils of Metropolis. After Superman's return, Steel became a hero of his own, helping Superman protect the citizens of Metropolis. Steel was such a well received character that he spawned a well, lackluster movie starring Shaquille "Kobe-How-My-Ass-Taste" O'Neal. We won't hold that against Steel, however. Misty Knight Patrolwoman Misty Knight, who graduated from NYC's police academy with top honors, rescued Colleen Wing from a gun battle, and the two became close friends. During a bank robbery, Knight discovered a bomb but could not dispose of it in time and lost her arm in the process. It was replaced with a cybernetic arm designed by Stark International. In spite of her new strength and ability, she was forced to end her active duty with the police force and resigned. Colleen encouraged Misty to be resiliant, and the two formed a private investigation firm. Through this firm, Knight met Power Man Luke Cage and Iron Fist Danny Rand, the original Heroes for Hire, and she and Colleen, known for their martial arts skills as the Daughters of the Dragon, assisted the Heroes for Hire often. After many adventures, Misty Knight, with partner Colleen Wing, took over as the Heroes for Hire, employing a few other vigilante heroes and working as bail bondswomen for super villains. Bishop Lucas Bishop is from a future where mutants are persecuted and taken to Mutant consentration camps, where mutants, such as himself, are branded with "M" tattoos over the right eye to identify them as such on sight. In this timeline, the Sentinel robots, mutant hunting killing machines, had taken control over North America and Professor X and the most of the X-Men were dead. After a rebellion in which humans and mutants overthrew the Sentinels and mutants began policing themselves, Bishop became a member of the XSE (Xavier Security Enforcers). Bishoop and two other XSE officers were chasing a mutant criminal, Trevor Fitzroy, when he escaped into a time portal into the present day X-Men timeline. Bishop and the other officers pursued, knowing they would be trapped in the present. Bishop was the only survivor of the pursuit, and he took up residence with the X-Men. Shadowhawk Shadowhawk was one of Image's creations of the '90's. A tough as nails vigilante, Shadowhawk fought the criminal element relentlessly, and often viciously. After brutally beating some Black street gang members, a racist vigilante started to mimic Shadowhawk, but only targeting the black criminals. Upon confronting the racist, Shadowhawk removed his helmet to reveal that he too was Black. This, of course, completely disarmed the racist, and Shadowhawk dealt him some sweet, ironic justice. Not only was Shadowhawk a Black man, but he also had, as District Attorney Paul Johnstone, been injected with HIV positive blood by mobsters who wanted to make an example out of anyone who stood against them. Black Panther Arguably the best of the Black superheroes, the Black Panther is the king and protector of the African nation of Wakanda, a technological and economical jewel of a nation nestled in the heart of Africa. The Black Panther, empowered by the Panther God, is endowed with speed, strength, and skill above that of normal mortals. T'Challa, the current Black Panther, is not only a skilled warrior, but also a masterful tactician, fair and just ruler, inventor, and all around master of all he endeavors. He joined the Avengers not for any political gain, but instead to "keep an eye on" the super powered beings that were in the world. Recently T'Challa chose Storm for his bride, and it was revealed that the two had had a history that spanned their entire lives. Their marriage is destined to change the entire course of human history and propel the land of Wakanda to the fore of the world.
