In DC’s Final Crisis #7 we got to glimpse an alternate earth where the President of the United States is not only black but also that world’s Superman. The Wonder Woman of that world is also Black and is apparently called “Nubia”. Click here to see the page where he’s introduced. President Obama did say he was born on Krypton albeit as a joke. The intro for this Black Superman is brief and doesn’t really contribute to the main story but damn it was good to see. Should it be surprising to see this happen during Black History month?
Now what we really need is a Black Superhero that’s not an offshoot of a White character and yes I am complaining. READ MORE…
I read somewhere that Black Superheros have very generic motivations, that there just isn’t enough of a range of characters. I can’t say I disagree and I’m not interested in blaming anyone. I’m much more interested in what the solution is. How do we get the major comic book companies to recognize and represent that there are more than just the three or four kinds of Black people than they’ve shown us so far. Independent comic companies have been able to do it. Why not Marvel and DC? With DC we have the
Milestone characters coming into the fold so there’s hope there. I’m not complaining about the presentation of Black Superheroes in mainstream comics, (at least not in this particular rant), I’m complaining about the lack of variety.
You want some suggestions? How about a light-skinned Black Superhero? How about a young Black superpowered character that uses his powers for low level criminal activity because it’s easier and later gets taken under the wing of a positive Black male Superhero father figure? How about a Black Superhero character whose powers aren’t all cool and useful? How about a Black Superhero that can’t use his powers much because he’s too busy trying to make ends meet? I really could go on.
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The notion of a black character being a copy of superman is actually somewhat backwards . unfortunately the truth about African history is not common knowledge, but to get to the point the made up character superman is nothing more than a eurocentic version of the African god Heru. all of the powers, abilities and basic story behind superman all comes out of the story of Aset, Asar and Heru more commonly known by the greek names isis osiris and horus. superman is just another part of the stolen legacy of black people.