#BlackExcellence: Respect to the Characters...
Rich L.
Comic books, I believe, are aiming for diversity faster than most forms of visual media. There are a ton of Black superheroes that not only provide great stories, they also provide diverse storytelling as well. Some characters are practically household names like Black Panther, Static, Blade, Miles Morales and so on. For this piece, I specifically wanted to focus on some of the more unsung superheroes in the visual media industry.
James Rhodes (War Machine, Marvel)
War Machine became a household name thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, however his treatment in that universe is what places him here. With Iron Man in the forefront, he always seemed to be pushed to the sidelines. As a kid, I always preferred War Machine over Iron Man when I first played him in Marvel vs. Capcom in the arcades. His design and name were far more appealing, and unlike Iron Man, his specialty in ballistic weapons (and sometimes energy weapons) makes him my favorite. He first appeared in Iron Man #118 during 1979, and as War Machine Iron Man #282, in July 1992.
Rhodes has always been one of Tony Stark's best friends and while Tony went the way of developing weapons, Rhodes actually learned to use them by joining the military as an Air Force pilot. Tony trusted him with the War Machine (and even the Iron Man armor), because he, of all people knew that his friend would use it for good. Rhodes never faulted to the darkside. In the live action, he was first portrayed by Terrence Howard during the first Iron Man film. Following that movie, the role transitioned to major actor Don Cheadle. While Terrence looked a bit closer to how Rhodes looked in the comics, Cheadle's portrayal did give him a more comedic and sarcastic edge. Thankfully, War Machine will be receiving a TV show called Armored Wars on Disney+ at some point, and the Marvel-Disney+ community have all been fantastic for its release. Hopefully, War Machine's animation will follow suit as well. Not only is James Rhodes a powerful superhero, he’s also a respected colonel in the US Military. It was also revealed that he should’ve been Vice President in an early draft of Avengers: Endgame. Perhaps Armored Wars will make that a reality?
Kaldur'ahm/Jackson Hyde (Aqualad, DC)
Similar to how Batman's sidekick Robin had multiple wearers of the cowl, Aquaman's sidekick, Aqualad also had multiple titleholders. The first known Aqualad was Garth, a black-haired young man in the blue outfit who you may know from the Teen Titans cartoon. Following Garth is Kaldur'ahm (Or his original name, Jackson Hyde) who debuted in the Brightest Day storyline back in the early 2000's. Jackson is from New Mexico, and unlike Garth, his powers were less like Aquaman's and more like Mera's, with hydromency. No offense to Aquaman or Garth's Aqualad, but I find Mera’s and this version of Aqualad's powers to be far cooler. If the Aquaman of earlier days had powers closer to this, I think he wouldn't have had that reputation he had for a long time.
Jackson is revealed to be the son of Black Manta, Aquaman's biggest and most reoccurring adversary. What I always find interesting with the offspring of villains is seeing them follow the path of the heroic, while still having some of their villainous traits from their parents. These characters are so dynamic as they encompass the best of both worlds and are usually more powerful than their peers. In regard to the two different names, Jackson Hyde is what he’s called in the comics while Kaldur'ahm (named after one of Black Manta's right hand men, Cal Durham) is what he's called in Young Justice. He’s also part of the LGBT community as he is currently dating a male Atlantean character in the series. Going forward, I feel Jackson/Kaldur'ahm’s Aqualad will be the version we'll see more frequently as he’s now the new Aquaman in the show. Hopefully, Aquaman (Arthur Curry) can retire knowing his empire is safe.
David Zavimbe/Luke Fox (Batwing, DC)
Batman has a ton of sidekicks and members of the Batfamily, and one of the lesser-known ones is Batwing. Known as David Zavimbe (pic. left), and more commonly referred to as Luke Fox (son of Lucius Fox <pic. below>) thanks to the Batwoman series on the CW and the DC animated series, Batman: Bad Blood. Comic book wise, Zavimbe first appeared as Batwing in Batman Incorporated #5 during 2011, and Luke Fox in Batwing #19 during 2013. One of the reasons Batman created Batwing was to have a holder of the Batman mantle for international/overseas crime fighting and to help out the rest of the world. Batwing generally has a black and blue outfit, with wings and a visor. It seems like a mix of Nightwing and Batman Beyond outfit wise, which is an incredibly aesthetically pleasing combination.
Batwing specializes in the same martial arts and gadgets that Batman uses, along with being skilled in all weapons. Out of the characters on this list, Batwing is the character I know the least about, but when I do see him, he always catches my attention. In Batwoman he's portrayed by Camrus Johnson and starts off as the guy behind the scenes who provides support. In the recent seasons, he discovered the Batwing suit and has an arc about proving to his father (AI Lucius Fox) that he is worthy of being Batwing and helping Batwoman fight crime. Hopefully Batwing will appear in more media going forward, and hopefully be a DLC character in Gotham Knights. Here’s hoping to a stand-alone series.
Al Simmons (Spawn, Image)
Why would the poster boy of a comic book company be on this list? Spawn may be iconic for those born in the 80's or 90's, but he started fading from the public eye in the late 2000's and seemed to be featured to only comics. He debuted in 1992, and similar to Venom, the powers that Spawn has come from a symbiote which has been worn by other characters in that universe. However, the most iconic and recognizable one that the story follows is Al Simmons. Origin Story: Al had a family and was a special ops assassin until he was betrayed and killed by his boss Jason Wynn and was chosen by Malebolgia (the devil) to lead hell's armies by giving him a second chance at life with a hell powered symbiote attached to him.
Spawn has been one of my favorite superheroes, mainly because he embodies a lot of cool factors from other great superheroes. He's a dark brooding caped crusader like Batman, has the anti-hero monstrous symbiote, (named K-7 Leetha) that Venom has (his creator, Todd McFarlane, co-created Venom), as well as the hellfire and chains motif of Ghost Rider. With Spawn’s multitude of abilities from energy blasts to summoning weapons, he’s as dangerous as they come.
He’s also been portrayed by three actors. With the 1997 live action film, he was first portrayed by martial arts expert Michael Jai White. In Spawn: Armageddon and his guest appearance on the Xbox version of Soul Calibur II, he was portrayed by long running voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson, and finally most would know the prime voice of Spawn, Keith David, who portrayed him in the HBO animated series. He even reprised the role in Mortal Kombat 11 for the “sound” of it. It's a travesty Al’s been underutilized outside of comics, but there is hearsay that another live action Spawn movie starring Jamie Foxx is in the works. Regardless of Spawn's future, he’s paved the way for the edgy anti-heroes of the 90's and today.
Aaron Davis (Prowler, Marvel)
If you're like me, you probably seldom heard of the Prowler until Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse brought him to the main screen. He's the one character on this list that leans toward the side of villainy more than the others. He started as a Spiderman villain with a few different identities since 1969, but in 2011 Aaron Davis, who is the uncle of Miles Morales, donned the Prowler identity to his illegal benefit. Prowler looks a bit like a grape flavored fusion of Spawn and Deadpool (this is a compliment). He doesn't have any superpowers, but specializes in gadgets, weapon like claws, and martial arts. What I found interesting about Prowler is that his role in Miles's life feels like a blend of characters in Peter's Parker's life. Aaron is an uncle to Miles like Ben Parker was to Peter. They both looked after their nephews like a father, and they even shared the same dramatic ending to their lives. Although he has an anti-hero/antagonist background like Venom or Black Cat, Aaron also has an interesting dynamic with Miles's father. As they were very close brothers at one time, they’re now frenemies on opposite sides of the law.
Prowler is a big gearhead where his base of operations, and his armor is able to monitor the city. Prowler seems like a character that I hope we'll start to see more of in the animated world, especially since Aaron Davis made a brief live action appearance in Spiderman: Homecoming, which was portrayed by Donald Glover. Hopefully someone new will take up the mantle to keep the character functioning on Disney+ and in Marvel Comics.
My Thoughts
Although these are just a few Black comic book characters mentioned here, they continue to make some noise as the request for Black superheroes and comics are in full force, both in the major and indie markets. Nubia and the Amazons, Harriet Tubman: Demon Slayer; Static Shock (2021), Joystick Angels , and Is’nana the Were-Spider, are just a few of the biggest names buzzing in the comic book universe and worth reading. Hopefully this article sheds some light on the richness of these amazing, wondrous characters as their level of impact is both influencing the comics and media industry, with hope that more characters will shine in the future.
