by Joshua Stulman

This month is Black History Month and there is a somewhat frequent question I get from parents at my comic stand that begins like this, “So there aren’t really any African American Super-Heroes are there? I mean besides Black Panther.”

Truthfully, this question could be a simple 2 minute answer, “Yes, actually there have been many over the years” or a much longer 20 minute conversation complete with searching through the comic bins to find examples.

Ever since the 1960’s both Marvel and DC have been actively diversifying their super-hero offerings across a range of ethnic and religious groups. Many people often forget that the Wesley Snipes Blade movies were the first wide release Marvel movies ever! Of course Storm of the X-Men during the 1990’s was heavily featured in cartoon, action figures and later on in the early X-Men movies played by Halle Berry (who also played a version of Catwoman in 2002).

Today, there are literally hundreds of African/ African-American characters today in comics. In fact, so many that it would be too long to list. Instead, I decided to highlight 10 Great Female Black Super-Heroes:

10) Nubia

Nubia, Wonder Woman of the Floating Island, debuted in Wonder Woman # 204 (Jan. 1973). She is DC Comics first Black female Superhero, created by Robert Kanigher and Don Heck. Formed from clay at the same time as Wonder Woman, Nubia was abducted by the God, Mars, and was trained to be a warrior. She rules the Floating Island, a civilization of all men, that mirrors Wonder Woman’s Paradise Island.

9) Shuri

Shuri, the brainiac sister of the Black Panther ,T’Challa, was introduced in Black Panther (Vol. 4) # 2. She is a princess of Wakanda that took up the mantle of Black Panther in the absence of her older brother. She defended Wakanda from Klaw’s multi-front attack and killed the villian, known as the second Radioactive Man. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Shuri is played by Letitia Wright.

8) Misty Knight

Misty Knight is an NYC detective that first appeared in Marvel Premiere #20 by Tony Isabella and Ross Andru, inspired by Pam Grier’s Coffy (1973). She is the long time love interest for Iron Fist. Trained in both martial arts and street fighting, Misty sports a bionic arm that gives her super-human strength. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Misty Knight was played by Simone Missick in the Netflix Marvel series Luke Cage, Defenders, and Iron Fist.

7) Vixen

Vixen possesses the power to harness the spirit strengths and abilities of animals. She was created by Bob Oksner and Gerry Conway who debuted confronting Superman in Action Comics # 521 (1981). She became a member of the final version of Justice League of America before DC’s Crisis Of Infinite Earths. After the Crisis, Vixen became a member of the Suicide Squad while still juggling her life as a model. She has been associated with the Birds of Prey. Vixen is a skilled detective and is known for her undercover abilities. Vixen appears in DC’s Arrow-verse played by Maisie Richardson-Sellers.

6) Promethea

Promethea is a great comic book series for mature readers written and created by Alan Moore. Sophie Bangs becomes the ancient heroine, Promethea, after researching her family lineage while at college. Promethea is a mystical being that has shared human identities for over a thousand years. Now in modern time, the FBI is seeking to capture the spirit for its own use.

5) Riri Williams / Ironheart

Riri Williams, 15 year old child prodigy student at MIT, develops a version of Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor from stolen material from campus. Garnering the attention of Stark himself, Riri embarks on a career as a superhero. She gains access to Stark labs and technology through Pepper Potts, who encourages her tech developments. Adopting the moniker, Ironheart, Riri has stepped out of Stark’s shadow to embark on her own journey. She was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato Jr in Invincible Iron Man # 7.

4) Amanda Waller

Amanda Waller is the tactical leader of the Suicide Squad. She was created by John Ostrander and John Byrne in Legends # 1 (1986). Waller is a shrewd master-planner tasked by the U.S. with managing a superhero taskforce under the complete control of the government. She operates a rotating membership of a team often replacing members that have been killed in action. She represents the governments check against the explosion of super-hero activity.

3) Captain Marvel

The third Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, debuted in Amazing Spider-Man Annual # 16 by Roger Stern and John Romita Jr. She is one of several characters based on the visage of Pam Grier. After, the first Captain Mar-Vell’s death, Monica Rambeau was dubbed “Captain Marvel” by the media because of her exposure to alien energies that similarly granted her powers. She has the abilities to control and project various levels of energies including gamma level radiation.

2) Storm

Worshipped as a literal goddess in Africa, Storm joined the X-Men as part of the second team comprised of international super-heroes in Giant Size X-Men # 1 by Len Wein and Gil Kane. Her powers include controlling the wind, lightning and flight. She has served as leader of the X-Men on several occasions as well as leader of Morlocks. Storm married T’Challa, the Black Panther and served as Queen of Wakanda for a time. She is one of the few people who wield an Asgardian hammer similar to Thor‘s Mjolnir.

1) Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman is literally the first African American Female hero to be depicted in comics! Produced by Golden Legacy in 1966, each new issue featured the biography of a different historical figure in world history. The comics were fully illustrated similar to the popular Classics Comics series. The series ran from 1966-1976 and was developed by Bertram Fitzgerald with the sponsorship from the Coca Cola Company. Harriet Tubman was featured in the second issue from 1966. The series totaled 16 issues that saw several re-printings into the 1980’s.

Joshua H. Stulman

Owner, Brooklyn Comic Shop