{"id":78931,"date":"2019-09-16T08:34:02","date_gmt":"2019-09-16T15:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/?p=78931"},"modified":"2019-09-16T08:34:02","modified_gmt":"2019-09-16T15:34:02","slug":"the-black-superhero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-black-superhero\/","title":{"rendered":"The Evolution and Impact of the Black Superhero"},"content":{"rendered":"

What a time it is for African Americans to be represented in comic book movies, today\u2019s most popular film genre. The ending of <\/span>Avengers Endgame strongly suggests the next Captain America will be Black<\/span><\/i>, while <\/span>Black Panther<\/span><\/i> remains the highest-grossing solo superhero movie <\/span>($1,346,913,161 globally<\/span><\/a>). On the DC side, its most popular movie character is Aquaman <\/span>($1,147,761,807 globally<\/span><\/a>), portrayed by a person of color (Jason Momoa) \u2013 so that has to count for something.<\/span><\/p>\n

Does this mean African Americans are being represented fairly these days in comic book movies (or Hollywood for that matter)?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a complicated question that requires a sense of context by understanding the history and evolution of the Black comic book hero. To understand this complexity, we surveyed more than 500 African Americans to gauge their perception, attitude and overall opinion, when it comes to Black superheroes. The research found that, when it comes to African American being well-represented in comic book movies, 39 percent agreed while 42 percent of the respondents disagreed. However, 80 percent of the respondents claimed they presently or have in the past read comic books. While this is a surprisingly high number, it is not odd, considering that Black Panther was a nationwide cultural phenomenon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s complicated, so let\u2019s take a historical journey to understand the Black superhero and its impact on American culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

The First Black Superpower<\/span><\/h2>\n

African Americans appeared widely in 20<\/span>th<\/span>-century comic books as both sidekicks and heroes, under such brands as All-Negro Comics and Timely Comics. Yet the world wouldn\u2019t see its first Black superhero until July 1966, in an issue of Marvel\u2019s <\/span>Fantastic Four<\/span><\/i> (#52).<\/span><\/p>\n

That was Black Panther.<\/span><\/p>\n

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, T’Challa \u2014 a.k.a “Black Panther” \u2014 wasn\u2019t a big seller. The character, however, was broadly accepted along with other minorities in Marvel\u2019s continual multicultural rollout throughout the decades (inclusivity and social causes were always part of Lee\u2019s visionary marketing). What\u2019s more, Black Panther served two important purposes, according to <\/span>an article<\/span><\/a> by Noel Murray in <\/span>The Week<\/span><\/i>:<\/span><\/p>\n