The history of African-American/black superheroes in comics is surprisingly recent. It seems that the first genuine black mainstream superhero is also the most well known: The Black Panther first appeared on the pages of Marvel in 1966.
Technically, the Black Panther was not the first black character in comics. That distinction is held by a couple of pseudo-superhero characters named Lobo, who was a Dell Comics Western character and Waku, Prince of the Bantu, who was a kind of forerunner of an African ruler and patriarch type that the Black Panther represented.
The early years of the Black Panther's history are peppered with a series of sporadic guest appearances in various Marvel titles with a variety of Marvel superheroes like Captain Marvel, Daredevil and the Avengers.
The Black Panther's origin pre-dated the militant political group the Black Panthers by several years and, interestingly enough, the moniker "Black Panther" was a controversial name for a superhero to deal with in the very early 1970's. Partly as a result of this collision, the boys at Marvel changed the character's name very briefly to The Black Leopard. Marvel, never a company to completely back down from controversey, had the character address the change in the comics by mentioning that the Black Panther was, in his own words, "a law unto himself."
The Panther was a law unto himself, literally. He was the chief of the Panther tribe of the African nation of Wakanda. The Panther's real name was T'Challa and his Panther outfit was in reality a ceremonial outfit, not a superhero get-up (like Wonder Woman's). The nation of Wakanda had, in the context of the comics, its own rich myth as a kind of secret world cut both cut off from "normal" civilization and technologically superior to it; the life blood of the tribe was a mineral vibranium which had vibration absorbing properties valuable to the outside world. All efforts were made by T'Challa's ancestors to keep this valuable resource contained within the confines of Wakanda.
T'Challa's/Black Panther's powers are mostly the result of a heart-shaped herb that grants superhuman levels of stregnth, stamina and perception. T'Challa earned some of these attributes as well by defeating some of the champions of Wakanda. These powers consist of enhanced speed, strength and agility, as well as a resistence to magic.
The first appearance of the Black Panther had to do with inviting the superteam to Wakanda, fighting them as an odd way to gain his people's loyalty and the admiration of the Fantastic Four. Oddly, this ploy worked and the character quickly found his way into the comics' mainstream with alliances with the Fantastic Four and, especially, the Avengers with whom he has had a long association.
The character has had many of the confusing continuity issues and "make it up as you go" style of creating backstory and a lack of coherent history that other comic book characters have had to grapple with. One of the weirder scenarios in the Panther's history had to do with his experience procuring time-shifting artifacts known as "King Solomon's Frogs." These allowed him a glimpse into his future where he discovered he would be the victim of a brain aneurysm ten years in the future. T'Challa nearly succumbs to this fate, and even grooms a stand-in Panther to take his place. As is often the case in comics, the Panther managed to extricate himself from this state and resume his mantle.
The Panther also married Ororo Munroe (AKA Storm), a woman strongly connected to T'Challa since his young adulthood. There wedding was particulary high profile and subsequently they became diplomats representing their respective homelands.
The Panther is one of Marvel's most admirable characters. He shares traits with Captain America (and especially Superman) in that he is a representative of an advanced race and has the kind of natural leadership and nobility of a king. The character has also always had a great "look" with his sleek outfit that remains in style.
Despite this, the Panther is not part of Marvel's pantheon. He's a first-tier/ second-tier hero in the Marvel Universe; well-known and a great supporting character but not a natural headliner. The main issues with the Panther becoming a purely A-list character is that he doesn't have any great villans to contend with (so far at least). It is tough to be a great superhero with no great rougue's gallery to contend with.
He is, however, one of the coolest characters in the Marvel Universe and a historic figure as well. BET is apparently working on an animated series produced in conjunction with Marvel that has some noteworthy talent (Djimon Hounsou voices the character). There has been talk of a Black Panther film for at least a decade with A-list actors like Wesley Snipes (when he was an A-lister) and A-list directors like John Singleton attached in years past.
There are a couple of very fine actors who would be perfect for this role: One is the very fine actor and physically impressive Djimon Hounsou, the voice of the animated "Panther": another is the equally fine but less well known actor Chiwetel Ejiofor who impressed in the little seen Redbelt (and Serenity). As for a director? Perhaps someone like Kathryn Bigelow or even a guy like Reuben Fleishcer, whose comfort with popular genre stuff seemed apparent in the recent Zombieland.
Next Week: Luke Cage and Powerman...
The history of African-American/black superheroes in comics is surprisingly recent. It seems that the first genuine black mainstream superhero is also the most well known: The Black Panther first appeared on the pages of Marvel in 1966.
Technically, the Black Panther was not the first black character in comics. That distinction is held by a couple of pseudo-superhero characters named Lobo, who was a Dell Comics Western character and Waku, Prince of the Bantu, who was a kind of forerunner of an African ruler and patriarch type that the Black Panther represented.
The early years of the Black Panther's history are peppered with a series of sporadic guest appearances in various Marvel titles with a variety of Marvel superheroes like Captain Marvel, Daredevil and the Avengers.
The Black Panther's origin pre-dated the militant political group the Black Panthers by several years and, interestingly enough, the moniker "Black Panther" was a controversial name for a superhero to deal with in the very early 1970's. Partly as a result of this collision, the boys at Marvel changed the character's name very briefly to The Black Leopard. Marvel, never a company to completely back down from controversey, had the character address the change in the comics by mentioning that the Black Panther was, in his own words, "a law unto himself."
The Panther was a law unto himself, literally. He was the chief of the Panther tribe of the African nation of Wakanda. The Panther's real name was T'Challa and his Panther outfit was in reality a ceremonial outfit, not a superhero get-up (like Wonder Woman's). The nation of Wakanda had, in the context of the comics, its own rich myth as a kind of secret world cut both cut off from "normal" civilization and technologically superior to it; the life blood of the tribe was a mineral vibranium which had vibration absorbing properties valuable to the outside world. All efforts were made by T'Challa's ancestors to keep this valuable resource contained within the confines of Wakanda.
T'Challa's/Black Panther's powers are mostly the result of a heart-shaped herb that grants superhuman levels of stregnth, stamina and perception. T'Challa earned some of these attributes as well by defeating some of the champions of Wakanda. These powers consist of enhanced speed, strength and agility, as well as a resistence to magic.
The first appearance of the Black Panther had to do with inviting the superteam to Wakanda, fighting them as an odd way to gain his people's loyalty and the admiration of the Fantastic Four. Oddly, this ploy worked and the character quickly found his way into the comics' mainstream with alliances with the Fantastic Four and, especially, the Avengers with whom he has had a long association.
The character has had many of the confusing continuity issues and "make it up as you go" style of creating backstory and a lack of coherent history that other comic book characters have had to grapple with. One of the weirder scenarios in the Panther's history had to do with his experience procuring time-shifting artifacts known as "King Solomon's Frogs." These allowed him a glimpse into his future where he discovered he would be the victim of a brain aneurysm ten years in the future. T'Challa nearly succumbs to this fate, and even grooms a stand-in Panther to take his place. As is often the case in comics, the Panther managed to extricate himself from this state and resume his mantle.
The Panther also married Ororo Munroe (AKA Storm), a woman strongly connected to T'Challa since his young adulthood. There wedding was particulary high profile and subsequently they became diplomats representing their respective homelands.
The Panther is one of Marvel's most admirable characters. He shares traits with Captain America (and especially Superman) in that he is a representative of an advanced race and has the kind of natural leadership and nobility of a king. The character has also always had a great "look" with his sleek outfit that remains in style.
Despite this, the Panther is not part of Marvel's pantheon. He's a first-tier/ second-tier hero in the Marvel Universe; well-known and a great supporting character but not a natural headliner. The main issues with the Panther becoming a purely A-list character is that he doesn't have any great villans to contend with (so far at least). It is tough to be a great superhero with no great rougue's gallery to contend with.
He is, however, one of the coolest characters in the Marvel Universe and a historic figure as well. BET is apparently working on an animated series produced in conjunction with Marvel that has some noteworthy talent (Djimon Hounsou voices the character). There has been talk of a Black Panther film for at least a decade with A-list actors like Wesley Snipes (when he was an A-lister) and A-list directors like John Singleton attached in years past.
There are a couple of very fine actors who would be perfect for this role: One is the very fine actor and physically impressive Djimon Hounsou, the voice of the animated "Panther": another is the equally fine but less well known actor Chiwetel Ejiofor who impressed in the little seen Redbelt (and Serenity). As for a director? Perhaps someone like Kathryn Bigelow or even a guy like Reuben Fleishcer, whose comfort with popular genre stuff seemed apparent in the recent Zombieland.
Next Week: Luke Cage and Powerman...
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