13 Lightning Lad Still, the popularity of Black electrical superheroes like Black Lightning, Storm, and Static doesnt seem to be waning anytime soon. Blog status update (January 2019): Shuttering the blogs Facebook page (again). A superhero is a character with extraordinary powers that performs heroic actions. A character based on Black Lightning named Morris Grant / Soul Power appears in the Static Shock episode "Blast from the Past", [citation needed] voiced by Brock Peters. The Black Electricity Trope reads like a distant cousin to the Magical Negro, in that theyre both established formulations of a character whose most defining qualities are a preternatural understanding and command of natural force. /* ]]> */. s.type = 'text/javascript'; Weve seen Storm as both a lethal weather goddess and a vulnerable human. This part. As an elemental power, electricity manipulation is very simple and straightforward accompanied with a near-limitless myriad of uses. Falcon (1969) The first Black superhero in mainstream comics whose life was based in the US was Sam Wilson, alias "Falcon." Raised in Harlem, he works as a social worker after the violent death of . Introduced in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975), Ororo Munroe has gone on to become one of the most popular Black superheroes. While Volts powers are a playful jab at superhero comics as a whole, they do raise a number of questions about what it means exactly when creators choose to turn black characters into walking, talking batteries. Its led to Static making appearances in other subsequent DC-related media, as well as plenty of nostalgia for the cartoon. Thor has all of Asgard. Black Lightning. I wish I had more examples but most comic book characters are white. ", wherein Miles is the literal god of thunder (and all of Norse mythology stereotypically echoes African-American culture). Ambient Energy Absorption. But why? Sorry to disappoint you, but Black Lightning is not Static Shock. I take it someone didn't read a lot of Milestone titles? Weve seen Storm as both a lethal weather goddess and a vulnerable human. Why do so many Black superheroes have electrical powers? In Marvel comics, Miles Morales, the new Spider-Man has the abilities of a spider, but can also control electricity. He is an elderly superhero who acquired his powers following an accident at the Hoover Dam and operated in Dakota during the 1960s alongside his sidekick Sparky. When I spoke with Wayne recently, he assured me that, when creating a new character and deciding which powers they should have, every comics writer sits down and considers how similar their creation will end up to others that came before them. Superheroes are also expected to act on a strict moral code. In the 1903 novel "The Scarlet Pimpernel," Englishman Sir Percy Blakeney keeps his true identity hidden when he performs heroic acts as the Scarlet Pimpernel. It's also a good generic power, like super-strength and flight. /* John's Of 12th Street Meatball Recipe, Discontinued Chocolate Bars, Join Class Action Lawsuit Against Paypal, Articles W