Why Black Super Heroes Succeed- and Fail

[NinjaJack]

Animelee Warned for Language

A recent ABC news article
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Entertainment/US/spiderman_black_hero_040629-1.html

Comments?

 

[GL2k2]

Hey, I read this article yesterday. Very informative. I really think it doesn't have anything to do with just black superheroes, it's black anything. What needs to happen is to just crush stereotypes, because that makes a person more human, but these black comedies just continue to harp on it and make money off of acting a fool. Once you do that, the world won't have prejudgment of people of skin color. But it's not going to happen anytime soon.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Luke Cage was cool.

 

[EroSennin]

Arent they forgeting Blade, Blade 2 and Blade III? I mean this was the whole start to the comic book movie craze back in 1998 and was first to have a sequal and soon to be trilogy.

 

[Knight]

True Blade was the movie that launched Marvel into the realm of successful movies. But it is often neglected and seldom mentioned when a lot when people discuss Marvel movies I've noticed. I personally love the franchise which has been by far the most successful black centered superhero series of movies going. Im sure most people would agree Blade is better than the Steel and Spawn movies.

 

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

They do mention the Blade movies way down at the very end of the article as one of the successes. The only real reason I can think of why the franchise isn't mentioned earlier is because nobody associates it with being from a comic book, as they do with Superman or Spidey.

Also, while it's made enough money to generate 2 sequels, it hasn't made the kind of insane money of movies like Pirates of the Caribbean or Spider-Man or a Harry Potter film.

A while ago, I had a vague concept for a Green Lantern feature film with Hal Jordan (or John Stewart, if you like) as a black Air Force pilot in the 50's or 60's, willing to face down institutionalized racism from the USAF and society at large in addition to the usual fears of being a pilot at the dawn of the jet age. It would give an additional rationale behind GL's fearlessness and willpower, though I'm sure the rabid GL lunatic fringe (read: insane Hal Jordan fanatics) would be screaming for my head on a pike.

-- Ed/Ace

 

[GL2k2]

I think Denzel would make a great Green Lantern if a movie was done. Plus he would bring a huge budget that it deserves.

 

[Storm]

It's a shame that black characters aren't offered the big limelight like Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man. We came a long way (more supporting positive black characters and even a few better known characters: Storm, The Falcon, and Steel) but the comic industry could do a lot better treating black, asian, and hispanic character with respect. The biggest flaw in the industry is that creators make certain characters black to be black. I want to see a character who happens to be black and has a great story to tell. With the upcoming Luke Cage movie and Blade III maybe comics and the Hollywood industry will take black superheroes seriously.... just don't let Halle Berry get to any of the projects, lol.


BTW, Denzel as John Stewart?!? Interesting.



- Storm

 

[GL2k2]

I think the two major characters that are riding on success or failure in the black community are Black Panther and Luke Cage. Both are representative of the social outlooks of blacks, one that was an incarcerated felon the other an African prince. Two total opposites. If done right, they could both really be excellent films, no matter what.

Even the constant teaming of DMX and Jet Li bring up memories of Powerman and Iron Fist or something.

Wesley has said he would do Black Panther after Blade 3. Amen Ra productions owns the rights.

I believe John Singleton has read the script for Luke Cage, and he likes it, so that may be his next project.

 

[CookieS]

The main reason we don't have many minority super heroes is because a bulk of the super heroes we have today are the same ones we had 50 years ago (prior to civil rights movements). I think there has been a lot of great African American in more recent super hero history, as EroSennin mentioned, are still around. Anyone watch Static Shock?

 

[shogunthethird]

Blade's a badass to be sure, catwoman...well let's just say I bet Ertha Kitt is PISSED (oh yeah, go from weather goddess to starring as some tralk in a bat fetish costume...REAAAAAL professional) and I'd say Power Man/Iron Fist sounds like it'd be a great buddy movie, sort of like "rush hour" with superheroes, and speaking of black superheroes, I've heard rumors of one of the studios doing a paranormal detective-type show starring (I swear I'm not making this up) Brother Voodoo

 

[Antiyonder]

Arent they forgeting Blade, Blade 2 and Blade III? I mean this was the whole start to the comic book movie craze back in 1998 and was first to have a sequal and soon to be trilogy.

The Blade movies are R Rated, therefore don't get heavy marketing.

 

[GL2k2]

I've heard rumors of one of the studios doing a paranormal detective-type show starring (I swear I'm not making this up) Brother Voodoo

That would be very sweet. I can actually imagine that if done right.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

It's a shame that black characters aren't offered the big limelight like Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man. - Storm

That's not a color thing. Those are three A-List comic characters. Most black comic book characters are either part of a team, or are B-level (Blade) at best. It's not "We want to make a Superman movie because he's not black." It's more like "We want to make a Superman movie because people have actually heard of him."

 

[Storm]

That's not a color thing. Those are three A-List comic characters. Most black comic book characters are either part of a team, or are B-level (Blade) at best. It's not "We want to make a Superman movie because he's not black." It's more like "We want to make a Superman movie because people have actually heard of him."

You make some good points but I'm still not convinced. The thing is Hollywood could take a chance with more black characters and mold them into successes like Spider-Man and X-Men. Period. Do they want to? Some of them, yes. Some of them, no. Half of Hollywood is still a narrow minded place and it will be for a long time until we'll see an Icon or Black Panther motion picture done right where the public would love it as much as they have love Spider-Man and Batman.

catwoman...well let's just say I bet Ertha Kitt is PISSED (oh yeah, go from weather goddess to starring as some tralk in a bat fetish costume...REAAAAAL professional)

The thing about Catwoman is not that Halle Berry is in it (well maybe for some people) nor that she played Storm to move on to another comic based heroine. That's not being non-professional. That's actually smart on her part since comic book movies are the "IT" thing in Hollywood. However the Catwoman movie itself is not following the real comic based history of Selina Kyle. I wouldn't mind Halle Berry as Catwoman it's just that the movie plot and that disgusting costume itself are major turnoffs when it comes to this film. Sometimes race is not an issue when it comes to comic based movies. I thought Micheal Clark Duncan was a great Kingpin and some part of me could even say that Halle Berry would do a good Catwoman/Selina Kyle but after the whole X-Men fiasco I suggest she shouldn't touch another comic based project as long as she continues with her career.



- Storm

 

[Chris Wood]

Lame article. Firstly I hate it when people act like blacks are the only minority around. It's not the 60s anymore. The article should be about "minority" superheroes.

Secondly, there's no mention of the mighty Black Vulcan, the first black TV superhero.

 

[Slade_Wilson]

Lame article. Firstly I hate it when people act like blacks are the only minority around. It's not the 60s anymore. The article should be about "minority" superheroes.

Secondly, there's no mention of the mighty Black Vulcan, the first black TV superhero.

Black vulcan was a superfriends token along side apache chief and the tornado samurai guy. He falls into one of those old traps of being made because they wanted to be PC. These days, other minorities are treated better as far as anything entertainment wise than blacks.

Let's be real. The true reason why we don't see black heroes in movies is because most of them are unbelievable and protray us in unpleasant ways.

Luke cage is a shining example. From his less than stellar origin to the way he talks is a slap in the face to all of us as african americans. He does nothing but show us how others view black in society.

on top of giving us origins and powers that do not take themselves seriously, we are also superheroes with catches. We either have to be anti heroes, get paid to do good, or something else that basically sees us as unheroic.

Black Panter, Storm, and a few others stand as examples that try to stray away from those themes, but it doesn't help that they are either unknown, or pushed out of the spotlight because they are affiliated with others.

To make matters worse, its no secret that racism has a lot to do with them not getting the play they should. I mean come on, look at the contraversy that surrounded Jon Stewart being in the Justice leauge cartoon. You cannot tell me that some of that was not based on racism and not on keeping true with the team's roster. SURE

 

[Chris Wood]

[Slade_Wilson]Black vulcan was a superfriends token along side apache chief and the tornado samurai guy. He falls into one of those old traps of being made because they wanted to be PC.

Maybe, but he was a cool character all the same.

These days, other minorities are treated better as far as anything entertainment wise than blacks.

I disagree. How many hispanic or asian american superstars can you name? There are many more black stars.

Luke cage is a shining example. From his less than stellar origin to the way he talks is a slap in the face to all of us as african americans. He does nothing but show us how others view black in society.

Er, perhaps, but sweet Christmas, he is one bad mother.

I mean come on, look at the contraversy that surrounded Jon Stewart being in the Justice leauge cartoon. You cannot tell me that some of that was not based on racism and not on keeping true with the team's roster. SURE

Well, I can't speak for other fans, but when I think of Green Lantern I think of the Green Lantern I grew up with - Hal Jordan. Just like when I think of Batman I think of Bruce Wayne. And when I think of Black Vulcan I think of.... er, did they ever tell us his real name?

 

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

If Black Vulcan (that's SUPERVOLT! ) came off better than the Samurai or Apache Chief on the old Superfriends show, it's because he was a thinly disguised cover for Black Lightning. The best article I can find that provides extended context is here at 411mania.com.

I also have to question how well Asians, at least, are treated in mainstream America when William Hung gets his 15 minutes of stardom on something barely more than Chinese minstrelsy, and all the other major Asian stars are either sex objects (Kelly Hu and Lucy Liu) or kung-fu masters (Jackie Chan and Jet Li). At least Denzel can headline movies that don't rely on him being black (The Pelican Brief and John Q come to mind).

Part of me rankles at rotten depictions of minorities of all colors in the movies and TV. The other part of me thinks that it's really tough to complain about the meal when you don't even have a seat at the table yet. In any event, I think arguing over which minority gets the best/worst treatment in media is kind of like three or four steerage class passengers of the Titanic arguing over which one has the biggest chunk of driftwood while they're freezing to death next to a lifeboat filled with rich white people .

-- Ed/Ace

 

[Westlander]

I thought Micheal Clark Duncan was a great Kingpin

Well, I didn't like M.C. Duncan as Kingpin because it reminded me of a nasty stereotype (probably still prevalent) that Afro-Americans are mostly criminals.