In all of the celebration and joy surrounding the Black Panther release tomorrow, there’s been a few naysayers stating that this T’Challa isn’t technically the first Black superhero. People have mentioned movies like X-Men, Catwoman, Blade and a few others and while those movies did have a Black superhero they were either a supporting role or were a speck of pepper in the salt shaker. Well, those naysayers are correct, T’Challa might not be the first Black superhero, but ‘Black Panther’ is the first superhero movie of it’s kind. The entire cast screams Black excellence, from the actors to the story to the minute details like hair and wardrobe. I even read an article recently that said that none of the actresses had relaxed hair. I repeat there were no perms in Wakanda! That’s HUGE! I feel like the actresses’ natural hair fit the narrative and the country that they live in, but it’s also a big deal when you think about why there’s no need for it. There’s no need to assimilate in Wakanda. No one deemed natural hair ugly, unacceptable or unprofessional in Wakanda. Men and women were allowed to grow and style their locks how they saw fit without fear of being ostracized or punished and I LOVE IT! I know it’s just a fictional story about a fictional place, but embracing small things go a long way.
Like I said earlier, ‘Black Panther’ isn’t the first Black superhero movie so I wanted to shine a light on previous ones that have come before it.
Halle Berry – She’s actually been a hero twice, once as Catwoman and then as Storm in the X-Men series.
Will Smith – Hancock might have been a drunk for part of the movie, but he was a hero nonetheless and saved the world from some serious mess. I also think that Will was a hero in the ‘Men in Black’ series (his gadgets cemented him as a superhero in my eyes).
Wesley Snipes – The ‘Blade’ series, especially ‘Blade Trinity’ not only introduced us to Sanai Lathan but showed us that Wesley could be a superhero!
Michael B Jordan – I know he plays the villain in ‘Black Panther’, but he was a good guy in the most recent ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot.
Ray Fisher & Lee Thompson Young – Both of these guys have portrayed Cyborg.
Anthony Mackie – He’s been doing a great job playing Falcon in the ‘Avengers’ series.
Mike Colter – You might recognize him as Luke Cage from the Netflix series bearing the same name.
Cress Williams – He recently joine the superhero tribe when he took on the role as ‘Black Lightening’ in the CW Series. In fact, this series might the first of it’s kind. A superhero show where most of the cast are people of color!
So yeah, ‘Black Panther’ might not be the first and I’m hoping it won’t be the last superhero movie of it’s kind. Representation matters, hands down. People want to see heroes who look like them on the screen, especially kids. I even plan on channeling my inner kid when I go to all of the screenings of the movie this weekend, including the first one tonight. How many of y’all plan on seeing this movie during opening weekend? Comment below and let me know! Oh, and let me know if I’m missing any other heroes!