In other cases, though, Wayne reasoned that electrokinetic powers were the perfect way of having a black hero around who could participate in a fight, but not necessarily be the one to win the. While people have used secret identities throughout history for various reasons, the use of a secret identity by a superhero dates back to the early 20 th century. 25 Superpowers DC Heroes Have (But Won't Use) - The Gamer Examples on this page don't necessarily need to be superheroes though. The reasons I can gather for this are: Black Lightnings a popular and influential early Black superhero, spawning many pastiches; electricity is a popular, versatile and impressive superpower; and possibly also the popularity of Storm and Static. Max's main weakness is his inability to . http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.phectricBlackGuy, http://variety.com/2014/tv/people-ne71-1201307918/, http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Buster-Jones/, All users, both new and returning, are expected to follow. While on the stand, a superhero named Black Vulcan expresses his frustrations over racial profiling in the superhero community. 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. Black Panther: World of Wakanda wins the 2018 GLAAD Media Award for outstanding comic, Marvel to launch new YA graphic novel line via Scholastic, Anthonys independent comics picks for January 2019, Cartoon review: Dead End: Paranormal Park, 2022 bookstore graphic novel sales: Viz, Scholastic made up nearly 43% of all sales, My favorite YouTube channels (2023 edition), Cartoons that shouldve entered public domain in 2023 (but didnt), Cartoons that shouldve entered public domain in 2022 (but didnt), Favorite cartoon sharks in honor of Shark Week, Sparky (Static Shock, Soul Powers sidekick), Bumblebee (Teen Titans; her suit lets her fire electrical stings), Spider-Man (Miles Morales) (has a bio-electric venom strike power), Aqualad (Jackson Hyde) (has an electric eel-like bio-electric power), Electro (Amazing Spider-Man 2) (a supervillain, but Im listing him anyway), Lightning Lad (from the 2019 Legion of Super-Heroes reboot), Lightning Lass (from the 2019 Legion of Super-Heroes reboot; the twin sister of Lightning Lad). Thats just for starters. Throw electric powers and missing/cybernetic limbs together, and you're got something like 70% of all Black superheroes. Comic Calls Out How So Many Black Superheroes Have Electricity Powers Superman Red/Superman Blue - Wikipedia DC's second black superhero, Jefferson Pierce is a school teacher with the ability to generate and control electricity. Theres definitely an unconscious undercutting of black heroes, keeping them just shy of being a heroic ideal, that used to be more pronounced, Wayne said. Everything You Need to Know About BLACK LIGHTNING - Nerdist Most commonly, users would be able to discharge large amounts of electricity in order to shock their opponents, potentially paralyzing them, burning them, or even stopping their hearts in severe cases. Why do so many black superheroes have electricity powers? While not as prominent as Black Lightning or Storm, I wonder if Static also helped make Black electrical heroes a popular concept. Cookie Notice As for whether increased awareness of this tendency will change anything in superhero stories, its hard to say. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. One power that the Speed Force grants the Flash is electrokinesis which allows his body to generate electricity. I was talking to my homie (also black) a while back, speaking about Demon Slayer and he asked what techniques showed was my favorite at the time (this was during season 1) and why we both texted each other in the same minute, almost verbatim, that we were both fukked with Zenitsu's power due to always being partial towards electricity/lightning powers. '&l=' + l : ''; Supposedly, Black Lightning was going to appear as a recurring character on the long-running Super Friends cartoon. Humans experience different degrees of empathy. You must log in or register to reply here. There is no more ultimate universe though. Black Noir (Batman) hides behind his creepy mask, and hardly speaks. As an elemental power, electricity manipulation is very simple and straightforward accompanied with a near-limitless myriad of uses. Every black superhero can be put into four categories, Because by the time they created the black characters they made them last and didnt want to give them the usual power set. Photo by JD Hancock (Flickr / CC BY / cropped from original). Growing up as a kid who loved comic books, I spent many an afternoon running around the park pretending to be a superhero fighting all manners of evil. Certainly, there are a number of differences between Storm, Black Lightning, (Black Lightnings daughter) Lightning, Black Vulcan, Juice, Static, and Shango the Thunderer. Below, I offer a few possible guesses why theres such a large number of Black electrical heroes. This eventually developed into a consistent pattern in which African-American superheroes, or black superheroes in general, had Shock and Awe powers. So, it seemed like a coincidence with Storm and Black Lightning being two different characters who had electricity powers. It may not display this or other websites correctly. in factor based risk modelBlog by ; why do black superheroes have electric powers . j = d.createElement( s ), dl = l != 'dataLayer' ? He was a member of the Heroes for Hire, the Defenders, the New Avengers, and the Thunderbolts. Related Posts select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. s.async = true; Black People Will Get Superpowers on December 21, Explained - The Root 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. One big omission from this list is Amazing Spider-man 2s Electro. and our f.parentNode.insertBefore( j, f ); Powers: Superhuman strength, speed, agility, X-Ray vision, heat vision, flight. (Its worth pointing out that Black Vulcan was created by Hanna-Barbera for the Superfriends cartoon, which producers felt needed a black character even though Black Lightning already existed. It looks flashy and impressive on the comics page, as well as in movies and TV shows. Beware accidentally harming allies if the user's control over electricity is not precise enough. While its heartening to hear directly from a writer about how much thought they personally put into crafting a characters identity, the point still stands that black heroes with electrical powers are an established trope. Why do so many Black superheroes have electrical powers? Unlike police, firefighters or doctors, all of whom are heroes in their own right, superheroes are defined by their unique capabilities, such flight, strength, speed or invincibility (to name a few). This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. ASKTHE QUESTION: What's the Deal with the Red and Blue Superman - DC Theres definitely an unconscious undercutting of black heroes, keeping them just shy of being a heroic ideal, that used to be more pronounced, Wayne said. If this is your first visit, be sure to But why is it so overused? Archived post. var d = document, 11 Black Superheroes That Use Electricity - The Geek Twins :youngsabo: Jupiter's Legacy is the latest superhero show to come to a streaming service following The Boys and Invincible on Amazon and Disney+'s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Everyone Loves A Superhero Movie, But Why Do Comic Book Writers And Artists Get Left In The Dust? Has anyone else noticed that a number of the black characters in comic media have electric powers? var f = d.getElementsByTagName( s )[ 0 ], the answer might be that black, lightning spun off several of these characters and inspired the others. A lot. Yeah, I've somewhat noticed this recently. w[ l ] = w[ l ] || []; Meanwhile, Justice League Unlimited created Juice, though Juice was part of a group of heroes that were a pastiche of the non-White ones on Super Friends. Thus, Juice is a pastiche of a pastiche? The Coli - The Best Hip Hop, Rap, Sports Forum and Message Board. It is one of the more practical superpowers and can be seen in different characters. The name and powers of the Ghost Rider have belonged to many Marvel heroes. Storm had weather powers but often was just giving lightning bolts everywhere, and Black Lightning had a power that wasn't really something being done at DC at the time. Why do so many Black superheroes have lightning/electric powers? Let's not forget missing limbs and/or cybernetic parts. Certainly, there are a number of differences between Storm, Black Lightning, (Black Lightnings daughter) Lightning, Black Vulcan, Juice, Static Shock and Shango the Thunderer. He's strong enough to obliterate his enemies if he so chooses to. Throughout comic book history, several black superheroes have been introduced who possess similar electromagnetic abilities. DC surprisingly did not use this trope in, Miles Morales's Venom Strike is a bio-electric attack in, Though he's an anthropomorphic dog using lightning-like pyrotechnics rather than a human superhero, Powerline in, Soul Power, a retro funk character from the, Interestingly, Static gets to be a Black Lightning stand-in in a series. why do black superheroes have electric powers. Why do most black superheroes have electric powers? Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a4354bd2708741ab4c2ad079a3bf4a63" );document.getElementById("c7cb6b8c70").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I wish I had more examples but most comic book characters are white. Taken purely at face value, it isnt difficult to understand what makes electrokinesis popular with creators. https://www.thecoli.com/threads/why-does-every-black-superhero-anime-hero-have-electric-powers.895041/page-12#post-47158854. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use and Soul Power is Black Lightning in all but name, but again, he adds to the trope of all Black superheroes having electric powers. Black superheroes go back a long way. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. The reasons I can gather for this are: Black Lightning's a popular and influential early Black superhero, spawning many pastiches; electricity is a popular, versatile and impressive superpower; and possibly also the popularity of Storm and Static. 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=' + i + dl; However, Storm summoning lightning has become a popular go-to by writers and artists, when they need to show her attacking powerful foes. Fun fact: Black Lightning isn't the only superpowered member of his family; his two daughters, Anissa and Jennifer, who will be featured on the TV series, both inherited electricity-based powers . 736 views Jun 11, 2022 29 Dislike Share Save That Indy Comics Guy 834 subscribers My collab with Deon from the BHND The Seen. dm.AjaxData.push({ et: et,d: d,ssid: ssid,ad: ad}); Its even a trope on TV Tropes (Electric Black Guy, though by no means limited to male characters). 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. I think maybe some of it is that these kinds of heroes are usually physically vulnerable. Hes since been seen in a few other media spin-offs, culminating in getting his own live-action series that ran on the CW for four seasons, from 2018 to 2021. Though her depiction is the most famous in the mainstream, it was not in my household. A. Growing up as a kid who loved comic books, I spent many an afternoon running around the park pretending to be a superhero fighting all manners of evil. Ive written before about Black Lightning, whos usually seen as the center of this trend. This eventually developed into a consistent pattern in which African-American superheroes, or black superheroes in general, had Shock and Awe powers. Will Banning TikTok Solve Privacy Issues? The only difference would be who gets paid., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9SiRNibD14. A lot. Writer Matt Wayne has helped give Milestone Media and DC Comics character Static his signature voice on a number of projects like the Static Shock animated series and various comics like Static and The Brave and the Bold: Milestone. What superhero has electric powers? | Dependable - Comic Book Pile h = d.getElementsByTagName('head')[0], Category:Electrical Powers | Superpower Wiki | Fandom Why are there so many black superheroes with electromagnetic powers First Appearance : Wonder Woman #204 (1973) Powers/Skills: Flight, super strength, speed, "cold sight," magic armor, able to open . Black DC Characters | Complete List and Descriptions I take it someone didn't read a lot of Milestone titles? More seriously though, if its being written by a white writer, chances are the white guy will be the hero. 52 (July 1966). The Flash also boasts the power of electricity absorption. Why Do Superheroes Have Secret Identities? | Wonderopolis While Volt's 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 . 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. And for the latter, its likely also an easy/affordable special effect. Precognition: Seeing the future is a lot more complicated than most movies or stories make it out to be. You are using an out of date browser. The ones we see him use the most frequently are his strength, flight powers, and heat vision as he shoots. Black Lightning 10. After gaining his electricity powers as a result of the chemical gas explosion known as "The Big Bang," young Virgil Goode decided to use his powers to stop the other "Bang Babies" (humans. Required fields are marked *. | Future Tech, Simone Giertz on Project Failures | Gizmodo Talks. Why does every black superhero have electricity? Weve seen Storm as both a lethal weather goddess and a vulnerable human. 13 Lightning Lad She can become and manipulate anything on the energy spectrum, hence one of her monikers. Of them, none are as known or important as Johnny Blaze. Taken purely at face value, its not difficult to understand what makes electrokinesis popular with creators. It's not only that if little Black girls see Ironheart being brave, they will understand that they can do the same because they look like her.. Batman is a supergenius. There was some question as to whether Static shock had the rights to use Black Lightning, so when Black Lightning appears in the cartoon he's called Soul Power. Black Lightning wouldnt defeat a villain the same way that Static would, Wayne said. 5) Lack of Peripheral Vision. However, being a walking electric company mascot is pretty far down the list of superpowers Id choose if I had a choice. There's really 2 - Black Lightning & Static. 1. You must log in or register to reply here. So they get their hits in and get taken out. In a Future Filled With Electric Cars, AM Radio May Be Left Behind. The only difference would be who gets paid., We may earn a commission from links on this page. 'gtm.start': Its also worth pointing out Black Vulcan was created after Black Lightnings creator Tony Isabella left DC over creative differences.). Both of them are black superheros with lightning powers. Privacy Policy. Starting with Black Lightning in 1977 (or possibly Storm, who pre-dates him by two years), weve gotten a ton of such superheroes. Its also reached the point where some people online mistakenly call Static Static Shock as a superhero name. Even the Black Spider-Man (Miles Morales) has electric powers :gucci: His powerset is doper than just regular spiderman's tho because he has an venom bio-electric shock BUT also invisibility. Nubia / Nu'Bia. The electromagnetically-powered hero stood out with fans for his upbeat personality and scientific knowledge, allowing him to use his powers to the fullest. The Top 10 Superheroes Who Use Fire in Marvel & DC (Ranked) But why? Biokinesis: This is the power to change or reprogram cells and DNA with your mind. why do black superheroes have electric powers
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