Good Morning POU!
Since we have so many comic book aficionados here at POU, I wanted to learn more about just who are some black superheroes in the world of Marvel and DC Comics. I got this idea because I had no idea who Luke Cage was, so I didn’t know how excited I SHOULD be with this new netflix series! So this will be just a fun week of looking at some you know and some you might not (like me)!
Publisher: Marvel Comics
1st appearance: Luke Cage, Hero for hire #1, 1972
Notes: Luke was one of the earliest blacks in comics, the 4th to be exact 🙂 He was also one of the first Black Characters to have his own self titled series, the 2nd actually 🙂 the first being Lobo
Team Affiliations: Avengers, Thunderbolts
Skills and abilities: Capable leader, self-taught street fighter with years of training, self-educated in law and able to speak several languages..
Powers: Superhuman strength able to lift about twenty-five tons and near invulnerability grants him protection from gunfire and explosions to a degree.
Background: Carl Lucas was born and raised in Harlem, New York to Esther and James Leonard Lucas. He was the eldest of two children with little brother James Lucas Jr. As a teen he was often troubled and fell in with the wrong crowd . Best friends with Willis Stryker they formed a gang alongside Comanche and Shades. Their gang was called the Rivals. Their task was to work the streets for more established mobs. Petty thefts were also a part of the game as they worked with deformed crime lord Hammer. His behavior put a strain on his family and he moved in and out of juvenile homes throughout his teen years.
He eventually left the gang lifestyle and found legitimate employment as a young adult. Despite his change in lifestyle he still considered Stryker his friend. Stryker meanwhile had remained a criminal and moved up in the ranks. When Stryker’s activities made him an enemy of the Maggia crime syndicate he was severely beaten in a mob hit and was saved only by the intervention of Lucas. When Stryker’s relationship with Reva Connors came to an end he blamed Carl with whom she grew close due to fear of Stryker’s work.
In cruel revenge Stryker planted Heroin in Lucas’s apartment then tipped off the police. Lucas was then falsely arrested and imprisoned.
Origin of a Hero
While a prisoner he idolized the African King T’challa/The Black Panther; Which led to him being mocked by his fellow inmates.
Lucas’s contact with his family also became limited as all the letters he sent to his estranged father were intercepted by his little brother, James Jr. Consumed by rage over the betrayal of his best friend, Stryker he was one of the prisoners who engaged in frequent attempts to escape and brawls. This lead to him being transferred to Seagate prison where he was targeted by racist prison guard Albert “Billy Bob” Rackham. Billy Bob brutalized Lucas at every chance though this same streak led him to be demoted and he blamed it all on Lucas. He was also reunited with former gang buddies Shades and Comanche. A Dr. Noah Burstein approached Lucas to be a test subject for experimental cell-regeneration heavily influenced by the Super-Soldier process which had been used to empower the psychotic Warhawk.
While Lucas was immersed in an organic chemical compound during the experiment “Billy Bob” intervened in a hope to maim or kill him. This intervention almost cost Lucas his life but as a side effect gave Lucas superhuman strength and durability. Using his new powers he escaped from Seagate prison and went back to New York City where fate intervened as he used his powers on two small time criminals and this inspired him to become a Hero for Hire, giving him profit, allowing him to save others, hide his identity and eventually gain revenge on his friend Stryker who was now known as the supervillain Diamondback.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Real Name: Mercedes Knight
1st appearance: (unnamed) Marvel Team-Up (1st series) #1 (March 1972), (name revealed) Marvel Premiere#20 (January, 1975)
Team Affiliations: Heroes for Hire, Villains for Hire, Daughters of the Dragon, Fearless Defenders
Skills and Abilities: Skilled martial artist whose skill allowed her to face off with X-men villain Sabertooth and fight Iron Fist to a draw in her first appearance. Since then she has had further training by Coleen Wing and Iron Fist. Trained weapon specialist with guns and one of the best detectives in the marvel universe. Her computer skills are also world-class.
Powers: Bionic arm grants her superhuman strength and she can interface with electronics through the arm. The arm itself is a product of Stark Technologies made from Antarctic vibranium and diamond. This also allows her arm to liquefy even adamantium at close range. The arm also grants limited technopathy allowing her to control machines.
Background: Misty Knight was a hard-hitting and controversial New York city cop working for the NYPD’s bomb squad who lost her arm during a bomb blast [Daughters of the Dragon #4]. She resigned from the force after this and got a bionic arm courtesy of Tony Stark/Iron Man [Marvel Team-Up #1, March 1972]. A chance encounter with Spider-man [Marvel Team-Up #1, March 1972], Iron Fist [Marvel Premier #15] and new roommate Jean Grey[X-men v1. #102] made her a part-time superhero. Jean would eventually return to the X-men. On her own again she befriended Samurai Coleen Wing after saving her from an attempted rape [Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu #32-33]. The two women would later found “Nightwing Restorations Ltd” a private investigations bureau.
She fell in love with martial artist Iron Fist and helped him on his adventures. The most notable being against John Bushmaster [Iron Fist #15] and later the Steel Serpent [Marvel Team-Up #64]. Misty would befriend Luke Cage after the two fought [Powerman #48].