Good Morning! We continue looking at some of the black superheroes in the world of Comic Books.
Publisher: DC Comics
1st appearance: Batman #250, 1973
Team Affiliations: Batman incorporated, Justice League International
Skills and Abilities: David is a prodigious armed and unarmed combatant famed as one of the most gifted child soldiers in African history. His has a natural aptitude with weapons and infiltration as well. David also has martial arts training from time in the police academy and prodigious tactical insight. He has also been trained by Batman as a detective like Nightwing/Dick Grayson, Tim Drake/Red Robin and Jason Todd/Red Hood. David also has an indomitable will and a pain thresh hold above that of a normal human Eg. David was able to still fight after having a lung punctured by a machete at close range once while still suffering from that injury he flew 1/2 a mile to engage the villain Massacre. Only blood loss prevented his optimal functioning in combat.
Powers: He is a peak human athlete in exceptional condition. Like most of the Batman Family/Batman Inc. he has no superhuman abilities. His powers come from his batsuit.
Equipment: Jet propelled flight and wings that glide on air currents. His suit is also reinforced and serves as armor enhancing his physical blows while protecting him from injury. His mask also has infrared specs allowing him to see in the dark.His gauntlets also appear able to generate energy blades.
Background: The origin of Africa’s Batman, David Zavimbe, is truly brutal. While Bruce Wayne’s parents were murdered, they left him a loving caretaker and a fortune. When David Zavimbe’s parents were taken by AIDS, he and his brother were drafted as child soldiers — and he got terrifyingly good at it.
It wasn’t until he disobeyed an order to torch a village full of women and children that he fled and rededicated his life to justice as a member of the utterly corrupt Congolese police force. All of this made him an ideal candidate when Batman went global in the Batman Incorporated series, inducting new Batmen all over the world, but few likely to be as enduring as Batwing, currently the only international Batman to be given his own series.
This origin story aside, the Batwing mantle has already changed hands once, and the man in the suit is currently Luke Fox (the son of Wayne Enterprises inventor Lucius Fox, portrayed by Morgan Freeman in the movies).
Publisher: Milestone Media llc.
1st appearance: Static #1, 1993
Facts: He’s most famous for having his own cartoon series on kids WB and making guest appearances on the cartoon network Justice League.
Real Name: Virgil Ovid Hawkins
Skills and Abilities: Virgil is a keen scientific mind
Powers: Static is able to generate, manipulate, absorb and re-channel electromagnetic energy on a large and ever-expanding scale. He usually uses his powers to generate shields, fire potent bolts of lighting and manipulate electronic items.
Perhaps due to the nature of his powers he has a measure of resistance to telepathic probes and mind control. He was able to resist the control of a telepathic bee queen in Dakota and later avoid telepathic detection by Miss Martian. Unlike most subjected to the anti-life equation he was also able to break free on multiple occasions and had to be heavily sedated before given another dose.
Equipment: The costume supplied by Hardware gives him a degree of resistance from injury. The can also generate holographic displays. He also has a “static Saucer; composed of six part separate metallic pieces which he can manipulate with his electromagnetic powers for both offensive and defensive purposes. They can also be collapsed for easy storage. For close quarters and hand to hand combat Virgil now also has a retractable Bo-Staff.
Background: A flagship character from DC’s African-American-focused Milestone imprint, Static was partially envisioned as a contemporary reinterpretation of Peter Parker. After getting doused with experimental chemicals, Virgil Hawkins gained electromagnetic powers and donned the identity of Static to help him balance crime-fighting and high school as teen heroes are wont to do.
Virgil Ovid Hawkins was what one would classify as a “geek” and as a result was bullied in school [Static #1]. He had a confidence issue and tried to mask it by being a ‘clown’. Alongside being a bright student he was also a comic and video game fan [Static Shock: The Rebirth of the Cool #1]. After moving to Dakota with his family he also tutored Larry Wade in math [Static #1].
The first day he met Frieda Goren he was instantly smitten. They seemed to have mutual chemistry. This was the day Francis Stone, aka Biz-Money-B decided to give him a proper pounding in the school hall. This resulted in major embarrassment for Virgil who cried in front of everyone. On the way home he was also chided by the teens in his building and embarrassed even more. That night he spoke to Frieda who only proved to further anger Virgil over being so spineless and weak. His friend Larry thought Virgil should “kill” Biz-Money and gave him a gun to carry out the act at the Big Bang. Virgil waited and aimed but could not kill another human being[Static #1].
It was this altercation where he first became “superhuman”. Doused with an experimental chemical by the police, who arrived during the showdown with Biz-Money-B, The authorities arrive and release tear gas with what they believe to be a harmless radioactive marker so that any gang members would not escape arrest. Virgil passes out. The cops do not know the marker had been further spiked with an experimental mutagen called Quantum Juice (Q-Juice). This event ultimately came to be known as the so-called “Big Bang.” Those who were exposed came to be referred to as “Bang Babies” because the Big Bang was their metahuman birth. When Virgil awoke he found almost everyone dead and soon discovers his new abilities.
When the agency behind the experiment tried to capture him, he fights back, discovering that he has gained the ability to generate, manipulate, and control electromagnetism. Virgil names himself “Static” and, armed with his wits and powers, became a superhero. For the most part, Virgil keeps his secret from his family, but his friend, Frieda Goren, learns his identity when he attempts to protect her from becoming a prize in a small skirmish between gangs.