The Black Superhero Cookout

black superheroes at the cookout - what could be?

In the MCU, Sam Wilson is the new Captain America which we will all see in the release of Captain America: Brave New World that hits theaters February 14th. In the Marvel Comics universe Sam Wilson is just one of two Captain Americas. Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, is still young and active in his role as the star-spangled hero. To further celebrate Marvel released Sam Wilson: Captain America #1 comic book on January 1.

I wanted this issue; however, I was not able to get it because it was sold out. It was sold out because the previews showed what can only be described as a Black nerd’s dream. The previews showed almost every Black Marvel Comic character at a cookout. 

The one thing you must realize is that the representation of Black heroes in comics has not always been great and has only improved over the last 30 years in the medium.

In the early days of superhero comics, characters of color were sidekicks, servants, or comic relief just as it was in early movies.  Since these characters were not written by creators of color these characters were often misrepresented with stereotypes. The most offensive of which was a character named Steamboat Bill created in 1942 that appeared in Fawcett Comics as a pal of Captain Marvel. The earliest positive representation of Black people in comics was a 1947 comic titled All-Negro Comics written and illustrated entirely by African Americans telling various positive Black stories. Among these stories can be considered the creation of the first Black superhero Lion Man.

Sam Wilson comes to theatres and comic book stores

In the 1960s, along with the civil rights movement, comic books started catching up with the times. We saw the first Black character to headline his own book in a western hero named Lobo in 1965. The following year Marvel introduced the world to the Black Panther. The end of the 60s gave us Sam Wilson Falcon who would later become. new Captain America. The end of the 60s and the 1970s would give us characters such as Luke Cage, Black Lightning, Goliath, Storm, Cyborg, and many others. In 1993, Milestone Comics was published through DC Comics. Milestone took a page from the All-Negro Comics profile with minority writers and artist forming a separate universe with minority heroes and we were introduced to Icon, Static Shock, and others.