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JaDarrel Belser, Author at GeeksHaveGame

COMIC-CON SPECIAL EDITION [SDCC 2021]: But, HOW Special?

What’s happening, people? It’s your boy The Belser back again with another awe-inspiring article here on GeeksHaveGame.  Today’s piece is something of a milestone for our site.. I was informed by the former “Monsignor” Moody that I am the very first reporter to represent the All-New GHG at San Diego Comic-Con 2021.

Pretty cool stuff, man.

Being the first reporter to rep the new GHG is a tremendous honor and one that I did not take lightly.

As for Comic-Con itself, this is actually the first time I’ve been able to go to a con since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. As I expected, the crowd itself was much lighter than the usual years in which I’ve attended. Usually, you can’t even navigate SDCC without bumping into GodknowsHowmanyGeeks. This year, it was a relatively snap.  So, to switch things up a bit — opposed to the usual panel coverage and what not — your boy decided to comment on the experience itself.


Panels and (A Lack of) Celebrities

As a result of the pandemic, the subject matter of the panels this year really suffered. A lot of very generic topics were used and, quite frankly, none of them really caught my eye. Also, they were no special celebrity signings at all. I saw they had Brent Spiner (‘Data‘ from Star Trek: The Next Generation) but he was there the prior day. Not exactly William Shatner.

Loki was a popular choice too..

Cosplay Trends

One of the hallmarks of Comic-Con is seeing all the various costuming by the attendees and the hard work that’s put into them. The usual conventions of cosplay were there– Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc. However, this year also noticed a few trends that I caught onto more than most.

Marvel’s Disney+ shows: It was clear that the programming Marvel Studios supplied us with over the last year on Disney+ made a very big impact on the patrons of Comic-Con. One of the most fun costumes of the past year was  in response to the popular Tom Hiddleston series Loki. Lokis of various ages, races and genders were all over. I’ve been spotted an entire family of Lokis where the dad was ‘President Loki‘, the mom was ‘Sylvie‘ and the baby was ‘Alligator Loki‘.

WandaVision got a lot of love…

Another show that got a lot of love was WandaVision. The show them a lot of love I spotted a lot of Scarlet Witches throughout Comic-Con. I even caught a couple that were together as Wanda and Vision. However, one show that did not get a lot of cosplay love was The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. I think I spotted maybe two Captain America/ Falcon costumes. Most of the Cap cosplay was of the Chris Evans version.

Star Wars: Now, the Con had no shortage of Jedi, Stormtroopers, Wookies, Darth Vaders and Slave Bikini Leias. I saw more appreciation for newer shows like THE MANDALORIAN and THE BAD BATCH. I also spotted some Ahsoka Tanos and one Cara Dune. There was even a Mandalorian Cosplay society recruiting new members for Southern California.

The Avengers Mech Armor was on full display.

Exhibits of Anime: Of course, Anime is going to get a lot of love but I did notice a lot of characters of celebrating anniversaries of some sort.

  • Gundam Wing:  Bandai Namco Collectibles brought The Gundam Base to SDCC, making it the first-ever Gundam Base outside of Asia. The pop-up showcased over 150 different GUNPLA model kits including event exclusives, The Gundam Base exclusives, and Gundam Factory Yokohama exclusives.

  • Kamen Rider 50th Anniversary: Bandai Namco also celebrated the popular Kamen Rider franchise which features an insect themed superhero with a motorcycle who fights supervillains. The franchise started in 1971 with the Kamen Rider television series and spawned several television and film sequels (including ‘ Masked Rider‘ on Fox Kids!).
Pac-Man Museum was a fun interactive experience.
  • Pac-Man Museum: The still popular video game franchise started in 1980 was the 2020 Museum Character Hall of Fame Inductee. To celebrate, they created an exhibit to commemorate the release of the upcoming release of PAC-MAN MUSEUM video game. PAC-MAN MUSEUM features 9 games from the Pac-Man series (10 including Ms. Pac-Man), that range from the original maze games, puzzle games and platformers.

Consensus

Despite the faults, This Special Edition really was fun and the staff and attendees were all optimistic that the Comic-Con of old will return to San Diego. This event was just a taste of the good times to come and I, for one, will be the first in line when they do. 3/5 Bud Lights.

UNTIL NEXT TIME..

-JaDarrel Belser

THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER [Season 1 Review]: New Face, Same Shield.

So, A Black Captain America, huh?

Damn Right.

-Isaiah Bradley and Sam Wilson

JaDarrell “The Belser”
@TheBelser

Howdy, folks! The Belser is back again here on the rechristened GeeksHaveGame and happy to be back on the review tip. My review today will be of the latest Disney Plus Marvel television show, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Now, of all the many shows that were announced to be launched on Disney Plus, this is the one I was anticipating the most

WandaVision was a pleasant surprise and I’m sure LOKI will be wonderful in its own right; but this is more my jam. Captain America is my favorite of the original Avengers and the Cap films in the MCU are the best (and most consistent). Let’s explore how the franchise translates into the world of television, shall we?

SYNOPSIS

Picking up right after Avengers: Endgame,  Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is struggling with the decision made by Steve Rogers to anoint him the shield and the mantle of Captain America. Sam does not see himself as worthy of the title and donates the shield to the Smithsonian. Sam wants to lay the legacy of his friend to rest, but the U.S. government has other ideas. They anoint a new Captain America of their own choosing in the form of decorated vet John Walker (Wyatt Russell).

Meanwhile, a new militant group called The Flag Smashers led by Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman) are on the scene to revert the world back to the way it was during the Blip. With the.. reluctant.. help of Steve’s best friend, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Sam goes on a journey to discover, not only why he was chosen to be the new Captain America, but also to discover for himself that he is truly the best man for the job.

A COMPLICATED LEGACY

Who knew Steve Rogers would cast such a long shadow?

This show brings up some very interesting questions about the legacy of Captain America. Obviously, for his contributions in World War II and his time as the leader of the Avengers, Steve Rogers forged a legacy and reputation that would make it nearly impossible for any man to try to step into his shoes. This show illustrates that point at an almost non-stop rate. However, the image of Captain America raises a lot of interesting questions that were built into in the series.

Outdated ideals: Captain America himself is a product of World War II propaganda. Many of the characters throughout the show consider those ideas to be relics in this new world that we live in. Is Captain America the idea of what we want America to be or is it what America actually is?

What makes a Super Soldier?: The Super Soldier Serum is the main McGuffin used throughout this series. It is pursued and/or ingested by many different characters with varying results. This speaks to the words of Abraham Erskine in Captain America: The First Avenger:

“The serum amplifies everything that is inside, so good becomes great, bad becomes worse.”

There are many episodes on where the characters debate among themselves if the idea of a super soldier is even right and debate the applications of being a super soldier:

  • Baron Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) feel they should be outlawed, feeling the desire to become  one cannot be separated from supremacist ideals.
  • Sam Wilson refuses to become one altogether.
  • John Walker becomes one to satisfy a need for power and control.
  • Karli Morgenthau and the Flag Smashers use it to facilitate change but fall into extremist methods.

Race: This show tackles the idea of racial inequality in this country more openly than any other Marvel project outside of Luke Cage on Netflix. In particular, the idea of American society accepting a black man in the role of Captain America given the tragic history of black people in the country. Cap is, for all intents and purposes, is supposed to be the perfect blond-haired, blue-eyed white bread representation of the ultimate ‘All-American Hero‘. Steve Rogers is the ‘idealist‘ America while Sam is the ‘true‘ America. This is definitely the first time that the MCU itself has openly delved into such a controversial subject. I highly commend Marvel and Disney for having the the wherewithal to even approach the subject the way they did. 

BELSER’S TOP 3

While I enjoyed many of the characters on the show, let’s highlight the three that stood out the most to me:

The New Captain America

SAM WILSON

Though he shares the billing of the show with The Winter Soldier, this show is clearly mainly about Sam’s journey to becoming the new Captain America. Initially, he is hesitant to take on the mantle because of the huge legacy and the responsibilities associated with it. However, as the story progresses, we, the audience, see why Sam was chosen. His empathy, his leadership qualities and his ability to communicate rather than resort to violence make him the perfect candidate to be the new Cap. More importantly, we see how this journey makes Sam himself realize that he has to take on this mantle rather than put it in the hands of others. To paraphrase Erskine once more,  Sam was chosen not because he is ‘a perfect soldier‘. He was chosen because he is ‘a good man‘.

FACT: Sam’s new Captain America suit being created by the Wakandans is a nod to the comics in which Black Panther is responsible for Sam’s flying harness.

The Wannabe Captain America

JOHN WALKER

As the government’s handpicked candidate for Cap, Walker essentially seen as a sort of newfound version of Cap’s initial U.S.O. persona: a cartoonish celebrity meant to represent all the positive imagery that America wishes to convey to the world. However, Walker is shown to be the enforcement officer for the agenda of the GRC (Global Repatriation Council). Walker seems to relish in the power of being Captain America. However, he frequently does not get the respect that he feels he deserves due to that title. That disrespect, plus the massive responsibility that has been heaped on his shoulders, causes him to undergo quite a psychological change and become more violent and power-hungry. 

FACT: In the comics, John Walker starts out as a glory hog superhero wannabe called Super Patriot. His whole purpose was to stage fights in which he would win and then use the media coverage to bash Steve Rogers as Captain America. Also, he and Lemar Hoskins (Battlestar) received their powers from the Power Broker.

The Forgotten Captain America

ISAIAH BRADLEY

This was the character I anticipated the most as he makes his live action debut in this series. Isaiah is shown here is being a super-soldier created after World War II and used mainly during the Korean War. However, because of his race, Isaiah was highly disrespected and subjected to inhumane treatment and torture for 30 years.  After being declared dead,  current-day Isaiah has a justifiably bitter disposition towards the U.S. government and the mantle of Captain America. Isaiah’s point of view on the subject matter of a black Captain America is really the most compelling to me of any character on the show.

FACT: While Isaiah is shown to be coherent in the series, the comic book version of Isaiah has a much more tragic fate:  His version of serum is shown to be unstable. It leaves him sterile and deteriorates his mind to that of a small child.

Dance, anyone?

BREAKOUT-  BARON ZEMO

The re-emergence of Daniel Bruhl as Baron Zemo has really become a huge boon for the series . After escaping from prison,  Zemo helps Bucky and Sam track down the Power Broker, which eventually leads them to Karli. The MCU does a slight retcon to the character. Zemo is not just a soldier in the Sokovian Special Forces as seen in Captain America: Civil War; He’s actually a rich Baron with access to a private plane, a butler and expensive flats all around the world. His charming and mysterious manner has made him an internet sensation. A simple clip of him dancing in episode three went viral, having millions of Internet fans calling for the release of the Zemo Cut (basically an hour of extended material showing Zemo dancing to a techno beat).

FACT:  In the comics, Baron Zemo is an official German title with a long lineage. There have been 13 Baron Zemos, two of which (Heinrich and Helmut) became arch-enemies of Captain America.

FAV EPS

“The Whole World is Watching”

“I agree with your fight. I just can’t get with the way you’re fighting it.” – Sam to Karli

Bucky is given eight hours to use Zemo before the Wakandans take him, as Zemo killed their king T’Chaka.  Zemo helps them find Karli Morgenthau at a funeral for her adoptive mother. Sam speaks with Morgenthau alone and attempts to persuade her to end the violence, but an impatient Walker intervenes, and a fight ensues. Zemo destroys most of the serum before he is apprehended by Walker, who secretly takes the last vial. Ayo and the Dora Milaje come for Zemo, but Walker refuses to hand him over. In the ensuing fight, the Dora Milaje humiliate Walker while Zemo escapes. Walker engages other members of the Flag Smashers, leading to another fight in which Karli accidentally kills Lemar Hoskins, Walker’s partner.

Best Moment:  John Walker mercilessly kills a member of The Flag Smashers with Captain America’s shield in full view of a large crowd. The image of this new Captain America standing with the shield tainted with blood is as iconic and striking an image the MCU has ever produced. Just looking at the chatter and the reactions online, I would say this will probably be the most brutal MCU moment since Thanos’s “Snap” in Avengers: Infinity War.

“Truth”

“They will never let a black man be Captain America. And even if they did, no self-respecting black man would ever wanna be.” – Isaiah Bradley

After the public murder of the Flag Smasher, Sam  and Bucky take the shield from Walker, breaking Walker’s arm in the process. Bucky finds Zemo in Sokovia and hands him over to the Dora Milaje.  For the murder, John Walker is given an other than honorable discharge and is stripped of his title as Captain America. Afterward, Walker is approached by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Wilson leaves the damaged wingsuit with Torres and visits Bradley for a heartfelt talk. Wilson returns home and helps fix the family boat, with assistance from several locals and Barnes, who delivers a briefcase from the Wakandans to Wilson. Barnes and Wilson train with the shield and agree to move on from their pasts and work together. The Flag Smashers plan an attack on a GRC conference in New York City and are joined by Batroc, who Carter has secretly hired. 

BEST MOMENT

Art imitating life becomes art again in live action.

The one on one conversation between Isaiah Bradley and Sam Wilson in Isaiah’s living room is one of the most powerful scenes the MCU has ever produced.  During which, Isaiah states his belief that a Black man cannot, and should not, be Captain America. It’s heartbreaking and eerily realistic. The information given by Isaiah to Sam about his tragic history is almost verbatim the storyline of that character in the comic book mini series TRUTH: RED, WHITE AND BLACK (the main differences being that Isaiah’s story in the comic is set in World War II and his wife does not die).

“One World, One People”

“I’m a Black man carrying the stars and stripes. What don’t I understand? Every time I pick this thing up, I know there are millions of people out there who are going to hate me for it. Even now, here, I feel it. The stares, the judgement, and there’s nothing I can do to change it. Yet, I’m still here. No super serum, no blond hair, or blue eyes. The only power I have is that I believe we can do better.” – Sam Wilson

Sam Wilson makes his public debut as Captain America, wearing a new  uniform and flight suit as he  flies to New York to stop the Flag Smashers’ attack on the GRC. With the help of Barnes, Sharon Carter, and John Walker, Sam attempts one last time to reason with Morgenthau before Sharon kills her. The remaining Flag Smashers are caught and sent to the Raft, but they are killed by Zemo’s butler. De Fontaine gives Walker a new uniform and codename: U.S. Agent. Barnes makes amends with everyone he hurt or enabled as the Winter Soldier. Lastly, Sam has a memorial dedicated to Isaiah Bradley added to the Captain America museum exhibit at The Smithsonian. 

Best Moment:  Having saved the GRC, Sam takes them to task in front of the world media with an impassioned speech. Wilson convinces the GRC to postpone the forced relocation of displaced people that Morgenthau died fighting for and instead make efforts to help them. 

Trivia:

Carl Lumbly, the actor who plays Isaiah Bradley, is a veteran of superhero shows: He was the voice of The Martian Manhunter in the Cartoon Network DC shows Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. He was also the star of M.A.N.TI.S. on FOX, the very first live action show based on an African-American superhero.

One of the more controversial scenes of the series in episode one in which Sam Wilson is denied a bank loan (despite the fact he’s known worldwide as an Avenger). Sam explains that the Avengers do not get paid for the services as they live off of the goodwill of others. In the comics, The Avengers actually DO get paid.  While on active duty, The Avengers receive a monthly stipend through The Maria Stark Foundation, a trust fund founded by Iron Man specifically to fund The Avengers and not interfere with Stark Industries. They are also provided full access to the amenities of the Avengers Mansion including housing and the many gadgets and vehicles at their disposal.

The story that shaped this series….

The vast majority of the storyline of this series is based on the storyline entitled “The Captain“, written by Mark Gruenwald. Starting from Captain America issue #332 to #350,  the storyline featured  an organization known as The Commission On Superhuman Affairs as they try to force Steve Rogers to abide by their will. It is revealed that when Steve agreed to become Captain America , he had signed up to serve as “America’s official mascot” and the Captain America uniform, shield, and name were all property of the U.S. government. When Rogers refuses to comply, he gives up the title of Captain America and is replaced by John Walker. In the end ,Walker proves to be too unstable and Rogers has to return to stop him.

One World, One People

Morgenthau is actually a gender-swapped version of The Flag Smasher from the comics, whose name is Karl Morgenthau. Both characters have the same prime motivation: the end of nationalism by forcibly uniting all of the countries in the world into one sovereign government. The Flag Smasher group itself is also identical to a group that the comic book Flag Smasher started called Ultimatum.

Come to Madripoor: Disneyland for Criminals

In episode three, Sam, Bucky and Zemo visit the city of Madripoor. The appearance of Madripoor is the first overt MCU Easter egg that involves the X-Men. Like in the comics, Madripoor is a haven for criminals and pirates.  At some point , the island was the home to groups like Hydra and the X-Men themselves. The biggest Easter egg was during the montage in Madripoor where  the camera stopped at a place called The Princess Bar. The Princess Bar in the comics is co-owned by none other than Wolverine (while using his alias ‘Patch’).

OVERALL IMPRESH

I was pleased beyond compare with how the show turned out. It’s an every way a worthy companion to the Captain America film franchise and and the the buzz surrounding the show has now created the demand for a Captain America 4. My suggestion would be for them to do the Secret Empire storyline which Steve Rogers becomes the head of Hydra and Sam Wilson — as Captain America — has to stop him. I think that will be a fantastic storyline to put on film and to see the switch of Chris Evans Steve Rogers to a villain will be amazing to see.  5/5 Shots of Patriotic Whiskey.

-JaDarrel Belser

I SUPPORT BLACK SUPERHEROES [Part 19]: Luke Motha%$&*^’ Cage!

Multimedia Appearances

The Super Hero Squad Show (2009)

The kiddie version of Heroes For Hire

Luke Cage’s first multimedia appearance was on The Super Hero Squad Show on Cartoon Network. Voiced by comedian Lil’ JJ, this version is a member of Heroes for Hire alongside Iron Fist and Misty Knight in the episode “A Brat Walks Among Us“. He also has a cameo appearance in the very first episode “And Lo… A Pilot Shall Come!“.

Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (2010)

“It’s called ‘ Unbreakable skin’, Fool!”


Luke Cage appeared in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on Disney XD. Voiced by Christopher B. Duncan ( ‘The Jamie Foxx Show‘, ‘Black Lightning‘), this version of Cage is a primary member of Heroes For Hire, using his powers as a way of earning money by working for hire to anyone who needs help. In the episode “To Steal an Ant-Man“, Cage and his partner Iron Fist are hired by Hank Pym to retrieve the stolen Ant-Man suit from Scott Lang.  Pym, in the end, hands the mantle of Ant-Man over to Lang and Lang ends up joining Heroes for Hire. This version dislikes being referred to as ‘Power Man‘. Later on, Cage becomes a member of the New Avengers to help stop Kang The Conqueror and  to fight off Galactus’ invasion of Earth( they charge Tony Stark for their services in these fights). 

Ultimate Spider-Man (2012)

Meet the teenage Luke Cage

A teen version of Luke Cage appears as one of the main characters on the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon series on Disney XD. Voiced by actor Ogie Banks, this version is part of Spider-Man’s teenage S.H.I.E.L.D.-sanctioned team (along with Iron Fist, White Tiger and Nova). Luke is the “street-smart” muscle and the most mature member of the team. 

Luke Cage as ‘Power Man’.

Power Man. If he calls himself Spider-Man, then I’m calling myself Power Man. It’s cool and doesn’t scream I have low self-esteem”

Luke adopts the namePower Man” as he feels that he should name himself after his powers. He also has an official superhero uniform (a sleeveless suit which is yellow on top and the rest is black, metal plates on his biceps and ankles, yellow boots). He also wears wraparound sunglasses when in ‘Power Man’ mode.

Power Man’s main ability is his enhanced level of super strength (he can stop a moving train and fight The Juggernaut one on one). He is physically the strongest member of the team and is even stronger than Spider-Man and Nova( before Nova tapped into the full power of his helmet). He can lift about 25 tons.  Nick Fury refers to him as ‘the strongest guy this side of the Big Apple without green skin‘.

Luke also has impenetrable skin that’s tougher than titanium and his bones and muscles are denser and much thicker than any human being. On one occasion, Luke’s body demonstrated that vampires can’t penetrate his indestructible skin(Even Count Dracula himself is incapable of biting Luke). The episode “The Parent Trap” reveals that Luke received his powers as a child when he ingested a S.H.I.E.L.D. version of the Super Soldier Serum developed by his scientist parents (Walter and Amanda Cage) during an escape from a plane. Luke Cage is presented here as his actual birth name rather than an alias. He also finds his parents were working for the villain Scorpio because they were lied to about Luke being captured and promised their son in return. He soon reunites with them at the end of the episode. Luke continues to be featured on the series until S.H.I.E.L.D. graduation in the series finale. 

Marvel/ Netflix Shows

Luke Cage as portrayed by actor Mike Colter. Lance Gross and Cleo Anthony had screen tested for Luke Cage before Mike Colter was cast. Mike Colter put on 30 pounds of muscle to play Luke Cage.

Luke Cage’s first live action appearance was in the Marvel/Netflix shows whose lineup included Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist. The interconnected series of shows were all set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These shows gave the viewer the urban streel level perspective of how life has changed in New York after the alien invasion in The Avengers( 2012). NOTE: The invasion is often referred to in the various shows as ‘The Incident’. 

Jeph Loeb, executive producer of the shows, explained that “Within the Marvel universe there are thousands of heroes of all shapes and sizes, but the Avengers are here to save the universe and Daredevil is here to save the neighborhood … It does take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s all connected. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that we would look up in the sky and see [Iron Man]. It’s just a different part of New York that we have not yet seen in the Marvel movies.”

Jessica Jones (2015)

The series Jessica Jones was about a hot-tempered, sarcastic, badass female private detective in Hell’s Kitchen. She has been rebuilding her personal life after her short-lived stint as a superhero ended in tragedy. The character of Luke Cage is introduced as a bar owner whom Jones meets during an infidelity investigation.  Luke is introduced already having his powers. His powers are first revealed in a bar fight when he easily holds off half a dozen men and one of them tries to stab him in the neck with a broken bottle. Luke later confirms his powers in Jessica’s apartment when Jessica explains she came to his bar to fix an incident she caused. Luke responds by holding a portable buzz saw to his stomach until it smokes and sparks. After Jessica sees his undamaged skin, Cage says ” You can’t fix me. I’m unbreakable“.

Luke is shown to be a very promiscuous man and he and Jessica start an on and off sexual relationship. However, Luke was formerly married to a woman named Reva Connors. Luke finds out that Jessica Jones was manipulated into killing her. At one point, Luke himself is manipulated into fighting Jessica at full strength by The Purple Man, Jessica’s tormentor. Realizing he had no control of his actions, he forgives Jones for his wife’s murder but stops engaging in an intimate relationship with her.
Despite their rocky relationship, the two superheroes remained friends. They were briefly reunited as part of The Defenders and Luke even returns in that show’s series finale in 2019.

The popularity of Colter’s portrayal of Cage caused the character to spin off into his own show.

Luke Cage (2016)

You can’t burn me, you can’t blast me, and you definitely can’t break me. You wanna test me? Step up. I’m right here. I ain’t going nowhere. You know where to find me. I am Harlem, and Harlem is me.”
―Luke Cage

Cage next appears as the title character in the 2016 Netflix series, Luke Cage with Cheo Hodari Coker serving as showrunner.

Season One has Luke Cage living as a fugitive trying to rebuild his life in modern-day Harlem, New York City after the events of Jessica Jones. He works quietly as a janitor in Pop’s Barbershop and as a busboy/bartender at the Harlem’s Paradise nightclub. However, he is soon pulled out of the shadows and Luke soon becomes Harlem’s resident superhero/problem solver (Cornell Stokes even refers to Luke as ‘ Harlem’s Captain America’).Luke must fight a battle for his city from the schemes of Cornell ‘Cottonmouth‘ Stokes, his corrupt politician cousin Mariah Dillard and Willis ‘Diamondback‘ Stryker( who is his half-brother in this version). 

Luke is soon a modern day folk hero in the streets with even rapper Method Man dedicating a song in his honor ( ‘Bulletproof Love’). This season also shows the viewer Luke’s past that he had tried to bury including the sabotaged prison experiment that left him with super strength and unbreakable skin. The season ends with Luke’s fugitive status being exposed and him having to return to Seagate Prison.

The Netflix series rekindles the comic book relationship between Luke and Claire Temple (here portrayed as a nurse from Spanish Harlem played by Rosario Dawson). Temple first meets Luke in ‘Jessica Jones’ when she saves his life from a brain hemorrhage caused by a shogun blast to the head. Their relationship flourishes into a full on romance.

Season Two shows Luke Cage has become a celebrity on the streets of Harlem after clearing his name during the events of The Defenders.

One episode features Luke performing athletic feats using his powers that is covered by ESPN. However, being so visible has only increased his need to protect the community and pushes the limits of who he can and can’t save. With the rise of a formidable new foe called Bushmaster, Luke is forced to confront the fine line that separates a hero from a villain. The season ends with Luke becoming the new ‘unofficial’ crime lord of Harlem, inheriting the Harlem’s Paradise nightclub.

For the series, costume designer Stephanie Maslansky changed Luke’s appearance from the comics, which she described as “a little silly”. The show paid homage to the original comic book costume in the episode ” Step In The Arena”. When Cage looks at himself in the mirror in the outfit, he says ” You look like a damn fool”.
Maslanksy made up Cage to look like an everyman. “He’s a working class hero, and that comes across in the clothes he wears. He dresses in rag & bone T-shirts, in Levis jeans. Clothes that already have this beautiful kind of worn, textured look to them.” His frequent use of hoodies was done as a tribute to the tragic shooting victim Trayvon Martin.

Facts

Luke Cage is NOT the first black superhero lead of a TV show (that distinction belongs to M.A.N.T.I.S. on Fox in 1994). Luke Cage is Marvel’s first TV series headlined by a black superhero.
  • In the Netflix series, it is mentioned that he was a former cop in Savannah, Georgia and that he served in Marine Force Recon. In the comic book version, Luke was never a policeman or military serviceman .
  • This is the first Marvel feature to use the ‘N’ word.
  • A number of characters including Pop and Claire Temple refer to Luke Cage by his alias, ‘Power Man‘ in either an affectionate or mocking manner throughout the series. He does not like it.
  • Each episode title of the first season was named after songs by the classic East Coast hip-hop duo Gang Starr. The second season episodes are each named after songs from Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth.
  • For the finale of Season One, executive producer Cheo Hodari Coker had hoped to have Prince perform at Harlem’s Paradise nightclub, but his untimely death quickly dashed those hopes. The swear can located in Pop’s Barbershop is also a reference to Prince ( who had one in his music studio).

The Defenders (2017) 

The Defenders (or, as I call them,” The Avenger’s ‘hood cousins”).

Mike Colter reprised his role in The Defenders, a crossover miniseries that brings Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist all together in one series. The heroes are shown as an unlikely quartet  brought together with one common goal – to save New York City from the ancient organization called The Hand.

Facts

  • In this series, the founding members of the Defenders are Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. In the comics, the Defenders were formed by The Incredible Hulk, Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer, and Namor the Sub-Mariner.
  • In the first few episodes, the production uses colored light to great effect to separate out each individual Defender story. Each scene involving Daredevil has a hint of red. Jessica Jones is lit with purple. Iron Fist with green and Luke Cage is lit in shades of yellow.
The budding friendship between Luke Cage and Danny Rand in “The Defenders” is a reference to Heroes for Hire from the comics. Both actors have stated their desire to make a Heroes for Hire series and Rand makes an appearance in season two of “Luke Cage”.

Legacy

Luke Cage: Still Kickin’ Ass in 2020!

Luke Cage has left an unbelievable mark, bringing that urban street narrative to the super hero genre:

  • Actor Nicolas Cage was originally named Nicolas Coppola and has admitted that his stage name “Cage” was inspired by Luke Cage.
  • Batman franchise producer Michael E. Uslan once optioned the screen rights to  Luke Cage and it would have been “the first real, true-blue Marvel movie” right after the blockbuster success of Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989.
  • In the ’90s, Quentin Tarantino wanted to make “Luke Cage: Hero for Hire” into a film based in the 70’s, with Laurence Fishburne in the title role, but opted to make Pulp Fiction (1994) instead.
  • In 2003, the late John Singleton was attached to direct a Luke Cage film for Columbia. Jamie Foxx, Tyrese Gibson, Dwayne ‘ The Rock’ Johnson, Isaiah Mustafa, and Idris Elba were all considered for the title role.
  • In a 2008 poll, Luke Cage was ranked as the 34th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine.
  • IGN also ranked Luke Cage as the 72nd-greatest comic book hero of all time stating that “Cage embodies much of what we love about Marvel’s heroes” and 15th in their list of “The Top 50 Avengers” in 2012.

References

Sacks, J. August  22, 2014. Sweet Christmas! The Creation of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire. Comics Bulletin. Retrieved from http://comicsbulletin.com/sweet-christmas-creation-luke-cage-hero-hire/

-JaDarrel Belser

I SUPPORT BLACK SUPERHEROES [Belser-Verse, Part 18]: Sweet Christmas!

JaDarrell “The Belser”
@TheBelser

Talk about timing… Today’s article has us taking it to the streets with one of the all-time great black superheroes, LUKE CAGE! I could do a spiffy opening paragraph but this article speaks for itself. And, of course, I hope you all had yourselves a.. SWEET CHRISTMAS!

 

First Appearance and Creation: 

Blaxploitation: movies about “Brothas with a Plan to Fight The Man”!

The story of Luke Cage began with the popularity of the then-booming Blaxploitation film genre of the early 1970’s. Blaxploitation films generally featured a black male or female hero from a poor neighborhood( Harlem, Watts, and Chicago were popular locales for these films). The main character has a rough past (usually involving racial discrimination) and is now out for revenge against criminals that have wronged them, politicians that exploited their people or simply getting back at ‘The Man‘ (the representation of white supremacy).

Often, the main character has a job involving law enforcement ( ex-cops, private investigators,  former federal agents, etc). These films usually involve nude women, interracial sex, murder, betrayal, and a music soundtrack created by a popular soul artist( Isaac Hayes, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, etc) . The dialogue often used a lot of black slang, negative racial stereotypes and the glorification of drugs and violence. Movies like Shaft, SuperFly, Slaughter and Black Belt Jones are all key examples of this genre.

Luke Cage was created by Archie Goodwin, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr and first appeared in Luke Cage: Hero For Hire #1 ( June 1972).

Stan Lee pitched the idea to create a new hero to capitalize on the phenomenal success of the Blaxploitation genre and this new market of black consumers.  Stan consulted with his protégé, Marvel’s then editor-in-chief, Roy Thomas, and the pair thought up some key elements for a blaxploitation-inspired character. Roy Thomas highlights the creation in an interview:

“Stan didn’t want a typical super-hero name for the comic, but wanted him to want to make a paying career of crime-busting, and was looking for a title.  I had some months ago written an Avengers issue called “Heroes for Hire,” so I suggested Hero for Hire.  Stan also wanted a good one-word name for him that was atypical, and I suggested “Cage.” “( Sacks, 2014, Sweet Christmas! The Creation of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire)

Roy Thomas drew inspiration for Luke Cage from the protagonist of Philip Wylie’s 1930 sci-fi novel Gladiator. The book has the hero made strong and bulletproof due to experimentation. They wanted this new black hero to be powerful, but not Hulk or Thor level powerful.

They tasked artist John Romita Sr. with designing Luke. Inker Billy Graham, one of the few black people in the comics industry, was brought in to, as Roy Thomas put it, “make certain that George’s African-American characters looked African-American.”

Written by Archie Goodwin and pencilled by George Tuska, Luke Cage: Hero For Hire was the first American comic-book series to be headlined by a black superhero .

The comic was retitled Luke Cage, Power Man with issue #17. Cage’s adventures were set in a grungier, more crime-dominated New York City than that inhabited by other Marvel superheroes of the time .
The Original Heroes for Hire, Power Man and Iron Fist

As blaxploitation movies started going out of style, Cage was paired with another declining title, the martial arts superhero Iron Fist, in an effort to save both from cancellation.  The duo forms Heroes for Hire, a small business licensed by the state of New York that offered a full line of private investigation and security services. They had offices on Park Avenue and two paid employees: Jenny Royce, the group’s secretary, and Jeryn Hogarth, the group’s lawyer. The series’ title was again renamed Power Man and Iron Fist: Heroes For Hire with issue #50 (April 1978)  and retained that name through the series’ cancellation with issue #125 (Sept. 1986). The series ends the framing of Cage for the apparent murder of Iron Fist.

Luke Cage returns in the 90’s with a new look inspired by boxing’s then-heavyweight champion of the world, Mike Tyson. Cage symbolically destroys his original costume on the cover of the first issue.

In 1992, Luke Cage was relaunched in a new series simply titled Cage. Still a fugitive from the Iron Fist frame-up, the new series was set primarily in Chicago with Cage abandoning the Power Man name and look.  The main focus of the series was Cage clearing his name, which he eventually does. The series, written by Marc McLaurin, ran for only 20 issues and featured appearances by The Incredible Hulk and The Punisher. Cage also received his own serial in the anthology series Marvel Comics Presents.

In the aftermath of the “Onslaught” and “Heroes Reborn” companywide storylines, Cage was included in the series Heroes for Hire, written by John Ostrander, which lasted 19 issues.

The new Heroes For Hire had Cage returning to New York. Deciding he is no longer in superheroics, he becomes co-owner of the Gem Theater with his friend D.W. Griffith. He even declines an invitation from Iron Fist to join a new and expanded Heroes for Hire. Meanwhile, The Master of the World tries to recruit Cage as a spy within Iron Fist’s team. Cage plays along and joins Heroes for Hire and serves with them for some time while reporting to the Master. In the end, Cage can not betray Iron Fist and he helps Heroes for Hire destroy the Master of the World’s plans. Cage remains with the group and dates a fellow member, She-Hulk.

Cage: Ask Your Parents’ Permission Before Reading

In 2002, writer Brian Azzarello and artist Richard Corben collaborated on Cage, a standalone mini-series published under the Marvel MAX imprint, which allowed for a much greater degree of violence, sexual content and profanity.

Luke Cage and Jessica Jones tie the knot. That preacher looks familiar.

After a sexual encounter with a drunken Jessica Jones, the two make peace with it while working as bodyguards for Matt Murdock. Cage also gives vital emotional support to Jones when she is forced to revisit her past abuses by the Purple Man. After Jones reveals that she is pregnant from their one night stand, she and Cage move in together, their feelings for each other grow and they eventually get married. 

Luke and Jessica have a daughter whom they named Danielle (in honor of ‘Iron Fist’ Danny Rand)

Luke Cage: Avenger!!!

Luke Cage adds a credit to his superhero resume as he finally becomes an Avenger

Luke Cage’s road to The Avengers starts as Cage was present at the breakout at the supervillain prison ‘The Raft‘ . Through his actions, he becomes a founding member of the re-formed Avengers.

Luke Cage meets up with The Black Panther, Blade and Brother Voodoo to help the denizens of New Orleans with disaster relief (and save them from a vampire infestation) after Hurricane Katrina

When the Superhuman Registration Act is enacted, Cage refuses to register, comparing the act to Jim Crow laws. Cage joins Captain America’s “Secret Avengers“. He fights alongside them in opposition to the act until Captain America surrenders to U.S. authorities. Cage does not comply with the amnesty offered to the Secret Avengers, going underground and re-forming the New Avengers.

Luke assumes leadership of the New Avengers after the assassination of Captain America.

Origin

The first splash page of Luke Cage tells it all: Women, Cops, Crime and a Bad-Ass Superhero Bursting on the Scene!!

Carl Lucas was born and raised in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood. He was the son of Esther and James Lucas, a retired N.Y.P.D. detective. Since he was a boy, he would use the term ‘ Sweet Christmas ‘ as an alternative to curse words. Carl spends his younger years in a gang called the Rivals.

With his best friend Willis Stryker, he fights rival gangs and commits petty crimes. Lucas dreams of becoming a major New York crime lord.

Carl finally realizes how his actions are hurting his family and seeks to better himself as an adult. Meanwhile, Stryker rises through the ranks of crime, but the two men remain friends. When Stryker’s activities anger the Maggia crime syndicate, he is badly beaten in a mob hit, saved only by Lucas. Stryker’s girlfriend, Reva Connors, breaks up with him and she finds comfort with Lucas. Stryker is convinced that Lucas is responsible for the breakup, so he plants heroin in Lucas’s apartment and tips off the police.

Lucas is arrested and sent to Seagate Prison, an island prison off the coast of Georgia. During this time, Reva is killed by members of the Maggia, whose drugs Willis had stolen to frame Lucas in the first place.

Lucas is consumed by rage over Stryker’s betrayal and Reva’s death, engaging in frequent brawls and escape attempts. While locked up, Carl becomes the favorite target of racist corrections officer Albert “Billy Bob” Rackham. Rackham’s sadistic brutality ultimately leads to a demotion that he blames on Lucas.
Research scientist Dr. Noah Burstein recruits Lucas as a volunteer for a cellular regeneration experiment based on a variant of the Super-Soldier process. Burstein picks Lucas due to his excellent health. Lucas agrees for the chance of early parole. This experiment would later be revealed to be part of the Weapon Plus program used to create superheroes like Captain America and Wolverine.
Burstein immerses Lucas in an electrical field conducted by an organic chemical compound. While he leaves Lucas unattended, Rackham comes in and alters the experiment’s controls, hoping to kill Lucas.  Instead, Lucas’ treatment is accelerated past its intended limits, causing a body-wide change that gives him superhuman strength and ‘unbreakable’ skin. He uses his new power to smash through a brick wall. Guards shoot at Lucas as he attempts to escape. His newly fortified skin deflects the bullets but the impact knocks him into the sea. The guards find his bullet-riddled shirt and then assume that Lucas is dead.
Lucas survives his escape and makes his way back to New York by hitchhiking and riding the rails of trains. A chance encounter outside a diner has Lucas unintentionally stopping a robbery and the owner gives him a cash reward in a show of gratitude. This incident inspires him to use his new powers for profit.
Whille visiting Reva Conners’ grave, Lucas accepts that his past life is over and adopts a new alias of his own creation,  Luke Cage ( representing his last name and his time in the ‘cage’ of prison). Cage creates a distinctive costume from discarded items used by an escape artist in a magic shop. Cage launches a career as a Hero for Hire, a private superhero helping anyone who can meet his price. He makes himself known by busting up known racketeers and handing out his business card to onlookers. Cage’s work was unique and controversial as he operated like a private investigator/ bodyguard rather than the usual superhero who did services for free. Many other superheroes question his morality because of this. He soon establishes an office above Times Square’s Gem Theater.
Dr. Burstein also relocates to New York and opens a medical clinic, assisted by Dr. Claire Temple, whom Cage begins dating.
Although Cage is content to fight just regular street criminals, he soon learns that New York is hardly the place to do so. He finds his old friend Willis Stryker ( who has become a Maggia agent known as Diamondback) and Stryker ends up dying in a battle with Cage.The event truly establishes Luke Cage as a new superhero to watch for the New York populace. After an incident involving Iron Man, Cage even takes the name ‘Power Man’ ( a reference to ‘Black Power’) to make him more acceptable by the public( and drum up some business).
One of Cage’s early adventures had him unknowingly working for none other than Doctor Doom, the archenemy of The Fantastic Four. When Cage realizes he has been duped, he hijacks a missile from the FF and makes his way to Doom’s home country of Latveria to get his money ( which was just $200 by the way).
Cage makes friends with the Fantastic Four and even replaces The Thing as the team’s resident strongman for a brief period of time ( on a retainer from Mr. Fantastic).
Luke Cage begins associating with the loose-knit super-team the Defenders, against threats like the Wrecking Crew and the Sons of the Serpent. When he is called to assist the Defenders against the Plantman, Cage begins to complain that his participation in their group is interfering with his paying work. So, Nighthawk (the team’s wealthiest member) solves this problem by placing Power Man on retainer, giving Luke a steady paycheck for his Defenders activities. Eventually, Cage feels out of place in the often-bizarre exploits of the Defenders and resigns.
In The Amazing Spider-Man #123 ( Dec 1976), J. Jonah Jameson hires Luke Cage to take out Spider-Man after Spidey is framed for murder. After the initial misunderstanding ( and a fight between them), Spidey and Luke resolve their differences.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Power Man!!

-JaDarrel Belser

I SUPPORT BLACK SUPERHEROES [Belser-Verse, Part 17]: Static Shock!!

I’ll put a shock to your system” – Static

This was the greeting at the end of a cartoon I know a lot of kids in my generation, Static Shock. The show was fresh and vibrant and turned out to be one of the best black oriented cartoon shows ever made.  Let’s get into the history of a very dynamic character that continues that leave audiences electrified: STATIC!

MILESTONE!

Milestone Media is a company founded in 1993 by a collection of African-American artists and writers, consisting of Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, and Derek T. Dingle. The company is best known for creating Milestone Comics, which were published and distributed by DC Comics, and the Static Shock cartoon series.

The founders had worked for major comics companies like Marvel and DC and all felt that minorities had been underrepresented in American comics.  They wished to address this by creating a new line that showcase heroes from diverse racial backgrounds.
Static was created by Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, and Derek T. Dingle.  The character’s first appearance was in Static #1 (June 1993) written by McDuffie and Robert L. Washington III, and illustrated by John Paul Leon.
Though Static would become a main staple of the Milestone line, the character was originally developed for Marvel Comics. It was decided that Static should be a teenage hero, similar to the original run of Marvel’s Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.  Like Spider-Man, the original focus of the character was being a superhero while dealing with real life teenage issues of the day.
The character’s secret identity Virgil Hawkins was named after the late Virgil D. Hawkins, a black attorney and civil rights activist who was denied entrance to the University of Florida’s law school due to his race in 1949.
The character’s superhero name was suggested by writer Christopher Priest (best known for his run on the ‘Black Panther’ comics in late 90’s). The name was inspired by the song “Static” by the late Godfather of Soul, James Brown. The lyrics include the lines  ” Don’t start none, won’t be none!” which became the tagline of the comic series.
The late Dwayne Mc Duffie was the main creative force behind both the initial Static comics and The Static Shock television series. McDuffie described the character as such: “Like any other awkward 15-year-old, Virgil Hawkins worries about pocket money, getting beaten up, and drugs. But recently, he’s had even more on his mind: stuff like his powers, his secret identity, and drugs. Because, when innocents are in danger, and Virgil can slip away from class, the geeky youth becomes Static, the dashing, adventurous superhero!”

The Animated Series 

The animated series “Static Shock”  premiered on September 23, 2000 on  Kids’ WB. Static Shock ran for four seasons from 2000 to 2004 with 52 half-hour episodes overall. Despite its debut in the early 2000’s, the show was still one of the few times that an African-American superhero was the title character of their own animation series. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation from a crew composed mostly of people from the company’s past shows like Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series.  This makes  Static Shock part of the acclaimed DC Animated Universe. One major difference was the involvement of two of the comic’s creators, Dwayne McDuffie and Denys Cowan.

Static Shock was changed a bit from the original comic because it was meant to marketed to a pre-teen audience on broadcast television. Nevertheless, the show approached several social issues, which was positively received by most television critics. Static Shock’s episodes handle different issues, including gangs, gun violence, bullying, racism, mental illness, bigotry, and drug use. Other episodes also featured the subject of both Chanukah and Kwanzaa Christmas celebrations.

Static

 

Voiced by actor Phil Lamarr ( “MadTV” “Justice League”) , Virgil Hawkins is a 14-year-old who lives in Dakota City with his father Robert and older sister Sharon. He attends high school with his best friend Richie Foley, and has a crush on a girl named Frieda.  After a gang leader named Wade hopes to recruit him, Virgil is reluctantly caught up in an exchange of violence between gangs on a restricted wharf . As a result of the ensuing ‘Big Bang’ incident, Virgil obtains the ability to create, generate, absorb, and control electricity and magnetism. With Richie’s help, Virgil develops and takes up the alter-ego of “Static“.

    •  Static flies through the air on a disc called the Static Saucer. It was created by Richie who made it out of Mylar, a metalized nylon, a metal stronger than steel. The Static Saucer is lightweight and folds in half for easy storage, but when Static applies an electric charge, the device unfolded into a saucer.
    • Static’s ‘secret headquarters’ was an abandoned gas station (also found by Richie) .  Virgil dubs it the “Abandoned Gas Station of Solitude” ( a play on Superman’s Fortress of Solitude).
Phil Lamarr, the voice of Static. On voicing the character, Lamarr stated the following: “Virgil is what I always wanted as a comic book kid growing up: Black Spider-Man. A good (comic-book) story can make you live it, feel it, and when it does, it resonates on a whole other level. It was so real world, and a textured story removed from the 1930s ‘We are exhibiting the world’. I felt like it was drawn by somebody who lived in a building I could go into. It touched on archetypes as a comic fan that I loved, but also touched on my life as a Black man in the real world.”

The BIG BANG!!

The incident that changed Dakota started as a gang fight on a restricted area at the docks between Wade’s crew and F-Stop’s crew. Unknown to both groups, that area was harboring large vats of a biohazardous material owned by the villainous Edwin Alva (the mutagenic substance was there illegally!). Virgil was onsite as part of a forced ‘gang initiation‘ but ran as it was interrupted by police helicopters. During the dispute, the police fired a tear gas grenade to stop the riot. However, the canister subsequently struck a vat of the bio hazardous material. It caused all the chemical containers to explode, releasing a  purple gas that causes mutations among the people in the vicinity.  In addition to Virgil, the gas also gave the others in the area powers as well. Unfortunately, many of them become supervillains. Following the explosion, the hospitals were flooded with victims.  Some of the victims underwent immediate transformation while others had no physical damage only to mutate later. On some occasions, affected people managed to hold off the mutation under heavy pressure, but transformed once weakened, enraged or distracted. Years later, individuals who were never at the Big Bang also manifested powers, due to being exposed to minute vapor residue by contact with affected people.  The media in Dakota would dub this event “The Big Bang”.

NOTE:  The Big Bang may have been an indirect influence on the STAR Labs particle accelerator explosion in Central City on the CW show The Flash. Both events changed their respective cities, spawned a city-based superhero and created a number of mutated heroes and villains.

The mutated people are known as “Bang Babies” and their mutations varied from person to person. One common theme in most of them is the color purple. It appears either in their clothing or ,If they have energy based powers, it manifests as purple in color. Even Static’s electricity has a purple tinge to it.

NOTE: Static Shock is the first DC multimedia property to use the term ‘meta-human‘ to describe people that have acquired superpowers.  The term has been used by all subsequent DC animated and live-action properties.

Virgil’s Family

Robert Hawkins

Voiced by veteran voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson, Robert Hawkins is  a social worker who works as head counselor for the Freeman Community Center . A widower and single father, Robert is shown to be strict but caring  parent. He strongly dislikes gangs and the destructive attitudes of the Bang Babies. He is a childhood fan of the superhero Soul Power and eventually learns that Virgil is Static. 

Sharon Hawkins


Voiced by Michele Morgan, Sharon is Virgil’s older sister. She attends college, but she still lives at home.  A very conscious young woman, Sharon volunteers at a hospital and counsels young people at the Freeman Community Center.  Sharon and Virgil argue frequently but really do care about each other when push comes to shove. After their mother died, Sharon took it upon herself to act as the woman of the house, including when it comes to allocating chores between her and her brother.  Sharon likes to cook but is not very good at it. In a move similar to Flash Thompson in the Spider-Man comics, Sharon does think highly of Virgil but she is Static’s #1 fan.  She also has an on and off relationship with Static’s ally, Rubberband Man

Allies:

Richie Foley/Gear


Voiced by Jason Marsden, Richard “Richie” Osgood Foley is Virgil Hawkins’ best friend.  Richie acts as Virgil’s partner in his heroics as Static. A highly intelligent kid, Richie comes up with much of the crime fighting gadgetry employed by Static . Richie was not present for the Big Bang. However, in Season 3, it is revealed Static’s clothes still carried some of the gas from the night of The Big Bang and Richie was exposed to it as he saw Virgil the day after. His powers lay dormant until Season Three and gradually manifested as  superhuman intelligence.

Richie soon creates a number of inventive devices to aid Virgil as his crime fighting partner Gear :

  • a robotic computer assistance device called “Back-Pack”
  • Modified roller blades that turn into  thruster-equipped jet boots called “Jet-Blades”,
  • A sensor and neural interface control helmet.

NOTE:  When Richie is coming up with a superhero name for himself,  he contemplates names like “Steel” and “Hardware” but both are taken by other DC superheroes.

Richie’s character was based on Rick Stone, Virgil’s best friend in the comics, who is gay. However, his sexual orientation was never addressed on the show.  McDuffie did considered him gay and make subtle nods to the fact that he is in some episodes.

Rubberband Man


Voiced by actor Kadeem Hardison ( “Dwayne Wayne” from ” A Different World” ) , Adam Evans is also a talented musician with a reading disorder.  As Rubber-Band Man , Adam is a meta-human whose body structure consists of living rubber like Mr. Fantastic from Marvel Comics or Plastic Man from DC Comics. Adam can stretch his limbs to great lengths and shape his body into a wide variety of forms( He can even alter his physical appearance to look like another person).

NOTE: Adam’s superhero name is a nod to the song, “The Rubberband Man“, by the 70’s soul/R&B group The Spinners.

Rubber-Band Man first appears as a villain when he goes after an janky record producer who had stole one of his songs.  After being defeated by Static, Adam subsequently breaks out of prison. Instead of pursuing a criminal career,  Adam uses his powers to take up a new identity, a hot music star named  “Stringer”. In this new form, he also started dating Virgil’s sister Sharon. Due in part to Sharon’s positive influence, Adam decided to not carry on his grudge against Static. He even reforms and becomes one of Static’s allies in crime-fighting. While on patrol, Rubber-Band Man typically acts as an older brother figure to Static, keeping him from showing off and reminding him of consequences in their work.

NOTE: The name “Adam Evans” is derived from the names of former Milestone writers Adam Blaustein and Yves Fezzani, who created the character.

Further complicating things, Adam is the younger brother of Static’s archenemy, Ebon. Prior to the Big Bang, Adam was part of his brother’s gang before he took a stock-clerk job at a music store and started his music career.  Rubber-Band Man and his brother Ebon can both stretch themselves so it is possible that the effects of the gas may have something to do with the person’s genetic code.

She-Bang


Voiced by Rosslynn Taylor-Jordan, She-Bang  is actually a shy girl named Shenice Vale.  Shenice is really the result of a science experiment made by her parents, Jonathan and Dolores, who made her chromosome by chromosome.  Finding the need for freedom, she adopts a superhero identity of “She-Bang” . As She-Bang, Shenice possesses superhuman strength, stamina, agility, reflexes, and endurance( not unlike a Marvel Comics super-soldier). She would assist Static and Gear in crime-fighting but she adopted an arrogant posture as She-Bang that rubbed them the wrong way. That same arrogance caused her to make mistakes that Static and Gear would have clean up. 

Enemies:

Francis “F-Stop” Stone/Hotstreak

Voiced by former child actor Danny Cooksey( ‘ Salute Your Shorts‘, ‘ Tiny Toon Adventures’) Francis “F-Stop” Stone was one of the main gang members at the docks when the Big Bang occurred. After being exposed to the gas, Francis Stone became a pyrokinetic with the ability to create and shoot blasts of fire. His powers are not unlike The Human Torch and Pyro from The X-Men.

Prior to the Big Bang, Francis was a feared school bully and gang leader who went under the nickname of “F-Stop” and often went out of his way to hurt Virgil.  As Hotstreak , Francis was Static’s very first supervillain, giving him a challenge nearly every time they meet. The fights seem to be personal in some way due to  Static and Hotstreak already had history with each other. He seemed to mellow out as the series went on and he actually helped Static on occasion.

Ebon


Voiced by actor Gary Anthony Sturgis( ” Daddy’s Little Girls” , ” Diary Of A Mad Black Woman” ). Ebon is the series’ most frequent recurring villain and is widely seen as Static’ s  main archenemy in this series.  Ebon was born Ivan Evans. Ivan considered himself ‘a nobodyand a petty thief.  However,  Ivan was one of the gang members present at The Big Bang. The gas changed him into a powerful trans-morphic being. Taking the name Ebon, Ivan became a living shadow with the ability to control and manipulate pure darkness and shadows. Ebon is a walking inter-dimensional portal , able to transport others to various locations of his choice. His greatest weakness is strong sources of light. Ebon always held a grudge against Static for ruining so many of his plans. Some of his attacks against Static would even become lethal, but Static always defeated him.

NOTE: Ebon’s powers are a nod to the “Shadowslide“, the method of teleportation utilized by the Shadow Cabinet, one of Milestone Media’s titles. They are also similar to the DC villain Shadow Thief and Cloak from the Marvel duo ‘Cloak and Dagger‘.

When the ‘ Bang Baby” cure sprayed over Dakota, Ebon lost his powers. Desperate not to be nothing again like he was before the Big Bang ,he teamed up with Hotstreak and several other Bang Babies to return to the harbor and recreate The Big Bang again. Unfortunately, Ebon and Hotstreak absorbed too much gas and fused together into a giant two-headed monster that possessed both of their powers. The creature was beaten by Static and Gear, and lost at the bottom of the harbor. Neither villain was seen on the series after that . Their fates remain unknown.

The Meta-Breed

The Meta-Breed is a large gangster group of Bang Babies led by Ebon. Ebon is always recruiting newer and much stronger members to add to his crew and has come head-to-head with several other Bang Babies over the course of his life. The most consistent members were:

  • Shiv
    Shiv (voiced by Brian Tochi) is the psychotic member of the Meta-Breed. Shiv’s abilities enable him to generate pure whitish-pink “light energy“, which he  fashion into numerous weapons ( most often, knives or bladed weapons) which he could hold, throw, or fashion around his arms and hands. He is also revealed to be a huge fan of The Joker. When he encountered the Joker in the episode ‘ The Big Leagues’, Shiv tells the villain “Big fan, big fan...”.
  • Talon
    Talon (voiced by Tia Texada)  was a teenage girl named Teresa before exposure to the Big Bang turned her into a humanoid bird. She has a set of feathered wings extending from her scapula to her forearms, which enabled her to fly by flapping her arms. Talon also had clawlike digits on her hands and talon-like digits on her feet. Talon could emit powerful purple-colored hypersonic shrieks from her mouth (like the X-Men character Banshee and DC’s Black Canary). She was really bitter about throughout the series about her physical appearance. When the ‘ Bang Baby” cure was introduced, Talon  was restored to normal, abandoned the name of Talon for her real name, and even helped Static and Gear stop Ebon from setting off another Big Bang.

Celebrity Appearances:

Static Shock featured several episodes also featured the character interacting with real life celebrities. Guest voice actors included basketball legends like Shaquille O’Neal, Karl Malone, Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and Steve Nash and musicians, such as the boy band B2K, the Backstreet Boys’ A. J. McLean and child rapper Lil’ Romeo ( who also performed the show’s theme song in the final seasons).

Justice League Crossovers:

As part of the DC Animated Universe, Static would have interactions with the heavy hitters of DC Comics.  Here’s are some notable appearances:

Static teams up with Batman and Robin when The Joker comes to Dakota to recruit Bang Babies in the episode, “The Big Leagues”. Static later teams up with Superman when Toyman appears in Dakota to find and locate his doll Darci after she escaped from him in the episode “Toyz N’ The ‘Hood”
The episode ‘ Hard As Nails’ featured a young meta-human girl from Dakota named “Nails” who travels to Gotham City hoping to find a cure for her condition.  She instead finds supervillains Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn ready to recruit for their own means. Static and Batman once again team up to stop the duo and save Nails.
The two parter “A League of Their Own, ” has Static brought to the Justice League’s Watchtower ( at Batman’s suggestion)to recharge the power core after a major outage. Unknown to all, the outage enabled  the villain Brainiac to infiltrate the station’s computer system. After the Justice League is called away, Static and Gear have to fight of their lives as Brainiac takes over the Watchtower computers and its devices.

Notable Episodes:

“Shock to the System” 


This episode shows the origin of Virgil Hawkins,  a smart, funny teen who tangles with school gang leader “F-Stop.” The leader of another school gang, Wade, protects and asks Virgil to join his gang. Wade tells Virgil to show up at the docks. Virgil is afraid to say “no”, so he shows up. When Virgil arrives at the docks, a gang fight ensues. As soon as the police get there, they start shooting, hitting some gas canisters and causing gas to spread all over the docks. Virgil runs home and discovers he can control and manipulate electricity the next day.He and his best friend Richie pick out a costume and a superhero name for Virgil, as he begins his journey as the teenage superhero Static.

    • One of the costumes Virgil tries on bears a strong resemblance to that of Black Vulcan from Super Friends. Phil LaMarr also played a parody version of him in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.

“Jimmy”


After enduring merciless tormenting  from a group of vicious bullies, a disturbed little boy named Jimmy Osgood uses his dad’s gun to protect himself. In the end, he accidentally shoots Richie in the leg. Virgil must deal with the shock of the incident and his feelings of guilt for not preventing the incident.

    • This story unfolds through flashbacks.
    • Dwayne McDuffie and Alan Burnett won the 2003 Humanitas Prize in Children’s Animation for this episode.
    • Lynne Heffley of Los Angeles Times stated that Static Shock “isn’t your typical Saturday-morning cartoon series“, praising its themes and electing the episode “Jimmy“—about gun violence—as an example.
    • At the end of the episode, Static breaks the fourth wall and addresses to the viewers at home about the hazards of firearms falling into the hands of children and youngsters.

Static in Africa


The Hawkins family goes on a vacation to Ghana. While there, Static teams up with a legendary African folk hero named Anansi to stop a group of evil African bandits from stealing an ancient African treasure.

    • Several Spider-Man references are made throughout the episode.  The most notable would be when Virgil asks Anansi to “hit [the villain] with a web blast“, and poses his hand in traditional Spider-Man web shooter pose. Anansi’ s response is ” I’m not THAT kind of spider“.
    • The character Anansi appeared again in the episode “Out of Africa“.
    • The title of this episode is a reference to the 70’s blaxplotation film Shaft in Africa.

“Future Shock” 


Static is accidentally sent 40 years into the future, where he has to help the Batman of that era, Terry McGinnis, save a captured superhero: Static’s own future self.

    • Static’s future-self reappeared in the Justice League Unlimited two-parter “The Once and Future Thing” .

“Flashback”
Five years prior to the events of the show, a blackout hit the city, Dakota and the city was hit by gang riots. Virgil is struggling to regain memories of his mother Jean, who was killed that night.  Meanwhile, new meta-human named Time-Zone, seeks out the help of Static and Gear with her time-traveling powers. All three are sent back five years to the Dakota gang riots where Virgil comes face-to-face with his late mother.

    • The Dakota Riots are based on the Los Angeles riots of 1992.
    • Jean Hawkins is voiced by actress Alfre Woodard(Captain America: Civil War“, ” Luke Cage” )

Legacy:

Like Spider-Man for Marvel, Static has had the longest and most enduring legacy of any of the other Milestone characters. He has essentially become the face of that franchise and he has migrated to programs other than his own.

Multimedia Appearances:

Young Justice


Voiced by Bryton James (‘ Richie‘ from “Family Matters“),  Static first appears in the Invasion episode “Beneath” as one of the teens abducted by the Reach.

  • He has his first speaking role in the series on the episode “Cornered“, where Virgil  displays his manifested electrical powers for the first time.
  • In the episode “Runaways“, he and his fellow abductees (based on the various ethnic heroes from Super Friends, with Static taking the place of Black Vulcan) run away from Star Labs when they grow sick of the constant testing. The group then are met by Lex Luthor who recruits them.
  • In the episode “The Hunt“, Virgil and his friends destroy everything in sight relating to the Reach until Luthor convinces them to rescue the members of the Team from Warworld (which is now under the Reach’s control), using a Father Box to get there and track down Superboy. After the Team is rescued, Nightwing offers a place on the Team for the runaways, but they refuse when he kicks Arsenal off the Team despite him saving their lives and they leave.
  • In “Endgame”, Virgil meets Black Lightning for the first time. Impressed with Virgil’s skills, Black Lightning tells him  he would like to be his mentor. After the battle, Wonder Girl and Robin welcome Virgil, now going by the name “Static“, to the team. He does not wear his costume in this show, however he is shown with his circled lightning logo on his T-shirt briefly on the Watchtower.
  • In the third season, two years have passed with Virgil under the wing of Black Lightning, who has helped him further develop and perfect his power over electromagnetism. He is later concerned when Jeff admitted that he resigned and hoped that Virgil could find a mentor who was not damaged.
  • He joined Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle and Miss Martian on a mission on New Genesis, in “Away Mission“.
  • In “Illusion of Control“, he expressed his desire to find a girlfriend since many of his teammates, and even enemies like Devastation and Psimon, were an item.
  • In “First Impression“, he becomes a member of the Outsiders alongside Geo-Force, the second Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle, Superboy and their leader Beast Boy.

Film


Virgil has a non-speaking cameo in Justice League: War. He can be seen sitting behind Billy Batson during Victor Stone’s football game. His appearance is similar to that of his Young Justice counterpart. This is the character’s first appearance in a DC film.

Static: The Movie?

Michael B. Jordan is looking to bring Static to the big screen

In August 2020, producer/director Reginald Hudlin announced at DC FanDome that a live action Static Shock movie is in development. The project will be a collaboration between DC Films, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Milestone Media. By October of the same year, Michael B. Jordan joined the production team as co-producer alongside Hudlin. Jordan’s company, Outlier Society, will serve as one of the production studios.

-JaDarrel Belser

I SUPPORT BLACK SUPERHEROES [Belser-Verse, Part 16]: Soul Power!

Justice, like lightning, should ever appear to some men hope, to other men fear.”

Today’s article is going make you feel the thunder and bring a shock to your system! I’m running out of lighting puns here so I’ll get into DC’s first African-American superhero with his own series: Black Lightning!

First Appearance and Creation

The Black Bomber? Really???

This is a depiction of The Black Bomber( now named The Brown Bomber). Comics historian Don Markstein  described the character as “an insult to practically everybody with any point of view at all”.

The decision was made by DC Comics to create their first-ever headlining black superhero. The first candidate was an abomination called The Black Bomber, a racist white man who would turn into a black superhero under stress. Thankfully, the editor who had approved the Black Bomber apparently left DC before the character ever saw print.

Tony Isabella, the creator of Black Lightning. Isabella also created other black superheroes like Misty Knight and Black Goliath for Marvel.

The job of salvaging the Black Bomber character was given to writer Tony Isabella. Isabella was chosen due to his previous writing experience on the initial issues of Luke Cage, Hero For Hire at Marvel Comics. Isabella was horrified at the very concept of The Black Bomber and was given three weeks to create his own character. One of the first things Isabella did was make the character a positive role model and someone people can relate to: A school teacher. 

Right before he was about to send the story to DC, Isabella realized he hadn’t named his character yet. As fate would have it, Tony was at home, watching an episode of the CBS Wonder Woman series starring Lynda Carter. Suddenly, he saw a streak of lightning coming from the top of a building nearby. Isabella then said to himself Aha, Black Lightning”.

Written by Tony Isabella and designed by artist Trevor Von Eeden, the character first appeared in Black Lightning #1 (April 1977).

Isabella wrote the first 10 issues of Black Lightning before handing it over to the late Denny O’Neil. However, only one issue scripted by O’Neil came out before the series was canceled in 1978 during the infamous “DC Implosion” of the late 70’s.

After the cancellation, Black Lightning made a number of guest appearances in various titles over the next few years, including World’s Finest Comics and Detective Comics.

A two-part story in Justice League of America ( then written by Denny O’Neil) had Black Lightning being offered membership in the JLA. As you can see, he declined.
In 1983, Black Lightning began regularly appearing again as a member of Batman’s spinoff superhero team, The Outsiders. When The Outsiders ended, he continued to make sporadic guest appearances in various DC titles.
In 1995, a new Black Lightning series was started with art by Eddy Newell and again written by Tony Isabella. However, Isabella was fired after the eighth issue and replaced with Australian writer Dave de Vries. The series itself was canceled  five issues after Isabella left the title.
Black Lightning: Year One” was a six-issue limited series written by Jen Van Meter and illustrated by Cully Hamne. It was released  bi-weekly in 2009 and was nominated for two Glyph Awards in 2010.
During the launch of the New 52, a revamped version of Black Lightning appeared in DC Universe Presents that was paired with the Blue Devil.

Origin

Jefferson Pierce was born and raised in Suicide Slum (the “ghetto” of Metropolis). Suicide Slum got its name from the idea that people who lived there only escaped the slum by killing themselves. Jeff and his widowed mother lived there after his father was accidentally shot during a mob hit. An Italian tailor named Peter Gambi opened a shop beneath their apartment and helped The Pierce family through some hard financial times. Peter became a positive father figure and took care for Jeff while his mother worked. Jeff was shown to be a gifted athlete from a very young age.

At the age of 18, Jeff’s prowess allowed him to make it to the Olympic Games, gaining fame from the media due to his rise from Suicide Slum. Jeff received scholarships and endorsement offers which allowed him to go to college and receive both an English major and a teaching degree. Four years after he left for college, he again went to the Olympics and won the Gold in the decathlon.

Upon his return to Metropolis, Pierce decided it was time to make a difference and went back at his old alma mater Garfield High School as a teacher.

Jeff quickly made an impression when he kicked a drug pusher off the school premises and humiliated three members of the criminal organization known as the 100.

In retaliation for Jeff’s acts, the 100 killed Earl Clifford, one of Pierce’s students, and left the body in the school gymnasium. A distraught Pierce told the details of the incident to Peter Gambi, who urged him to fight back. To prevent further counter-attacks, it was decided a new persona would be needed to protect himself and his students.

Gambi presented Jeff with a costume that allowed him to acquire electrical-based superpowers from the suit’s technologically advanced power belt. Jeff puts it to use to clean up crime in his neighborhood as his new identity ‘ Black Lightning’.
To deflect suspicion as to his real identity, Pierce played into the era’s stereotypical depictions of black men by developing a ‘jive-talking’ speech pattern and wearing a mask/wig combo that gave him a large Afro while in costume.  Otherwise, he was just Jefferson Pierce, a well-educated school-teacher.

Over time, Pierce establishes himself as a successful superhero in Metropolis, gaining the trust of high-profile figures like Metropolis PD Inspector Bill Henderson and even Superman himself. Black Lightning’s first meeting with The Man Of Steel had him chastised by for being a vigilante. Black Lightning then asks why Superman never comes to ‘this side of town‘ where it’s clear he’s needed most. Superman has no answer. 

Black Lightning defeats several super-powered underlings of the 100 including the gang’s gigantic albino leader, Tobias Whale. Whale quickly becomes Black Lightning’s archenemy.
In recent years, stories depict Black Lightning as having “internalized” the belt’s powers as a result of a latent metagene in his DNA. In fact, Black Lightning’s origins have been further simplified by showing him as a metahuman with the natural ability to manipulate and generate electricity.

Multimedia Appearances (Animated)

Batman: The Brave and The Bold (2008-2011)


Black Lightning’s first official multimedia appearance was on the Cartoon Network series Batman: The Brave and the Bold in the episode “Enter the Outsiders!” in 2009. Voiced by actor Bumper Robinson, Black Lightning is shown to be the leader of the trio composed of him and two other young heroes Katana and Metamorpho. They work for a sewer dweller named Slug at first, but turn on him when veteran hero Wildcat convinces them to fight for good. Black Lightning is shown to be headstrong and having great contempt for society in general. However, he later uses his electricity to save Wildcat’s life with instructions from Katana when the elder falls victim to a heart attack.

Black Lightning and his comrades are later seen training with Batman as The Outsiders in the teaser of “Duel of the Double Crossers!“. Black Lightning reappeared in the episodes  “Inside the Outsiders!“, “The Siege of Starro! Part One” and “Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster!” ( all as a member of The Outsiders). 

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)

Black Lightning makes an appearance in the animated film Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Voiced by actor Levar Burton, Black Lightning is shown as a member of a metahuman task force assigned to capture The Dark Knight and The Man of Steel by President Lex Luthor.

DC Nation Shorts (2011)


Black Lightning appears in the “Thunder and Lightning” short of DC Nation ShortsVoiced by actor Blair Underwood, this version shows Black Lightning balancing his superhero life while being a responsible father to his two young daughters Anissa and Jennifer.

Young Justice: Invasion (2012)


Black Lightning appears in Young Justice: Invasion, voiced by Khary Payton. In “Happy New Year“, he is shown as a member of the Justice League five years later from Season One. In “Cornered“, he attempts to remove the force-field that Despero has set in the Hall of Justice. He displays pitch-black electricity when using his powers. In “Endgame“, Black Lightning and Static take down the Magnetic Field Disruptor in Dakota City. Afterwards, Black Lightning offers to be Static’s mentor.

Young Justice: Outsiders (2019)

In the third season,  an incident where Black Lightning’s powers kill a mutated 14 year old meta-human girl causes Jeff to quit the Justice League. Growing out his hair and a beard, Jeff considers quitting  being a super hero altogether until he is convinced to join Nightwing’s team. However,  he soon becomes disgusted when he finds out the secret methods Batman Inc. has been using against the Light and to boost the Outsiders’ popularity.

At the end of the season, he helps to expose Luthor’s illegal metahuman trafficking to the world and is appointed as the new leader of the Justice League. He accepts on the condition that there will be no more secrets and that the heroes will not sacrifice their principles while fighting against the Light.

Multimedia Appearances ( Live-Action)

Saturday Night Live (1992)

Black Lightning’s first live action portrayal was a comedic one. In an episode that aired during the publication of “The Death of Superman” comic book, comedian Sinbad (the show’s guest host) dressed as Black Lightning in a skit about Superman’s funeral. In the sketch, the other superheroes in attendance do not recognize him and he claims to have taught Superman how to fly. As the superheroes leave to confront the Legion of Doom, he is spotted grabbing the shrimp at the buffet table.

Facts:

The skit featured many SNL legends dressed as superheroes from both Marvel and DC including: 

  • Dana Carvey as Batman
  • Chris Rock as Robin
  • David Spade as Aquaman
  • Adam Sandler as The Flash
  • Chris Farley as The Hulk

Black Lightning (2018 to present)

It is time that people know that Black Lightning is back.
—Jefferson Pierce

A live-action television series based on the character debuted on The CW on January 16, 2018. The series was developed by Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil, who also executive produce along with Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter. The Fox Network gave the series a “pilot production commitment” in September 2016. In January 2017, Berlanti stated the series, if ordered, would not crossover with his other DC Comics television properties on The CW nor would it exist in their established universe. The following month, Fox passed on the series after deciding it was “not a good fit into its already crowded genre drama space.

Shortly thereafter, it was picked up by The CW with a pilot order. The pilot episode was directed by Akil.  In May 2017, The CW officially ordered the project to series.

Actor Cress Williams plays Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning

In the series, Jefferson Pierce is born and raised in Freeland (which is clearly the DC comics equivalent of Atlanta, Georgia). As a boy, he was given a vaccine which granted him electricity-based powers. Jefferson also witnessed his father Alvin getting killed by gangster Tobias Whale and his men which led to Jefferson getting taken in by Alvin’s friend Peter Gambi.

Jefferson’s powers first manifest at age twelve, when he was chased down an alley by two SWAT officers and accidentally knocked out both of the officers. Jefferson was then found by Gambi, who discovered his powers and then began raising Jefferson, while keeping Jefferson’s powers a secret from him. After this, it would be 15 years before Jefferson’s powers fully manifested.

Jefferson eventually decided to use his powers and became the vigilante superhero named “Black Lightning(a name he didn’t particularly care for). He was aided by Gambi and fought crime for 10 years against The 100, a street gang running Freeland. However, the war with The 100 took its toll on Jefferson and his wife Lynn implored him to give it up. Jefferson decided to retire as Black Lightning to focus on his family. Jefferson Pierce becomes the principal of Garfield High School where his family has Inspector Bill Henderson as a family friend.

The battle of Black Lightning vs Tobias Whale gets the live action treatment

During the first season, Jefferson resurfaces as Black Lightning when his daughters are kidnapped by members of The 100. After talking to Henderson doesn’t help, Jefferson decides to reclaim the Black Lightning title and dons a new technologically advanced suit designed by Gambi. Jeff fights the 100, a resurfaced Tobias Whale, and A.S.A. agents led by the corrupt Martin Proctor. Meanwhile, his daughters Anissa and Jennifer start to develop their own metahuman abilities.

Black Lightning flanked by his scientist wife Lynn and his superhero daughters Thunder ( Anissa Pierce) and Lightning ( Jennifer Pierce).

In the second season, Jefferson loses his position as principal due to him not being there when the 100 attacks the school which caused a new principal named Mike Lowry to be installed. In addition, Henderson figures out that Black Lightning and Jefferson are one and the same which briefly strains their friendship until Tobias Whale kills a cop that was on his side. By the end of the season, the Pierce family is approached by A.S.A. agent Odell who voices his knowledge of their identities and wants them to help the A.S.A. when the Markovians turn Freeland into a war zone. In the third season, Jefferson has been placed in the Pit, where Tobias is also held, for 37 days where he is experimented on.

Crisis On Infinite Earths (2019-2020)

Black Lightning formally joins the CW Arrowverse in “Crisis on Infinite Earths”

In the third season mid-season finale, Jefferson is recruited by Pariah to help the heroes stop the anti-matter cannon in the CW Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths. The Anti-Monitor erases Jefferson’s Earth but is later bought back to life after Oliver Queen’s sacrifice to reboot the universe. This includes Jefferson’s Earth being merged with the others, now called “Earth-Prime”, and Jeff himself becomes a member of a league of heroes led by Barry Allen in memory of Queen.

Facts

  • At 47 years old, Cress Williams is the second oldest actor to make his debut appearance as a superhero in a live-action production. (The oldest is Ron Perlman, who was 54 when he played the title character in Hellboy (2004)).
  • Williams previously appeared in the series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” as the villain Baron Sunday.
  • Jefferson adopts a more street-wise manner of speaking when disguised as Black Lightning. This is in keeping with the original comic books, where Black Lightning made use of 70’s era slang to disguise his identity.

Legacy

Black Lightning was ranked 85th overall on IGN’s “Top 100 Comic Books Heroes” list in 2011.  Black Lightning was a big influence on the creation of the DC/Milestone hero Static and a number of other electrical powered African American heroes.

The Black Lightning Knockoffs/ Homages

Super Friends (1973-1985)

For the sake of political correctness, the popular Saturday morning cartoon Super Friends on ABC began to display a number of racially diverse superheroes like El Dorado (a Latino), Samurai (an Asian) and Apache Chief (a Native American). As such, Black Lightning was supposed to be included on the show. However, due to a dispute between DC and Black Lightning’s creator Tony Isabella, he could not be used. So, Hanna-Barbera (the show’s producers) created a new black superhero inspired by Black Lightning, Black Vulcan!

Black Vulcan as he appeared on The Super Friends

Black Vulcan had all the same powers as Black Lightning and wore an outfit that was skin tight and had a helmet that resembled the Flash’s. Black Vulcan first appeared in The All-New Super Friends Hour cartoon series episode “The Whirlpool”.

By the way, Black Vulcan’s catchphrase was “Great Lightning!”

Like Black Lightning, Black Vulcan’s main power was his ability to emit electricity from his hands. Unlike Black Lightning at the time, Black Vulcan’s powers were internal and he exhibited powers his comic inspiration had not shown before. For instance, Black Vulcan could fly by charging his lower body with energy. On a few occasions, Black Vulcan had the ability to completely turn his whole body into a form of pure energy( this allowed him to travel at the speed of light and travel back in time).

Facts

  • Tony Isabella hates the character of Black Vulcan and considers his creation as ‘stealing‘. In fact, his last issue of Black Lightning’s original run featured a story called ‘The Other Black Lightning‘ where a villainess named Barbara Hanna ( a swipe at Hanna Barbera) creates a fraudulent Black Lightning.
  • The Cartoon Network series Justice League Unlimited featured a manufactured  group of heroes called The Ultimen (based on the 70’s racially diverse Super Friends). The character Juice is based on Black Vulcan.

  • Black Vulcan has made several appearances on Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law, voiced by Phil Lamarr.  It was revealed that his real name is Michael Jones and he used to go by the name of Supervolt before Aquaman suggested his present name Black Vulcan. A running gag on the show was whenever someone made a double entendre, Black Vulcan will often appear to utter some variation on “…in my pants.”  (Ex: He describes his power as “Pure electricity… in my pants“).
  • Black Vulcan makes a cameo in Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon along with the other Super Friends.
  • Black Vulcan makes a big screen cameo appearance in The Lego Batman Movie as a dancing partygoer at the Justice League Anniversary Party held at the Fortress of Solitude.

Static Shock (2000-2004)

The Kids WB! cartoon series Static Shock featured a character based on Black Lightning named Soul Power (voiced by the late Brock Peters) in the episode Blast from the Past.  Back in the 1960s, a young black man named Morris Grant gained his powers in an accident at Hoover Dam.

As Soul Power, Grant protected  the city of Dakota from criminals with “the power of ten turbines“. After a victory, Soul Power would do a ‘ Funky Chicken’-like dance for the public on scene and end it with the ‘Black Power’ fist in the air. Soul Power had a Batcave-like headquarters hidden underground called The Power Pad and drove a car called The Soulmobile.

He also had a mouthy teen sidekick named Sparky whose powers were derived from a suit he originally invented so that he can aid Soul Power in fighting crime. Morris is now an elderly man who lives in a nursing home where Static volunteers as Virgil Hawkins. Also, Static’s father Robert was Soul Power’s biggest fan as a kid. 

Young hero Static joins Soul Power and Sparky as they team up one last time to defeat Soul Power’s greatest foe Professor Menace who disappeared after a battle in 1963.

Facts

  • Soul Power’s outfit and Afro hair style both greatly resemble Black Lightning’s original look.
  • As with Black Vulcan, Soul Power was originally intended to be Black Lightning, but this was not allowed by DC, as it would require paying royalties to his creator, Tony Isabella.

-JaDarrel Belser