1966
Black Panther
POWERS: Superior intellect, suit laced with super-strong metal vibranium, expert combat skills
Arguably the most important and well-known black superhero of all time, T’Challa the Black Panther made his Marvel debut in a Fantastic Four comic in 1966. What excited black comic fans, in part, was the fact that Black Panther, who didn’t have superpowers, could take on the Fantastic Four and win.
1967
Catwoman
POWERS: Stealthy master thief, highly acrobatic, trained in martial arts, deadly with a bullwhip
In the campy Batman TV show of the ’60s, Eartha Kitt’s performance as Catwoman in 1967 is one of the earliest instances of a black performer in a comic-book role. She went up against Adam West’s Batman in her own unique style — not nearly as sexually suggestive or romantic as Julie Newmar’s Catwoman, perhaps because of the social climate. But as a villain she was just as formidable.
1969
Falcon
POWERS: Hand-to-hand combat skills, wings that let him fly
Making his first Marvel appearance in 1969 and a frequent partner to Captain America, the Falcon/Sam Wilson appears in multiple Marvel movies, including “Captain America: Civil War.”
1971
John Stewart/Green Lantern
POWERS: Green Lantern ring allows him to turn anything in his mind into green energy
Stewart, an African American Green Lantern, debuted in DC Comics in 1971. He was introduced to a wider audience when he joined the Justice League animated series as the power-ring-wielding Green Lantern in 2001 on Cartoon Network. Whether he will be the Green Lantern in a future live-action Justice League movie remains to be seen.
1972
Luke Cage
POWERS: Super strength, invulnerability, indestructible skin
Cage was a hero for hire in the pages of Marvel Comics when he debuted in 1972. Armed with indestructible skin, Cage made his live-action debut (played by Mike Colter) on Netflix’s “Jessica Jones.” In his early years in the comics, Cage would gladly save the day if you could pay the bill. For many he is still one of the first names to come to mind when thinking of black superheroes.
1975
Storm
POWERS: Ability to manipulate all forms of weather, can fly by affecting wind
Her appearance on the X-Men Saturday-morning cartoon may have left more of an impression with a generation of fans, but Halle Berry’s portrayal of Storm in the first X-Men movie in 2000 was just as memorable. A mutant with the ability to control the weather, she debuted in Marvel’s X-Men comics in 1975. Storm remains one of the most well-known black superheroes in comics. “X-Men: Apocalypse” will spotlight a new Storm, portrayed by Alexandra Shipp.
1977
Black Manta
POWERS: Battle suit allows him to function underwater, helmet fires optic blasts
What the Joker is to Batman and Lex Luthor to Superman, Black Manta is to Aquaman. First appearing in an Aquaman comic book in 1967, this villain has always been one of Aquaman’s most recognizable foes — and the most mysterious. So it was a surprise when it was revealed, in 1977, that the “black” in Black Manta may have referred not to his all-black underwater armor but to the man underneath it, who was African American.
1979
War Machine
POWERS: Ability to fly, armed with a dizzying array of weapons via his heavily armored suit
The role of James “Rhodey” Rhodes, one of Tony Stark/Iron Man’s most trusted allies who first appeared in Iron Man comics in 1979, initially went to Terrence Howard in the first Iron Man film. When it was time to suit up as War Machine in 2010’s “Iron Man 2,” however, it was Don Cheadle inside the armor. Cheadle has appeared in two Iron Man movies, an Avengers film and will fight alongside Iron Man in “Captain America: Civil War.”
1986
Amanda Waller
POWERS: Expert tactician, well-versed in espionage, master manipulator
The boss of the Suicide Squad made her first comic book appearance in 1986 and is one of the coldest and most ruthless people in the DC Comics universe. Which is what you have to be when in charge of a team of converted supervillains. The character will appear in the Suicide Squad movie in August alongside DC characters Deadshot, Harley Quinn and the Joker.
1991
Bishop
POWERS: Ability to absorb energy and redistribute it as an offensive attack
One of the more popular X-Men characters after making his comic book debut for Marvel in 1991. The time-traveling Bishop jumped from the pages of X-Men comics to the X-Men animated series before making his movie debut (portrayed by Omar Sy) in “X-Men: Days of Future Past” in 2014.
1992
Spawn
POWERS: Superhuman strength and speed
Spawn’s popularity in the ’90s played a large role in the rise of Image Comics and even inspired an animated HBO series and a movie starring Michael Jai White in 1997. Spawn’s alter ego, Al Simmons, is a former Marine killed in a setup; he makes a deal with a devil-like being and is sent back to the land of the living as a demonic, superpowered antihero. The first issue of Spawn debuted for Image Comics in 1992.
1998
Blade
POWERS: Superhuman strength, resistant to age, accelerated healing powers
“Deadpool” isn’t the first time a Marvel Comics character had box-office success with an R-rated movie. Blade (Wesley Snipes) is a half-vampire, half-human who proved that comics characters don’t always have to be PG-13. The success of “Blade” in 1998 came a decade before Marvel Studios’ first movie hit, “Iron Man,” in 2008 and served as an early reminder to Marvel that its library of characters could work in films.
2000
Nick Fury
POWERS: Advanced armed-combat skills, master technician, demolition expert
After Marvel Comics created an alternate “Ultimate” storytelling universe in 2000, Nick Fury, who had always been depicted as white, was re-created as a black man, eventually using actor Samuel L. Jackson as an influence. Jackson has portrayed Fury in his ongoing role as the leader of the Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
2014
Wally West
POWERS: Superhuman speed, highly intelligent, superhuman reflexes
Although he has yet to show the super-fast speed he’s known for on the CW series “The Flash,” few doubt that West will be running alongside the Flash as Kid Flash. Keiynan Lonsdale debuted as Wally West on the show in 2015. For decades West was white, but DC Comics changed his race in 2014. The TV series decided to use those most updated versions of Wally and his sister (and possible future love interest to the Flash), Iris West, played by Candice Patton.
2016
Hawkgirl
POWERS: Ability to fly, enhanced strength, combat skills, armed with her signature mace
A popular character in the Justice League animated series, Hawkgirl is played by Ciara Renée on the CW’s new show “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.” The winged warrior was white in her DC Comics appearances and in animated form but was cast as a person of color for “Legends of Tomorrow.”
2016
Deadshot
POWERS: Extremely precise marksman/assassin, weapons expert
Will Smith assumes the role of one of DC Comics’ most lethal marksmen (who in the comic books, cartoons and TV show has always been white) when he portrays Floyd Lawton/Deadshot in “Suicide Squad” in August.
