The Coolest Black Super Heroes Of All Time

Source: Canva / Radio-One

The Coolest Black Super Heroes Of All Time

Superheroes have captured the imagination of fans for decades.

From the nostalgia of paperback comic books to the immersive experience of big-screen productions, superheroes, and their stories, serve as more than mere vessels for plot points and variations of the hero’s tale. With so many different types of characters assuming the title superhero, it’s easy for fans to find and identify with their favorite ones.

We see ourselves in them, even if their best powers are beyond our wildest dreams.

But it wasn’t always like that. At least, not for everyone.

Source: The Washington Post / Getty

The history of American culture is ripe with as many twists and turns as any superhero’s origin story. Thus the representation in mainstream media for black and brown people hasn’t always been as well-rounded as it could be. However, the superhero genre, like hopefully the rest of the country, is starting to come around.

For a long time, the most popular superheroes had one thing in common – they were all white men. Superman. Batman. Spiderman (well, for the most part). These three characters alone have more than 60 films credited to their stories.

According to Marvel Fandom , the Marvel Multiverse contains roughly 80,000 characters that could be considered superheroes. DC, Marvel’s biggest competitor, has nearly 10,000 characters.

So the big question is… where are the Black folks!?

OK, maybe that’s not your question. But it is mine. So I did a little digging.

Keep scrolling to check out our list, and be sure to drop your favorite characters that we missed down in the comments.

Here Are The Coolest Black Superheroes Of All Time

Black Panther

How could you start a list of the best Black superheroes without acknowledging one of the best superhero flicks of the last decade? This Marvel character Black Panther was created in 1966, and was the first Black superhero in mainstream comic books.

Spiderman (Miles Morales)

Ok, I know I listed Spiderman as just a white man earlier, but the evolution of Miles Morales has revolutionized storytelling in this genre. The half-Black, half-Puerto Rican hero is just as cool in his Spidey suit as Peter Parker but adds a bit of hipness that the original Spidey certainly lacks. Plus, the Miles Morales Spiderman movies are some of the best films out there, regardless of how you feel about superheroes.

Storm

X-Men’s Storm is iconic. Not only is her ability to control the weather simply badass, but she exhumes grace and leadership in ways that only a Black woman can. In the early 2000s Storm’s character was brought to life by the talented Halle Berry . A time when superhero movies were just beginning their assault on the box office, and some say paved the way for what the MCU has done over the last 20 years.

Blade

Another character and movie series that paved the way for modern-day MCU, Blade is an iconic Black superhero who doesn’t get enough shine. Blade, the vampire hybrid and martial art extraordinaire was born in a London brothel. The first of three Blade movies played by Wesley Snipes came out in 1998. This character has the unique ability of possessing all of the vampire’s strengths – and none of their weaknesses.