Which Black hero should WB/DC push in response to Black Panther

[mace11]

But again, how does this really put Marvel over the top? I mean, there's more Asian DC characters, too. Plus, its not like there's been this big push to show Asian leads in their cinematic universe. There's even been pushback against them because of perceived whitewashing. I mean,
their poster boy for for the martial arts genre is a white guy.

You know what i almost forgot about that dc show powerless from nbc.
The lead actress is asian.

[Elmo]

Icon is the only logical answer.

the reason Black Panther is so important right now is that he is an important symbol of black culture. He is a black man who is king of his own technologically advanced country. Talented and superior in almost every way. His whole premise is political and helps alter the narrative on the portrayal of blacks in the media.

Cyborg, John Stewart, Mr. Terrific do none of that. They are great characters but a response to Black Panther needs to be something that in its own way can represent a take on black culture that is also fresh and eye-opening.

A character who is essentially immortal, arrived on earth in the 1800s, has seen the progression of people of different ethnicities in America all through history, the civil rights movements, black lives matter, Obama, etc

A character who is just as strong as Superman and is black

A black Superman who isn't a legacy character or in any way tied to a white character

A black supporting cast

He is extremely intelligent and is an extremely successful lawyer.

The amount you could do with this character is unparalleled.

Cyborg and John Stewart are great characters who can lead great movies but they can't have the same cultural impact as a character like Icon.

[Ascended]

Why are people talking about the Milestone characters as if DC can actually use them as they wish?

DC does not own those characters. Milestone does. DC just published the books and distributed them.

DC couldn't just pick up Icon or Static and throw them in a movie even if they wanted to. They'd have to cut a deal with Milestone and pay royalties, and/or whatever the details of the agreement demand.

Or have things changed that I dont know about?

[mace11]

The main issue with DC has been aside from Cyborg-most POC don't get to have tv, movies and comic book roles all at once.

You could say most characters of all races in marvel and dc will never be on tv, be in the movies and in comics all at once.
Most white characters for example from marvel and dc will never be in movies or tv.
Most will never have solo comic.

[Johnny]

I dislike the notion of reactionary tactics meant to equal what someone else is doing.

Panther is looking like it'll be a huge hit. Which should surprise no one (got my tickets weeks ago! Can't wait til tomorrow to see it!) but if DC keeps themselves in the mindset of "We have to balance this success Marvel has" then they'll never achieve real success on their own. At best, they'll get "also-ran" success.....which is just riding the coat tails of better material.

[Jim Kelly]

DC has a lot more than just super-heroes; they should be branching out into other genres like horror, war, crime, science fiction, fantasy.

[ross61]

Noone. WB should have no "response" to Black Panther because they are incompetent and have no clue how to compete with Marvel. Every single time they tried to "respond" to them, they've failed. Ruining great characters' good name and losing millions of dollars in the process. If they have the temerity to go after BP too, they are in for another colossal embarrassment, because they sure love the idea of striking when the iron's hot, but have no concept of how to do it in a remotely competent fashion. WB are parasites that turned the great comic universe they have at their disposal into a laughing stock by repeatedly trying to leech off of someone else's fame and fail miserably each time. Enough of that.

In short, WB should mind their own business and pay no attention to Marvel, regardless of what Marvel does or doen't do with any of their characters.

They’d be stupid to sit on they’re hand while Black Panther gets a Billion. That’s not how a business is run.

[Johnny]

They’d be stupid to sit on they’re hand while Black Panther gets a Billion. That’s not how a business is run.

Business also isn't run by riding on someone else's coattails and consistently failing to achieve the desired success. If they were capable of successfully emulating Marvel, by all means go for it. They're not, so they should stop. Focus on what they have in current development, not rushing anything to "respond" to Marvel, which they've proven time and again to be a rather fruitless endeavor for them.

[mace11]

DC has a lot more than just super-heroes; they should be branching out into other genres like horror, war, crime, science fiction, fantasy.

Well preacher,izombie and lucifer are all on tv.
There was the Constantine show and the movie for example.
Krypton and that lex and lois lane show is upcoming.
There is suppose to be a native american dc show upcoming too.

[Robotman]

It would take many years to build up a character to be any where near as popular as Black Panther. DC would have to follow Marvel's example with Captain Marvel. They realized that they didn't have an answer to Wonder Woman. so they built up Carol Danvers over many years and persisted even when her book didn't sell very well. seems like they would relaunch her book over 6 to 8 months. now they are about to introduce her on the big screen and i wouldn't be surprised if the Captain Marvel movie makes more than Wonder Woman because it has the MARVEL STUDIOS brand attached to it. she'll never be as culturally significant as Wonder Woman but she's about to be almost as well known.

[Nite-Wing]

It would take many years to build up a character to be any where near as popular as Black Panther. DC would have to follow Marvel's example with Captain Marvel. They realized that they didn't have an answer to Wonder Woman. so they built up Carol Danvers over many years and persisted even when her book didn't sell very well. seems like they would relaunch her book over 6 to 8 months. now they are about to introduce her on the big screen and i wouldn't be surprised if the Captain Marvel movie makes more than Wonder Woman because it has the MARVEL STUDIOS brand attached to it. she'll never be as culturally significant as Wonder Woman but she's about to be almost as well known.

Black Panther was marginalized at Marvel for years
His current success is due entirely to that same practice galvanizing people who don't want to see a black hero fail.
DC could wise up and have their own success on hand but its unlikely to happen

[j9ac9k]

Well, WB's "response" to "Iron Man" was "Green Lantern" and that didn't work, because aside from casting Ryan Reynolds as a counter to RDJ, they had no idea how to present the GL mythos. They had no "response" to the success of "Captain America," "Thor", "Guardians of the Galaxy" (what, no "Omega Men" movie??), or "Dr Strange." Why would they have a "response" for "Black Panther?" Their biggest hit was "Wonder Woman" and that wasn't a "response" to anything.

[ultradav]

You bite your devil tongue! Nothing about Icon needs to be changed at all. Icon is a gods damn national treasure.

I dont think his politics are a problem. There are black people who are conservative. Its always been a smaller percentage but they're still there. I'm sure the current republican party has done a great job driving them away (as its driven most proper thinking people away) but Icon shouldn't be re-worked out of his politics just because it's outside the usual demographics.

Plus, a big part of Icon's story is his slow political shift. He starts out as a conservative who is out of touch with modern black culture, but as Rocket drags him back into the world he starts to change his mind about a lot of his political opinions. I think that's great. Someone mature enough to change his opinion when presented with new evidence or perspectives? That's a lesson we could all definitely stand to re-learn in today's partisan climate.

Icon (and Rocket, can't do it without Rocket) is a strong concept that is made for a good movie. But I worry he isn't really well known enough -- which is why DC should hire a top notch writer like yesterday to build his (their) profile.

[MadFacedKid]

Cultural impact wise Icon's background fits the bill. But like said by some already DC doesn't have an answer to Black Panther his mythos generate cultural impact based on what they represent. Culture identity, Heritage, Sense of owning up to responsibility, lineage.

Mr. Terrific building tech to fight crime or John Stewart fighting aliens in space doesn't counter any of that.

[Jim Kelly]

Well preacher,izombie and lucifer are all on tv.
There was the Constantine show and the movie for example.
Krypton and that lex and lois lane show is upcoming.
There is suppose to be a native american dc show upcoming too.

Maybe DC's true strength is in television. People say they haven't built up a legacy in the movies like Marvel's. Well, they have a legacy on TV and in animation--so better DC should keep to those streams where they've enjoyed success.