View Poll Results: Which of DC's Black Characters Has the Most Potential to Achieve Trinity Status?

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  • Green Lantern (John Stewart)

    49 30.06%
  • Vixen (Mari McCabe)

    18 11.04%
  • Cyborg (Victor Stone)

    13 7.98%
  • Black Lightning/Vulcan (Jefferson Pierce)

    30 18.40%
  • Static (Virgil Hawkins)

    7 4.29%
  • Naomi (Naomi McDuffie)

    9 5.52%
  • Mr. Terrific (Michael Holt)

    7 4.29%
  • Steel (John Henry Irons)

    4 2.45%
  • Bumblebee (Karen Beecher)

    0 0%
  • Icon (Augustus Freeman IV)

    1 0.61%
  • Rocket (Raquel Ervin)

    0 0%
  • Amazing-Man (Any Version)

    1 0.61%
  • Aqualad (Kaldur'ahm/Jackson Hyde)

    1 0.61%
  • Other (Specify Below)

    3 1.84%
  • None

    20 12.27%
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  1. #61
    duke's casettetape lemonpeace's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SecretWarrior View Post
    I'm a black person, and, yes, the name bothers me. Along with Black Goliath, Black Racer, Black Manta, Black Spider, Vykin the Black... The creators couldn't see the character beyond their race when naming them. Bronze Tiger comes close too. Don't know how Vixen didn't end up as Black Vixen, given the era.

    Black Panther gets a pass because that's the name of an actual animal and fits the setting.
    well I'm sorry you feel that way but you gonna have to get a thicker skin. there are far more deeply problematic things in this industry in regard to how characters of color are treated. they couldn't see pass their color? good, if they didn't see color they would've made them a bunch of white guys. I'm over the argument that the only good black representation is representation that's not allowed to overtly mention race. c'mon bruh, the whole story reasoning he's called Black Lightning in the first place is because he wanted them to understand that it was a black man putting you in jail; that's a character statement I can get behind. how is acknowledging who he is somehow more or as problematic as someone like Cyborg being the only black face on the Justice League but getting sonned, cancelled, retconned, and ripped apart regularly? how is that more problematic than DC letting there biggest asset in regards to characters of color (Milestone) be held up in legal limbo this long? how is him being able to acknowledge he's black even a topic when DC's biggest and damn near only asset in characters of color is a brand that's been in legal limbo for almost a decade now? how is it more problematic than letting both of your most recognizable black characters (John Stewart and Vixen) be mishandled for over 2 decades? I'm sorry to rant here but I simply reject that premise, pardon the hyperbole, but it's like being mad that the sign say "NO BLACKS ALLOWED" instead of "NO AFRICAN AMERICANS ALLOWED".

    i guess we can agree to disagree, and I didn't mean to rant but I'm just over this argument because it feels like yet another instance of the hyper-rationalizing of characters of color that always seems to hold them back. every black character gotta jump through these unnecessary hoops that, by the time we get through, they are so inoffensive and irrelevant that they get swept under the rug. then we turn around and wonder why there aren't more characters of color in the upper echelons. I'll rephrase what said before, if this is a matter of what's stopping these black heroes from being up there on Trinity or even Aquaman/Green Lantern/Flash status, there are far more problematic things holding characters of color back than the black guy having black in his name
    Last edited by lemonpeace; 10-13-2019 at 10:08 PM.
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  2. #62
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    Quote Originally Posted by SecretWarrior View Post
    Cyborg's disfigurement ruins the character's potential as a black paragon IMO. No wish fulfimment.
    Every time I see someone call Cyborg disfigured I wonder if they're mistaking him for Two-Face. And you're greatly exaggerating how much wish fulfillment comes into play for enjoyment of a character.

    Black Lightning's codename does the same for that character. Not to mention his powers don't bring anything new to the table. A black panther is an actual animal. Black lightning is just about race.
    The popularity of his t.v. show says otherwise.

  3. #63
    Astonishing Member Koriand'r's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SecretWarrior View Post
    I'm a black person, and, yes, the name bothers me. Along with Black Goliath, Black Racer, Black Manta, Black Spider, Vykin the Black... The creators couldn't see the character beyond their race when naming them. Bronze Tiger comes close too. Don't know how Vixen didn't end up as Black Vixen, given the era.

    Black Panther gets a pass because that's the name of an actual animal and fits the setting.
    Most of those characters were created during the "Black and Proud" movement when the term "black" was considered a positive attribute and cool. Instead of being limiting it was expansive and meant to show these weren't your typically bland, white-washed, superheroes.

  4. #64
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    What I think a black comics character needs to succeed and stand on their own feet.
    I don't know if they would reach "trinity status", but I think they could carve out THEIR OWN area if these "guidelines" are followed. I don't see them as jumping through loads of hoops. I see this as a list of common sense stuff. Unfortunately, DC never created the "Total Package" black character that can check off all these boxes way back when creators were making more things for them. This is largely why DC is in the situation it is with black characters. This may seem like a lot of stuff, but remember, it's mostly just common sense stuff that leading characters should have. Note that Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan, Arthur, and so on and so on actually check off all these boxes where they apply. It isn't hard to do:

    The hero must have their own original superhero identity, and cannot be an offshoot or reliant on another hero or concept:
    This means John Stewart doesn't work going by this. Neither does Steel, who is overly reliant on Superman.

    They must be a leading character and the main character of their story:
    That wipes out Cyborg, who is a team player, as is Vixen. Black Lightning is really the ONLY one that fits this bill.

    They must have an interesting mythology:
    NO black superhero at DC has this. Either because their mythology is uninteresting (Black Lightning IMO), or is underdeveloped and barely existent, like Vixen, or is someone else's mythology, like John Stewart.

    The company must support the hero as leading characters for the long haul:
    DC doesn't really support any black character for the long haul. These characters are extremely lucky if they get a series that lasts two years before it's cancelled and they go back into limbo or on some team or something.

    The hero must not have some silly pidgeon-holing name or bizarre unaesthetic appearance:
    This wipes out Black Lightning and Cyborg.

    The hero will, ideally, be designed to appeal to more than just black people. While Black people may be a demographic they can zero in on very strongly, they HAVE to hit a broader spectrum than that:
    I think this wipes out Black Lightning and many Milestone characters, not that I'm really counting them anyway, because they are their own thing.

    The hero must have a love interest and regular supporting characters and villains to fight. This means no biting off of other heroes' stuff:
    Who has this? No one!?

    The hero must have quality stories:
    I know there are some people who get off to black characters just being black (often black people), but to interest EVERYONE ELSE, the character must actually have quality stories behind them.
    Last edited by Vampire Savior; 10-13-2019 at 11:20 PM.

  5. #65
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vampire Savior View Post
    There is also Zack, the original Black Power Ranger, which Saban caught quite a bit of flack for, along with making Trini, the Asian girl, the Yellow Ranger. Never again (at least to my knowledge), would a black character be the Black Ranger in any subsequent Power Ranger line ups. Because, like...people don't like that. It's awkward. Black Lightning is no better.
    The black ranger in Power Rangers Operation Overdrive was played a black British man. I don't recall any controversy over that but I did remember complaints about his character being a thief for hire.

  6. #66
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sutekh View Post
    Traditionally, he created yellow lightning, but a decade or so back, around the time he was on the Justice League ever so briefly (and had a shaved head, as all black men in comics at that time period did), it changed to black lightning with a sort of blue aura around it. I kind of liked that unique twist, even if it was a clear attempt to get away from 'Black Lightning' being named that way because he was a black dude who threw lightning.

    "Yes, it's Black Lightning. And we can team him up with some of Marvel's unfortunately named characters like Yellow Claw (who is Asian), Red Wolf (who is Native American) and White... uh, wait, the only ones I can think of are White Tiger, who is Latino, and White Fox, who is Korean... Is there a White Something or other who's actually caucasian?"
    White Wolf from Black Panther is white.

  7. #67
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    Quote Originally Posted by Agent Z View Post
    The black ranger in Power Rangers Operation Overdrive was played a black British man. I don't recall any controversy over that but I did remember complaints about his character being a thief for hire.
    Okay, I think I know who you're talking about. Dude with cornrows, if I'm thinking of the right guy. I didn't know what color he was from memory

    I stopped being a super fan after Lost Galaxy (Zordon era for life!). And I stopped watching regularly altogether after Wild Force.

  8. #68
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    Quote Originally Posted by Koriand'r View Post
    Most of those characters were created during the "Black and Proud" movement when the term "black" was considered a positive attribute and cool. Instead of being limiting it was expansive and meant to show these weren't your typically bland, white-washed, superheroes.
    That might be true, but that was then and this is now, and sensibilities are quite different. That's what makes Black Lightning's name very dated. It isn't timeless like "Superman" or "Green Lantern".

    It's similar to how "All-Negro Comics" is very dated. It may have been...appropriate for the time...maybe(?), but I wouldn't recommend bringing this title back.


  9. #69
    Astonishing Member Fergus's Avatar
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    I voted John

  10. #70
    Astonishing Member Koriand'r's Avatar
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    You can't run from your past because you find it uncomfortable. If you don't remember your history you're doomed to repeat it and knowledge of self is the greatest knowledge of all.

  11. #71
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    Quote Originally Posted by Koriand'r View Post
    Most of those characters were created during the "Black and Proud" movement when the term "black" was considered a positive attribute and cool. Instead of being limiting it was expansive and meant to show these weren't your typically bland, white-washed, superheroes.
    Exactly. Some very lazy attitudes to history on display here.

  12. #72
    Astonishing Member Sodam Yat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by iron chimp View Post
    Exactly. Some very lazy attitudes to history on display here.
    “Lazy attitudes”?

  13. #73
    Ultimate Member Johnny's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by iron chimp View Post
    Exactly. Some very lazy attitudes to history on display here.
    What do you mean by that. Just because people disagree doesn't mean they have "lazy attitudes". If some people are bothered by black characters having "Black" in their superhero name, more power to them, why is it lazy to express themselves about it.
    Last edited by Johnny; 10-14-2019 at 04:35 AM.

  14. #74
    DC/Collected Editions Mod The Darknight Detective's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vordan View Post
    Static and Stewart came close thanks to the cartoon series but it’s been a long time.
    Indeed. Fifteen years ago, I would have picked Static and then John as the top two (Cyborg would have been #3). But as you stated, that was a long time ago.
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  15. #75
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    So i found out bendis's daughter is black
    so i see why he created Naomi now, too bad he ignores so many other dark skinned females like her

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