Poll: Who should be dc's premiere black superhero?

[DevilBat66]

He was first what?
First black/African-American DC character to headline his own comic book is correct, but that came out in 1977.

John Stewart first appeared as a Green Lantern substitute in Green Lantern #87 (December 1971).

But is the question asking who should be the ONLY black/African-American hero at DC, or is it more of who should DC put more focus on to raise his/her visibility and prominence? You can still have other heroes, but maybe they should chose one to use more frequently and give a greater push to.
(Others can still get more exposure / attention later on.)

yes. The first hero with his own comic. John Stewart, while being in print first, is still a knock-off.

Not to you specifically but, just because someone would be the "premier" black hero doesn't mean that they would be the only black hero being published any more than having Batman being the premier hero of DC negates anyone else appearing.

Almost every "dream team" line up I have for the JLA or The Outsiders has both Vixen and BL on the rosters. Not because of diversity as much as I just really like both characters and wish they were as prominent in the comics as I'd like them to be.

[Johnny]

This might be difficult for some to wrap their heads around, but diversity is quality.

I wouldn't say it's difficult, just that it isn't true. In what way does having diversity in a movie story improve the quality of the writing? If it's written well, you can have a quality story with or without diversity. If it's NOT written well, you can't have a quality story with or without diversity. Having diversity in a poorly written story, doesn't suddenly make the quality of that story better. Diversity is important to many and shouldn't be ignored, but it's not a necessity in order to put a quality story together. The notion that you "need" diversity in any type of story or that having diversity in that story somehow automatically = quality, has to stop. You don't and it doesn't.

[Troian]

They mean premiere in the same sense that Wonder Woman is the premiere female character and Batman is top dog. Sure there other Female heroes and you have superman, but we all know at the end of the day those two are the top of their respective categories.

Anyways I vote for Vixen.

[Troian]

The idea that DC should only have one main black hero is disgusting. They really need to take a page out of Marvel's book, and trim down on the white dudes.

HOWEVER, if I could only pick one black DC hero to be a long running member of the main Justice League, I'd go with Steel.

They have many heroes and heroines, but at the end of the day, push Batman and WW first and foremost.
This is how I see the premiere Black hero thing working like.

[Agent Z]

They have many heroes and heroines, but at the end of the day, push Batman and WW first and foremost.
This is how I see the premiere Black hero thing working like.

Pushing only a handful of characters is not smart business sense.

[Iconic]

I wouldn't say it's difficult, just that it isn't true. In what way does having diversity in a movie story improve the quality of the writing? If it's written well, you can have a quality story with or without diversity. If it's NOT written well, you can't have a quality story with or without diversity. Having diversity in a badly written story, doesn't suddenly make the quality of that story better. Diversity is important to many and shouldn't be ignored, but it's not a necessity in order to put a quality story together. The notion that you "need" diversity in any type of story or that having diversity in that story somehow automatically = quality, has to stop. You don't and it doesn't.

Let me clarify.

I'm referring to story. In that a diverse story lends itself into being a quality story. Not simply in nationalities. I'm referring to DC's stated approach to Rebirth in "diversity of storytelling". I realize why someone else questioned it earlier now.

I'll say this though: I enjoy movies with a diverse cast as opposed to just one particular group. It takes more effort to give different people their voices. It takes a greater skill.

In the same vein, that's how I enjoy certain writers. Al Ewing over at Marvel deals with ensembles and respect all characters involved. They all have their own voices. Most writers just aren't skilled enough.

[Carabas]

I am surprised by teh number of votes for the final option.

"There shouldn't be a premiere black superhero. There should be more than one black superhero in JL."
Thsi makes no sense.
Yes, obviously there should be more than one. But even if there were five, you'll always have one that is more popular than the others, a 'premiere' one.

[FlictsLantern]

Ok, I will not mention Static.

What bothers me is how DC seems to drop characters at will. Steel, Mr. Terrific simply desapear and then a new character is created to try to fill a given role. And sometimes they go with the easiest,more tested patch. They have a very original and new speedster concept in Más y Menos, and decided to create a new Kid Flash practically equal to the former - including the character name. They had an interesting concept in We Are Robin, and decided to reel in Duke Thomas under Batman wing. All this, including taking Cyborg, a character known for his story with the Titans, and puting him on the League feels just like.... pushing a character down the readers throat. It would be much more effective if the characters were giving the chance of growing organically. This has many to do with the creative, I know. This is much the reason most fans like Damian Wayne and not so much Duke Thomas.

So, my answer is, no matter the character, as long as he or she is given a fair chance and a good team to grow. I don't think we saw all the potential of Mr. Terrific, Steel, Steel family and many others.

[PyroTwilight]

While I kind of get the topic it seems pretty silly to try to really narrow it. If DC really pushes one a massive degree, neat. But I doubt DC's going to ever just stop and say "_____ is our Black character. They have to be EVERYWHERE or near it."

I think thanks to media exposure however Cyborg is definitely the current BIG of the Black superheroes. In much the same way John Stewart was during the JL/JLU show run. With Vixen a closer second due to her appearances on Arrow and push in the comics. It would be fun to see Mr Terrific elevated as well due to being on Arrow but it's unlikely to have a big effect on the character so far.

[leo619]

LOL, that would mean DC would need to push a black hero to begin with. Their attempt with Cyborg has been half a** at best and he's supposed to be a founding father. You have golden opportunities like Val Zod but unlike Marvel's Miles Morales, I don't see DC fanbase giving him a chance. The thing is DC's fanbase won't support a "premier" DC's hero even if they pushed it, unless it was the absolute classic form of that character which usually means 2nd tier or 3rd tier mentality.

[failo.legendkiller]

Yeah...nah. I'm not a fan of this thread either, but for a totally different reason as some have already laid out. But your claim of quality over diversity...nope, nope, nope.

This might be difficult for some to wrap their heads around, but diversity is quality.

Also, not everybody cares about him being connected to the Titans. I don't and I highly doubt I'm alone.

I agree with you, diversity is quality. Otherwise diversity could be crap if not well written.

I don't want to erase years of a character history just for diversity's sake. Cyborg can obviously stay with JL without cancel his Titans past connection, I don't want diversity to be the reason to change a character.
If you want more diversity you can create new charcters, that would be fine to me! Problem is DC is afraid to fail with new characters and prefer to use and adapt some old solid character.

I think quality come first, if you have it then diversity can add something more.

I would say that both diversity and quality are important and I know people like to say that diversity for diversity sake shouldn't be done but that's very easy to say when one is already represented in all forms of media.
Diversity for sake is okay. Everyone should be represented. The world isn't one shade, shape, gender or sexuality and fiction and the arts should reflect that.

When the odds /the playing field has been tilted in favour of one particular group for a considerable time all effort must be made to balance things out as soon as we can.

I can quote all your words. I have expressed my opinion better up here to Maximum.

[MajorHoy]

They mentioned it a couple years ago. They were going to have it under the Earth M moniker.

http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2015/07...he-creation-of

It doesn't say that DC was buying the characters outright; it says the stories would be published by DC.

DC has published many comic books in the past where they didn't "own" the characters; those were done under licensing agreements. It's similar to how studios like Fox are able to make movies starring certain Marvel characters but Marvel can't use those same characters in their own movies: Fox had a licensing agreement that gave them permission to use certain characters in exchange for $'s/other things.
Often those type of agreements run for a specific time then have to be renewed for the usage to continue. Fox's agreement, apparently, was more open-ended as long as they continued to make use of those characters at least every "x" number of years.

[Johnny]

Let me clarify.

I'm referring to story. In that a diverse story lends itself into being a quality story. Not simply in nationalities. I'm referring to DC's stated approach to Rebirth in "diversity of storytelling". I realize why someone else questioned it earlier now.

Ah-ha. I see what you mean now.

I'll say this though: I enjoy movies with a diverse cast as opposed to just one particular group. It takes more effort to give different people their voices. It takes a greater skill

Gotcha. I just thought you were suggesting that the mere fact of having different groups in a movie instantly improves the quality of the movie from a writing perspective. And yeah, I agree it's more challenging. Perhaps that's why some white writers seem to be so careful with non-white characters. Some time ago John Semper Jr. was asked if Cyborg's "blackness" not being emphasized on much in other books proved that he has been written by non-black authors a lot and he said they were afraid of doing that, as compared to him who could write Vic in pretty much any way he wanted.

[thefiresky]

I voted to make Hal black SIMPLY, because I knew i was the only one. Hahaha!

[Johnny]

I voted to make Hal black SIMPLY, because I knew i was the only one. Hahaha!

To be perfectly honest, had Hal been the only Green Lantern ever created, perhaps the notion of turning him black wouldn't sound so ridiculous to some.