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The 25 Most Memorable Black Comic Book Characters
Topic Started: Feb 16 2014, 07:40 PM (3,572 Views)
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11. Michonne (Image Comics)
First Appearance: The Walking Dead #19 (2005)
Creators: Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard

When Michonne was first introduced in The Walking Dead comic book series, the mere sight of a woman armed with a sword and leading two captive zombies grabbed everyone's attention. As the years have passed, she's established herself as the woman to watch in the series, truly one of the most complex and interesting characters its produced.

The highlight for Michonne’s character came during the arc with The Governor, where she's beaten, raped, tortured, and suffered the death of her lover, Tyreese. The experience only made her stronger, while also giving readers a look at what's behind her rugged façade.

Now if we could only get her TV incarnation to emote a little more.

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12. Cyborg (DC Entertainment)
First Appearance: DC Comics Presents #26 (1980)
Creators: Marv Wolfman, George Perez

After an intellectually-enhanced teenager named Victor Stone was severely injured in an experiment at S.T.A.R. Labs, the boy's father equipped him with cybernetic prosthetics to save his life. But after being ostracized because of his deformities, Victor linked with the Teen Titans.

Cyborg, as he’s come to be known, became one of DC’s most popular heroes outside of the Justice League. Despite the sci-fi trappings of his story, his social struggles kept readers relating, which led to the company including the character in many cartoons over the years.

As popular as the character was during the ‘80s, it doesn't compare to DC’s recent push to make Cyborg a top name. When the New 52 launched in September of 2011, Victor Stone was re-introduced to readers as a member of the Justice League. From Teen Titan to Justice Leaguer, Cyborg has established himself as one of the premier heroes at the company.

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13. Static (Milestone Comics/DC Entertainment)
First Appearance: Static #1 (1993)
Creators: Dwayne McDuffie, Robert L. Washington III, John Paul Leon

Created by the late Dwayne McDuffie, Static first appeared courtesy of Milestone Comics, a small, independently-owned imprint of DC. Milestone focused on minority characters in a time when most publishers were focused on their pre-existing properties, most of them white. When he debuted, Static was a 15-year-old kid with the ability to fire electric bolts.

McDuffie crafted storylines for Static where he dealt with problems like gang violence and drugs. The character reached the pinnacle of his fame when he got his own cartoon on Kids WB. He was later absorbed into the larger DC Universe.

Although the Static Shock comic reboot of 2011 wasn’t a critical or commercial success, the company still keeps the character around for various Teen Titans stories and larger company crossovers.

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14. Misty Knight (Marvel Entertainment)
First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #21 (1975)
Creators: Tony Isabella, Arvell Jones

Misty Knight debuted in Marvel Premiere #21 in 1975, at a time when blaxploitation and kung-fu movies were a real force in the mainstream. She began her career doing small appearances in books like Premiere and Marvel Team-Up alongside detective Colleen Wing, but she eventually carved out a niche following and was soon a regular in the X-Men comics, as well as Power Man and Iron Fist stories.

Knight is a bionically enhanced detective with strong martial-arts skills and a boisterous personality—in other words, the complete opposite of the other women at the company. Kudos to Marvel's writers for fashioning her into a self-sufficient character that doesn’t wait around to be saved by her male partners.

Despite the camp of her original appearances, Misty is a refreshing figure for all readers to look up to. She's never over sexualized, and never gimmicky. Sadly, that's rare in the superhero genre.

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15. Bishop (Marvel Entertainment)
First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #282 (1991)
Creators: John Byrne, Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio

Bishop came into the world during a time when the X-Men franchise was introducing new characters nearly every month, but something about this time-traveling antihero resonated with fans. Lucas Bishop came to the past to join the X-Men in an attempt to defeat Trevor Fitzroy, but he decided to stay in the present, acting as a part of the main team of mutants, as well as part of an FBI program to stop mutant-related crimes in District X.

Whereas most characters introduced in the ‘90s were little more than overblown action stars, Bishop has demonstrated real complexity over the years. His relationship with Cable and Hope during the Messiah Complex storyline made for captivating reading. Plus, dude sported a mullet like nobody’s business.

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16. Steel (DC Entertainment)
First Appearance: The Adventures of Superman #500 (1993)
Creators: Louise Simonson, Jon Bogdanove

Movie geeks, put your memories of Shaq aside. Comic book stans, forget that Steel was created to be a wannabe Clark Kent during the “Death of Superman” storyline. Because despite those inauspicious beginnings, Steel's become one of DC’s most recognizable black characters.

Inspired by the John Henry folk legend, Dr. John Henry Irons is a former weapons engineer who decided to stop making instruments of destruction for large corporations in favor of fighting crime with his powerful armor.

After his debut, Steel managed to stay relevant in DC and avoid becoming a cheap Iron Man knockoff because of real personality and cool armor enhancements. Check out DC's New 52 reboot for proof.

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17. Vixen (DC Entertainment)
First Appearance: Action Comics #521 (1981)
Creators: Gerry Conway, Bob Oksner

Able to tap into Earth’s morphogenetic field, Vixen has the most unique set of powers among black characters in comic books. She can mimic the physical attributes of any animal on the planet, such as the flight of a bird, the strength of an elephant, the speed of a cheetah, the vision on an eagle, and anything else you can think of. Because of her awesome powers, she's become one of the most feared heroes of the DC Universe, landing spots on the Justice League, Suicide Squad, and the Birds of Prey.

For her civilian job, Vixen is a supermodel. Plenty of artists have gone out of their way to capture her beauty to the fullest. Sex appeal aside, she's one of the most prolific heroines at the company.

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18. Joe Robertson (Marvel Entertainment)
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #51 (1967)
Creators: Stan Lee, John Romita Sr.

He might not seem to important in the grand scheme of the Marvel Universe, but Joe “Robbie” Robertson’s creation was a watershed moment for the company. As one of the first African-American characters at Marvel, Robbie has played an integral part in the Spider-Man mythos over the years. He’s part father figure, part older brother, and part teacher to Peter Parker.

Though the Black Panther’s creation pre-dated Robertson by a year, Robbie is important because he marked the beginning of black characters coming into comics in non-starring roles, roles that weren't necessarily defined by skin color.

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19. Ultimate Nick Fury (Marvel Entertainment)
First Appearance: Ultimate Marvel Team-Up (2001)
Creators: Brian Michael Bendis, Mike Allred

Nick Fury is the most unique member of the black comic book character pantheon, because when the character was first introduced in the ‘60s he was white. Then, in 2002, Marvel launched The Ultimates, a modern retelling of the Avengers’ origin. In this new universe, every Marvel character was given a makeover.

Modeled after Samuel L. Jackson, this Nick Fury is far more world-weary than his pasty counterpart. And because he’s become a movie star, an entire generation of fans have grown up knowing only this version of the character. That's a step in the right direction.

Less ‘60s superspy, today's Fury is more of a government figure, with an entire army of S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers ready to follow his every order. It makes for a far more compelling and proactive character. Not content to sit back and pull the strings, Nick Fury is always in the middle of the fight, guns blazing.

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20. The Fox (Top Cow Productions)
First Appearance: Wanted #1 (2003)
Creators: Mark Millar, J.G. Jones

Forget the movie—Mark Millar’s original Wanted miniseries is an absolute must-have for any fan of the superhero genre. No character embodies the anarchic tone of the series better than the Fox, modeled after Halle Berry by artist J.G. Jones. In the book, Fox is an assassin who tries to induct Wesley Gibson into The Fraternity, an organized group of super villains that secretly rules the world. In typical Hollywood fashion, a white actress (Angelina Jolie) played her in the film adaptation.

She’s amoral, psychotic, and sexy, each attribute carefully balanced by Millar so that readers couldn't help but root for her. She’s a villain in every sense of the word, but sometimes it’s just cool to root for the bad gal.

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