The Amazing-Man

The Amazing-Man should be one of my favorite Black Superheroes. The DC Comics character, the original Amazing Man, William Blake Everett, made his debut in comics in 1982. The character's story took place during WWII. He was an Olympic athlete even before he gained is powers though he was unable to find anything more than menial work afterward. It was in his job as a janitor that he was kidnapped and experimented upon by the Super-Villain, the Ultra-Humainte. To protect his family, Will agreed to work for the Ultra-Humanite but not trusting him to keep his word, he ultimately choose to join the side of justice and the superhero group the All-Star Squadron to defeat the villain. Will gained the power to absorb the properties of any inorganic matter he touched. For example, if he touched steel, which he often did, then his body became solid, (yet somehow movable), steel with the strength and properties of that substance. This is similar to the Absorbing Man character in Marvel Comics.
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Will Everett's history is written such that after WWII, his identity was revealed to the public by J. Edgar Hoover. This put his family in danger and led to the murder of his nephew. That fact and the racial climate of that time led him to become a notable civil rights activist in the DC Comics universe, championing the causes against racial inequality. His contribution in this area is supposed to be extensive. Among other things, he led marches against segregation, is credited with capturing Dr. Martin Luther King's killer, and is considered to be one of the few pioneering leaders in African-American rights. Of course, little of these supposed exploits were actually shown in the comics as the character was sort of written in and ret-conned into becoming perhaps the first Black Superhero of the DC Universe. Remember, this character was not created by or written by African-Americans.

The Amazing-Man fell into obscurity in modern times but was revived in the 90's in the form of Will Everett's grandson, (Will Everett III), who somehow inherited the abilities. (To date, there has been no discussion as to the identity, whereabouts, of fate of his father.) This new Amazing-Man joined the Justice League and while this was a great thing for Black Superheroes as he was more than just a token, the character never really became iconic and was later tragically killed after having been tricked into absorbing the properties of glass and then shattered. Yes, it was a stupid way to die. I guess this stuff happens in comics right?

There is now a new Amazing-Man making the rounds with the Justice Society of America. He is apparently the other grandson of the original character and possesses the same abilities as his predecessors. (There's been nothing said about this guy's father either.) This new Amazing-Man, Markus Clay, operates out of New Orleans, helping victims of Hurricane Katrina and wears what seems to be African garb as part of his costume. He's too new for me to form much an opinion of him but the clothing is interesting and he definitely doesn't look like his grandfather or cousin. He's being presented as part of a new generation of heroes being trained and mentored by the JSA. Let's hope this characted is given the attention his potential deserves.