The Bronze Tiger

The Bronze Tiger first appeared in the comics back in 1975 in Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #1. Ben Turner started out as a middle class Black boy with an attitude problem. When he was ten he murdered a burglar that was attacking his parents with a kitchen knife. He ultimately learned to channel that anger using martial arts and of course crime. While still relatively young, Ben journeyed to the far East where he met the man that would train him further, O-Sensei. Under O-Sensei's tutelage, Ben Turner becomes one of the greatest martial artists in the world.
READ MORE...

He later worked for the government organization G.O.O.D. (Global Organization of Organized Defense) and also did some work for the CBI (Central Bureau of Intelligence). It was while he was on a mission for the CBI that he was captured and brainwashed into becoming an assassin called Bronze Tiger. As Bronze Tiger he wore a tiger head mask that covered his entire head. He killed on three continents and earned a considerable reputation as an assassin while his true identity remained secret. It was during this time that he fought and actually beat Batman in hand to hand combat, and trained Cassandra Cain, the girl who would eventually become the current Batgirl. Even now he remains one of the top 5 martial artists in the world.
He was ultimately captured and deprogrammed by Amanda Waller which set the stage for him to become a member of the Suicide Squad. While the squad was mostly made up of villains, Bronze Tiger was considered to be one of the good guys. During many of his adventures with the squad he worked without the mask and instead wore a small amount of facial paint. He and the Black Superheroine Vixen formed a relationship for a time and are still friends.
Bronze Tiger has no real powers as is befit a Black character that originated during the Blacksploitation era of the 70's. I remain grateful that he was not named "Black Tiger". While he may have started out an angry Black man and certainly revisited that stance throughout continuity, he tends to be a relatively centered character possibly due to his martial arts training. Regardless of his checkered past he remains a hero of some renown having earned the respect of the heroes of the DC Comics universe. You can expect to see his animated television debut on the show Batman: The Brave and the Bold. I'm looking forward to it.

The Former Captain Marvel

It just doesn't pay to be a flawless hero. If you don't have any flaws then the writers must visit misfortune upon you frequently to keep you interesting. I think that's what happened to Monica Rambeau, formerly Captain Marvel and formerly Photon. I think her code name is now Pulsar. We'll see if that sticks. This is one character that deserves so much more than she has received over the years.
READ MORE...

She first debuted in 1982 in Marvel's Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16. Monica was all about community service and leadership even before she got her powers. She didn't pick the name "Captain Marvel," the media gave it to her. She was a Lieutenant in the New Orleans Harbor Patrol when a family friend, who happened to be a scientist came to her for help. She helped and in the process was bombarded with extra-dimensional energies. She gained the power to convert herself into any kind of energy with all it's properties enabling her to move at the speed of light, pass through solid objects, and blast people with any energy she could come up with. She was awesome. She trained with the Avengers, became a full member and was ultimately voted to team leader. She provided exemplary service. I guess it was all too good to be true.

Monica began to have problems when Dr. Druid, a new recruit, began undermining her leadership. Can you say prejudice? It got worse from here. She later lost her powers when she came in contact with the ocean in energy form. I guess energy and sea water don't mix. She had to step down from the Avengers and when she finally did get her powers back they were greatly reduced. She never did regain her full Avengers status.
With help she finally got her powers back to normal but then had to fight over the name "Captain Marvel" with Genis, the son of the hero who had the name originally. Even though she's earned the right to keep it, she gave it up and started calling herself Photon. Then the same guy came back later and ask for the name Photon because the name Captain Marvel was too much for him to live up to. Monica gave it up again and took the name Pulsar but no one seems to call her that, opting instead to call her by her real name.
She never regained the status she held since the day she first lost her powers. While still an amazing character, Monica never regained her popularity. Recently in the Nextwave miniseries readers got a chance to see her power and attitude clearly. Yet in the Black Panther comic, she was easily trapped and held and I think she may even have committed murder. Maybe she's pissed at the way she's been treated. She definitely deserves better.

Barak Obama Superhero Endorsement

I love the fact that after years of creating fake U.S. Presidents for the comics, writers have come around to depicting the real one by face and name. Don't get me wrong, the concept is not that new. I've seen Bush cameos before and even some older ones but Barack Obama is showing up quite a bit more than his predecessors and he hasn't even taken office yet.
A couple of months ago I wrote a post that showed Savage Dragon supporting Obama's candidacy. You can seen him here with Spidey. Now I get that Spidey is the icon for Marvel. I have no problem with Barak calling him partner. It's all good but wouldn't it be great to see him endorse a Black Superhero like Black Panther, Black Lightning, or Static? I'm just saying. It's 2009, let's keep those milestones coming. How many Black Superheroes should Obama have in his cabinet? Can you see them playing Basketball at the White House?

The Blue Blaze

I love fan films, especially when their good like this one. The League tells the story of a Superhero labor union in Chicago and what it took to make this particular one a reality. It's a noir film, small and well done. The story plays out like a good graphic novel and spans several years. There are only a few actors in it and only one of them is Black. The Blue Blaze, played by Reginald James has super powers derived from his ring, much like a Green Lantern. At first I thought his part would be tiny, but though he wasn't the lead character, his role was pivotal in the movie. The is one of the best short films I've seen all year. You can watch it here and you definitely should. It's 27 minutes long and presented in HD. The story behind how it got made is interesting too. If it were up to me, they'd already be working on a sequel. There is actually a chance of that as, according to this article, there are more stories to tell.

Black Female Superheroes

This blog is dedicated to Black Superheroes but I have been reminded of its lack of female representation. Over time I'll be making an effort to correct that. In the meantime I'd like to give credit to a woman who has put some thought and energy into supporting them. Her name is Becca and as we are both fans and she took the time to come by and visit me here I thought I'd return the favor. I don't know her personally but I like what she has to say. Below is a montage she put together celebrating 60 Black Female Superheroes. Enjoy!


60+ Black Female Superheroes! from Becca on Vimeo.