Why doesn't DC have any iconic original black heroes?

[Dillah810]

DC came close with John Stewart. A lot of people who grew up with the JL/JLU cartoon and aren't familiar with the comics have no idea who Hal Jordan is. I remember when the Ryan Reynolds GL movie came out, my facebook feed was blowing up with people angry about DC "whitewashing" the Green Lantern character, not knowing that Hal Jordan was Stewart's predecessor.

 

[Bryan Danielson]

Game changer is a stretch. They've pretty much let all of other companies take all of the risks for the past 20+ years, and then see what works and try to duplicate it. It only seems they have the lead because they have Warner backing them for the insta-push.

Na it’s true.

No one shows more love, respect and pushes that agenda for the LGBT community than DC

That’s there’s legacy and their greatest achievement

 

[reigun]

DC came close with John Stewart. A lot of people who grew up with the JL/JLU cartoon and aren't familiar with the comics have no idea who Hal Jordan is. I remember when the Ryan Reynolds GL movie came out, my facebook feed was blowing up with people angry about DC "whitewashing" the Green Lantern character, not knowing that Hal Jordan was Stewart's predecessor.

The Green Lantern situation is a perfect example of DC being too stuck on the past. Why is Hal Jordan pushed as THE Green Lantern? John Stewart is more well known outside of comics. Kyle was the only GL for about 10 years in the comics. Simon, Jessica, and Jo are all newer characters, but would easily be more resonant to modern audiences than a square jawed white guy from the 60s (and possibly even Stewart, imo). Guy Gardner is....there. He's fun. Yet, despite all this potential the various human lanterns possess, we get story after story telling us that Hal is the "greatest Green Lantern" and that he's totally important and way cooler than the others. Why?

Because he was the Green Lantern when Geoff Johns was 10 years old. That's it.

 

[nieman]

And this is ultimately what it comes down to. DC's over reliance on Batman that has only gotten worse over the years since the 80s and I feel like they have only just started to course correct in the last 5 years has led to much of their universe being criminally under utilized.

Look at how long it took to get major projects starring Wonder Woman and Aquaman - classic Justice League characters with years of stories and that are iconic to mainstream audiences - off the ground? When even Superman struggles to get any shine, what chances do characters like Vixen have?

Because let's be clear, characters don't become iconic off the backs of comics alone anymore. Not enough people read them. Storm, Static, John Stewart, and Cyborg reached the status they have off the back of cartoons and movies. Black Panther is an exception, but that's largely because he's been around so long and was pushed as Marvel's premiere Black superhero. And even then, he would never be enjoying his current status were not for the film.

DC is run by people who have no faith in their characters or universe. Not even their white superheroes outside of those who live in Gotham. From the late 90s to the 2000s, they did a lot of work creating new characters and trying to update their universe. However, it doesn't mean shyt when the people in charge either A. only want the universe to look like it did when they were kids or B. have no faith in the DC universe as a concept outside of Batman.


There's also the second Power Girl, but idk what's going on with her atm.

Exactly. Do y'all even have comic book people in charge?

DC came close with John Stewart. A lot of people who grew up with the JL/JLU cartoon and aren't familiar with the comics have no idea who Hal Jordan is. I remember when the Ryan Reynolds GL movie came out, my facebook feed was blowing up with people angry about DC "whitewashing" the Green Lantern character, not knowing that Hal Jordan was Stewart's predecessor.

They couldn't even figure out which GL to get behind.

 

[Chris Cool]

The Green Lantern situation is a perfect example of DC being too stuck on the past. Why is Hal Jordan pushed as THE Green Lantern? John Stewart is more well known outside of comics. Kyle was the only GL for about 10 years in the comics. Simon, Jessica, and Jo are all newer characters, but would easily be more resonant to modern audiences than a square jawed white guy from the 60s (and possibly even Stewart, imo). Guy Gardner is....there. He's fun. Yet, despite all this potential the various human lanterns possess, we get story after story telling us that Hal is the "greatest Green Lantern" and that he's totally important and way cooler than the others. Why?

Because he was the Green Lantern when Geoff Johns was 10 years old. That's it.

Not true at all. Hal been in everything from movies, cartoons, to video games. It's a whole generation after justice league.

 

[darryl]

Black panther was never iconic before the movie.. yall are full of it

 

[jackson35]

Cyborg is trash. Absolute trash. fukk that character.


They should have stayed pushing the GL John Stewart. Dwayne Mcduffie wrote the BLUEPRINT on making Stewart an iconic character in Justice League/JLU


Either him or black lightning

what makes cyborg trash

 

[jackson35]

Cyborg is one the best black characters in comics outside of Spawn and Black Panther hands down. nikkas just hating on DC just to hate.

the title of the thread is a dead give away. a lot of you are too young to comment on dc black heroes

 

[reigun]

Not true at all. Hal been in everything from movies, cartoons, to video games. It's a whole generation after justice league.

Eh, that's fairly recent though. Right up until the movie, John was who most people thought of when they thought of GL. It wasn't until after the movie came out that Hal became more prominent outside of comics, which was only 9 years ago. The increased use of Hal was not because he was the most well known, but because he needed to be pushed again as John had effectively replaced him in the mainstream.

And even then, it's never been a seamless thing. John still gets used regularly and has a strong fanbase. Jessica is the primary Green Lantern for the DC Superhero Girls line, which is one of DC's bigger branches these days. At best, you can say Hal shares the top spot, and even then, it only takes one movie or show where he's not present to change that.

 

[Dillah810]

Static could have been that character if it wasn't for the McDuffie situation. DC has wanted to use and push Static for years but wasn't allowed to. Now they're in a weird situation because they can start using the Milestone characters now, but DC has started to push Black Lightning a lil bit w/ his own show and being included in the Young Justice show. So now they'll have 2 semi-popular black characters with the exact same powers. One will eventually take a backseat to the other.

I think Static's popularity would be on par w/ or even greater to Miles Morales had DC ben allowed to use the character back in the mid-2000s.

 

[Red Shield]

Don’t be like that breh.

DC are game changers.

They introduced LGBTQ into the live action comic book world and they opened doors for other companies to start bringing gay characters and gay storylines into shoes and movies.

This probably is DCs greatest achievement in their legacy and something they should be extremely proud of with taking those chances.

 

[voltronblack]

Static could have been that character if it wasn't for the McDuffie situation. DC has wanted to use and push Static for years but wasn't allowed to. Now they're in a weird situation because they can start using the Milestone characters now, but DC has started to push Black Lightning a lil bit w/ his own show and being included in the Young Justice show. So now they'll have 2 semi-popular black characters with the exact same powers. One will eventually take a backseat to the other.

I think Static's popularity would be on par w/ or even greater to Miles Morales had DC ben allowed to use the character back in the mid-2000s.

You do know that Static on Young Justice is being mentor by Black Lightning like how peter parker is mentor to Miles Morales

 

[Chris Cool]

Eh, that's fairly recent though. Right up until the movie, John was who most people thought of when they thought of GL. It wasn't until after the movie came out that Hal became more prominent outside of comics, which was only 9 years ago. The increased use of Hal was not because he was the most well known, but because he needed to be pushed again as John had effectively replaced him in the mainstream.

And even then, it's never been a seamless thing. John still gets used regularly and has a strong fanbase. Jessica is the primary Green Lantern for the DC Superhero Girls line, which is one of DC's bigger branches these days. At best, you can say Hal shares the top spot, and even then, it only takes one movie or show where he's not present to change that.

Nobody even knows Jessica like that. Hal had the movie, the animated movies, the lego movies, etc. He's been in the video games, had his cartoon and is the main in every cartoon post justice league. This ain't fairly recent, this been going over a decade. John Stewart's mainstream push was less than that.

 

[Bryan Danielson]

No Cap


They took a chance, have been successful with it and should be commended. We don’t see Gays and Trannys in comic book shows or movies if it’s not for DC and Warner Bros.

They know what their audience wants

 

[Ziggiy]

what makes cyborg trash

In all ways imaginable