When I was a little kid I used to think that superheroes couldn’t look like me, and that all superheroes where white. However, recently Black Panther and Miles Morales have taken major roles in Marvel Comics. These two black characters have become so popular that they each starred in their own movies in 2018. Although Black Panther and Miles Morales are two very different people, they both have a lot of things in common, and though these characters are from two different continents, they both became heroes for the same purpose, to keep their country safe.
In the mid-summer of 1966 Stan Lee and Jack Kirby released Fantastic Four no.52, which featured the first black superhero of all time, Black Panther. This comic was very controversial because it was released during the 1960s which was the Civil Rights Era. During the Civil Rights Era black men and women were fighting for their rights. Black people were not treated equally during this time, so it was very disputable for Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to release this book when they did. In this comic, the African Prince of Wakanda named T’Challa received powers from a special plant called “The Heart Shaped Earp.” When T’Challa received these powers he decided to become a superhero to protect the land of Wakanda from any dangers. He became the Black Panther.
Fourty-five years later, a man named Brian Bendis wrote a book called The Ultimate Spider-Man. Ninety-seven percent of buyers liked this book. This book featured Peter Parker (the original Spider-Man) and Miles Morales (the new black Spider-Man). In this issue, Miles Morales is just a normal Black-Latino kid in Brooklyn, New York. One day Miles is bitten by a radioactive spider who gives him super powers. Later in this issue, Peter Parker is killed saving the city from The Green Goblin. Miles realizes that he has powers and decides to become the new friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. In this comic Miles Morales becomes just the third black superhero in Marvel Comics. In 2018 Marvel released a movie of this Black-Latino Superhero.
Black Panther and Miles Morales are considerably the two coolest superheroes of all time. In fact both characters are still on the spotlight today. In February 2018 the Black Panther Movie broke many records making 9 billion dollars in less than 2 months. Ten months later the Miles Morales movie made 45 million dollars in one week.
These two superheroes were the first black superheroes to star in their own movie. These two heroes both faced adversity, but managed to become what they are today. Both of these superheroes have made the world respect black heroes and these two heroes have made it known that there is a such thing as a black superhero.
Though these have totally different stories, Miles and Black Panther will always be remembered by African Americans and other races too. These two black heroes paved the way for the cultural diversity in the world of superheroes. People everywhere can now feel proud of their culture. These two heroes show that differences should be set aside and that no matter what you look like, you are important. Now kids all around the world can truly say “Superheroes do look like me.”
