Wakanda U: Black Villains Matter

Name some Black comic book villains off the top of your head. Who comes to mind immediately? Black Manta is certainly a stand out. Fans of Netflix’s Luke Cage will probably call out Cottonmouth, Diamondback, and Black Mariah, even if they have never cracked open an issue of the titular indestructible Black hero. The Black Panther movie is around the corner. Do I hear a Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan’s Marvel movie redemption) or White Gorilla (Danial Kaluuya of Get Out and Black Mirror fame)? And how many of you brought up names of villains that weren’t originally Black? For instance, the late Michael Clarke Duncan’s Kingpin being the ONLY redeeming quality of the horrible Daredevil movie, or Jamie Foxx’s shockingly good Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Why do I bring up Black comic book villains anyway? The same reason why Black superheroes are important. Luke Cage wouldn’t be the man in his neighborhood if he didn’t stand up to the corrupt dealings from both the street and the government thanks to Black Mariah, Cottonmouth, and Diamondback. Miles Morales wouldn’t have had the introduction into the superhero game had it not been for his conniving dealings of his Uncle Aaron (aka The Prowler). And in my personal opinion, Static Shock had the Black villains game LOCKED with Ebon, Rubberband Man, Talon, and Chainlink (seriously, look up Static Shock’s TV series).

Going back to my earlier point, Black villains need to be recognized as much as Black heroes do. Any traditional hero needs antagonists with a solid beef against the status quo and especially against their glorified foes. So it’s really no surprise that with just a handful of Black heroes and the amount of shine they receive, Black villains get just as little, if not less, recognition themselves.

I admit, things are changing for heroes of color nowadays, and though this increase in diversity is met with an understandable amount of annoyance from “traditional” comic book fans, those that grew up with heroes like Spawn, Black Lightning, Luke Cage, Bishop, Storm, and Black Panther find it refreshing to see new faces to represent. For now, for the first entry of Wakanda U, a series of essays about Black comic and animation characters, let's take a look at some overlooked and criminally forgotten Black villains.

Tombstone (Spider-Man)

Harlem mobster, member of the Fang Gang, and Spider-Man villain (sometimes tangles with Heroes for Hire and Daredevil), Lonnie Lincoln aka Tombstone is what happens when that bullied kid decides he had enough. Born with albinism, he was often picked on and teased. As he grew up, he got into street fights and worked his way up in the underworld, making a name for himself as an enforcer. When an attempt to kill a former “friend” Joe “Robbie” Roberston went south, he was exposed to a chemical called Diox-3 which granted the already formidable Tombstone with durable skin and super-strength.

Tobias Whale (Black Lightning)

From one albino gangster to another, Tobias was once a politician. After being exposed for corruption by Alvin Pierce, an investigative journalist and father to Jefferson Pierce aka Black Lightning, he fell into the shadows and formed The 100, a ruthless street gang in Freeland. Often depicted as a true whale of a man, he is about as imposing as The Kingpin with all the street smarts and intelligence to boot.

Killer Croc (Batman)

I bet you didn’t know this one, but you’ve heard the story a million times. Waylon Jones was born with a skin disorder that made him durable and scaly as a crocodile. After killing his abusive relative, Jones travelled to the circus, wrestling alligators, before finally setting up shop in Gotham City, giving The Dark Knight a run for his money. In recent years, Croc has teetered between man and beast both physically and mentally, often depicted as a carnivorous (i.e. cannibalistic) man solely fighting on instinct, or just a imposing enforcer for anybody who would hire him (Catwoman comes quickly to mind).

Raoul Bushman (Moon Knight)

If you’re going to take on someone as vicious as Moon Knight, you better be ready for war every time. Raoul Bushman, a Sudanese mercenary with metal teeth and peak human ability, was once partners with Marc Spector as they attempted to rob Egyptian gold from Dr. Peter Airuane and his daughter. While Spector didn’t want their victims to be murdered, Bushman slew them both and beat Spector for trying to interfere. As Moon Knight, Spector, and Bushman square off several times, leaving each other bloody and broken.

Chapel (Spawn)

After two Marvel and DC villains apiece, it’s only right we end with Chapel. His claim to fame is being the man that killed Al Simmons for him to become the anti-hero Spawn. As for Chapel, a weapon’s expert with super enhancement injections, he met his former target again and had his face ripped off, forcing him to wear a grafted skull mask in its place. To gain revenge, he went as far as killing himself to be resurrected as Lord Chapel and serve as a horseman of the apocalypse.

These five just barely scratch the surface to the amount of Black villains that are out there. In my humble opinion, much can be said about the experiences of both Black heroes and villains. Granted not all characters are meant to have relatable stories, it’s interesting and important that how these characters are framed that they don’t fall into dangerous stereotypes where many Black characters are subjected. Of course there will be gangsters, savages, and soldiers, but being able to develop stories and personalities that go beyond and show different ways of viewing these roles will make it easy to not root for the villain (unless you’re into that like I am), but to understand them and maybe even sympathize with their rationale and their struggle to make it in a world that already sees them as the enemy by the color of their skin.

Remember: Representation matters.

Class dismissed!