Richard Roundtree died on Oct.24 at the age of 81 following a bout with pancreatic cancer. He was the star of the 1971 film Shaft. Roundtree’s portrayal of a Black hard-hitting street smart detective immortalized the character and lead the way for a slew of Black heroes in film.
To honor his memory and his contribution to the film genre, here’s a look at five Black superheroes.
John Shaft
The legendary character’s arrival came with a legendary theme song, performed by the late Isaac Hayes. Everything about Shaft was cool as it was exciting.
Black Panther
Black Panther was an instant phenomenon when Marvel decided to take the story to the big screen in 2018. Everything about the movie was a product of Black culture, from its director Ryan Coogler to lead actor Chadwick Boseman to Kendrick Lamar producing the soundtrack.
Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever were more than films, they were moments in time that made the Black community stop and go to their nearest movie theater to experience the land of Wakanda.
Catwoman
Halle Berry already dipped her foot into the world of superheroes when she played Storm in Marvel’s X-Men in 2000, but it was in DC’s Catwoman in 2004 that she got her first opportunity to play the lead in an anti-heroine role.
Berry was shown in the film doing all the typical villain feats like hopping from skyscraper to skyscraper, and fighting antagonists while seamlessly blending into normal civilian activities. While Catwoman was originally a supervillain, she has developed into a bit more moral as the decades have gone by.
Coffy
Before Berry, there was Grier.
Playing the role of Coffy in the 1973 film, Grier sought violent revenge against a heroin dealer responsible for her sister’s addiction.
Like Roundtree is known as the first Black superhero, Grier is regarded as the first Black female superhero.
Miles Morales
Miles Morales was a character arguably birthed from Donald Glover. In Glover’s 2012 stand-up special, Weirdo, he joked about becoming the first Black Spider-Man. Glover publicly campaigned to get the role since 2010.
Due to Marvel’s specifications, Spider-Man had to be a White male. To get around the specification, came the creation of Miles Morales, a Black male character under Marvel’s Spider-Man universe. The first Miles Morales full-length film came in 2018 with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The second film, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, came out in June with both movies narrated by Shameik Moore.
