A comic once called out the many black superheroes who have similar electricity-based powers. Critically acclaimed writer Mark Waid brought attention to the strange phenomenon in the Boom! Studios series, Irredeemable.
Throughout comic book history, several black superheroes have been introduced who possess similar electromagnetic abilities. Such heroes include DC Comics’ Black Lightning, Lightning, Static, Thunder Fall, and Black Vulcan. Marvel has featured heroes such as the X-Men’s Storm who can control lightning. Even Miles Morales’ Spider-Man can generate a burst of electricity. Considering that these characters are a part of a minority within comics, it’s strange that they should share this distinction.
The trope is directly addressed in Irredeemable #5 (2009), written by Mark Waid with art by Peter Krause and Diego Barreto. When Volt takes down a masked criminal with his electricity powers, he calls out how common it is for vital black superheroes in pop culture to have such abilities. He jokingly says, “Surprise. I’m a black super-hero with electrical powers. I know. I know.” In the context of Waid’s Irredeemable, that is the hero’s meta function. Generally, such superheroes’ power tends to work similarly. However, Volt is depicted as particularly powerful, and effortlessly breaks any electrical object he puts his hands on by shorting out their charge.
Although comics have largely ignored the commonality between heroes, creators have joined fans by noticing the trend. Screenwriter and comic book writer John Ridley (The Other History of the DC Universe) once commented on the trope during an interview with Polygon, saying, “I don’t know if it’s just a weird happenstance that black people… we just got the fire, we got the electricity. I don’t take it as something overly negative. It does seem to be a weird happenstance. But it may be a deeper dive for a broader thinker.” While Irredeemable brought attention to the commonly incorporated superpower, it didn’t offer much commentary or analysis as to why it has been utilized so frequently among black superheroes.
Similarly, writer Matt Wayne (Static) reflected on the topic during an interview with Gizmodo, saying, “I think maybe some of it is that these kinds of heroes are usually physically vulnerable. So they get their hits in and get taken out. There’s definitely an unconscious undercutting of black heroes, keeping them just shy of being a heroic ideal, that used to be more pronounced. In that vein, maybe electricity can be an unconscious expression of the hero’s ‘tamable’ nature?” He went onto elaborate, saying that each hero who might essentially possess the same abilities still uses them differently, based on their individual characterization and the creative team working on a comic.
Whereas Milestone’s Static: Season One explores the variety of ways that teenager Virgil Hawkins AKA Static can implement his electromagnetic powers, from forming a force shield to flying, characters like Thunder Fall have only used lightning-like abilities to create bursts of energy. In contrast, Storm is practically a god-like being, despite her mutant origins, as she can manifest lightning and control the weather. The wide selection of black superheroes who can generate electricity have continuously shown what is possible with the power set.
Sources: Polygon, Gizmodo
