Not Every Black Superhero Has Electricity Powers... Here's Why

🔴 Don’t forget to Hulk Smash that LIKE button 👍🏿 and SUBSCRIBE ⚡
www.youtube.com/@BlerdWithout...
🔴 Want more? Become a member and get access to exclusive videos like the Top 5 Comics of the Week every week and other things!
/ @blerdwithoutfear
🔴 Click this link to become Earth's Mightiest Patron!: / blerdwithoutfear
🔴 JOIN the DISCORD!: / discord
Make sure to READ the RULES and verify yourself at the bottom of the rules thread, otherwise you will NOT gain access to the server!
🔴 FOLLOW ME HERE!
Twitter.com/BlerdMinusFear
Facebook.com/BlerdWithoutFear/
blerdwithoutfear
🔴 BWF T-SHIRTS (courtesy of TeeSpring):
teespring.com/stores/blerdwit...
🔴 DONATE money to the Blerd Without Fear!:
www.paypal.me/blerdwithoutfear
INTRO ANIMATION:
Animation by Oliver Banks. Go check out his KZbin Channel:
/ broodbanks
INTRO MUSIC:
Intro & Outro: Dreamweaver by SkyBlew
• SkyBlew x Sleeping Awa...
#blackhistory #blacksuperheroes #comics

[@LAMGFGC]

NGL "Eletrical Negro" sounds like the name of a 70/80s electro funk band

[@jonbrewer297]

Someone really should. Though in all seriousness, I thought of the Teen Titans immediately. Bumblebee and Herald have no electrical powers (Bumblebee can shrink and fly a la the Wasp. Herald has a horn which can warp spacetime.), and while Cyborg depends on electricity, he doesn't store and discharge it or anything; no, he uses sonic attacks, though someone needs to tell Marv Wolfman that decibels are logarithmic.

[@madewithsoul8456]

Name all the caucasian comic book characters who have superhuman strength and speed. 😏

[@TheSlyRomano]

Batman

[@jus-7421]

Name all the characters who don't...

[@judahmourns2995]

A hell of a lot of them

[@WannabeWryter]

Almost all the evil superman

[@thingsstranger1458]

LUKE Kage?

[@4eyes2killingyou]

Apparently the trope of black heroes having lightning powers comes from a black power joke

[@enzothunder2996]

Joke?

[@makkonen0]

​@enzothunder2996 are you about to take offense to a trope someone didn't create?

[@Ty-dv5xf]

He could be asking what the joke is lol

[@ontoya1]

I feel like you got this information from a meme

[@4eyes2killingyou]

@@ontoya1 somebody from Tumblr told me. I never actually said it was true.

[@Chronic_Gainz]

I feel like the stigma behind this is that many of the popular black heroes in comics and the ones pushed the most seem to have electrical based powers. Static, Storm, Miles Morales & Black Lightning all have it and they’re some of the more popular characters within their comic book companies.

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

False the industry refused to give black men the ability to create and write characters. Also the same men were too uncreative.....and base ideas of existing characters instead of just create new, they strayed too far.

[@Chronic_Gainz]

@@Googleisstupid-sk3hm How does that statement have anything to do with what I said? lol The stigma exists because the more well known black heroes mostly have electricity powers. That’s it. Two things can be true. Doesn’t mean one the other can’t be.

[@ExeErdna]

@@Chronic_Gainz The sad thing is Miles is just a copy of Static without the depth and growth that he had.

[@burnblue]

It's this simple. Most people don't know them other people. Before Luke Cage got a series the only famous black faces were Blade and Spawn, who aren't quite the same

[@jameswhite3010]

Storm Controls all the elemental forces of the sky she doesn’t just have electric abilities storm doesn’t use lightning she uses the entire sky to fight lightning is just part of it and isn’t her strongest ability her strongest ability is too controll all weather in vast areas

[@ByronRainer-AMG]

You forgot to mention The Rock Dewayne Johnson, the most electrifying man in sports entertainment.

[@lionmanx]

hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!🤣😂🤣😂

[@tyota3334]

He’s not black

[@ByronRainer-AMG]

@@tyota3334 his dad is black, so he's black.

[@ByronRainer-AMG]

@tyota3334 and he played ... that's right, Black Adam...

[@fangsabre]

​@@tyota3334 his dad is. Rocky Johnson. By that same token, Miles Morales isn't black. Did you not see the Nation of Domination era Rock?

[@Seraphimx]

Bruh…”anything an ant can…except be small.” 😂😂😂😂😂

[@DaellusKnights]

I was gonna comment the same 😁 Outta the whole video, THAT'S the one made me bust out laughing 🤣

[@darlalathan6143]

That's probably so Marvel doesn't sue her company for copyright infringement because Marvel's Ant-Man can shrink.

[@TheVeritas1]

@@darlalathan6143 Good point.

[@monolith_g]

“Shall we get started..” -BlueMarvel What a great way to start a list🙌

[@robertbfunkii4686]

Icon

[@jus-7421]

@@robertbfunkii4686 Blue Marvel FTW

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

Mr teffric..... Riri williams.....lol

[@warriorclassmedia]

Blue Marvel is heaven sent

[@jus-7421]

@@Googleisstupid-sk3hm Mr. Terrific?! His costume is absolutely hideous. A large T shaped mask across the center of his face, and white and black leather...

[@joshualogan84]

Honestly, it’s a Reader vs NonReader issue. If you like super heroes b/c of television and movies, you have literally a droplet of the actual black representation in the comics. I’ve been reading comics since I was 8 (born in 84’) and I never heard this lightning powers trope until recently b/c I’ve seen black people do everything, my friends read comics so we just talked about everyone, there was no hyper fixation on optics, it was just character and powerset. Glad you made the video though, people need to chill out.

[@Sunstar808]

Not every black hero has electricity based powers but there are quite a few popular ones that do. 😅 Excellent presentation of so many amazing black superheroes!

[@mizushogun]

He mentioned that in the video

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

No one questioning that there are many black superheroes. The questioning is why no top tier black superheros or shown beyond the electric ones, why only tokens,b tier and below...especially males. Most characters shown were b tier, with many c tier, tokens, that appeared briefly or were so forced you cringed. Riri Williams. Icon and static shock were made by a black company. DC got rights too. DC comics tired to screw the widow of the black company out the IP of static shock and icon. But we didn't let them and they had to pay.

[@E3Persona]

I know not ALL black super heroes have electric powers but I can see why people believe that they do. Great Video.👍🏾⚡️

[@mizushogun]

I mean, it’s like he said in the video it’s mostly peoples lack of comic book knowledge

[@akira17_samurai]

​@@mizushogun couple with the ones that get pushed are popular and just happen to have electrical powers

[@rutt7147]

@@akira17_samurai Electricity powers are objectively cool. Unlike a bunch of the magical silliness in comics, it's grounded (heh) within the reality of how electricity works and interacts with the world around it. It's harnessing a force of nature humans instinctively know to respectfully fear and be careful around. Powers based around elements of the real world resonate with people easily.

[@akira17_samurai]

@@rutt7147 true

[@eddieheisser5746]

You left off the smartest Black person in the Marvel universe...Moon Girl!

[@bazzfromthebackground3696]

He left off quite a few characters, which I think reinforces his point of "They're out there if you look."

[@draggoon9121]

Moon girl? Wasn't it Blu marvel and tchala

[@eddieheisser5746]

@@draggoon9121 No disrespect to T'Challa and Blue Marvel but Moon Girl is way smarter!

[@timbirdie8180]

​@@eddieheisser5746Yeah it's her and blue marvel then T'Challa tho All of them are in the top heroes period

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

I wouldn’t wager on that, it depends on how to interrupt. Black panther was one of the few heros to face doom when he had all the power. She was after thought....

[@Loch1210]

I can confirm that as a black superhero,my only electric powers are the electric slide

[@markstruckmeyer9193]

Electricity is one of the coolest powers out there.

[@jamesleung0]

Like a lot of popular tropes, this one is probably based on the representation of black superheroes in TV and movies. As a comic book reader starting in the 80s, my first exposure to black superheroes were: Luke Cage, Storm, Blade, Bishop, and Steel (in that order). Storm was the only one with powers related to electricity, but I always considered it only one ability of her vast weather controlling powers.

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

Your a better man than me. I never like that storm a woman, whi in her own right got a spot over a black man. As boy reading and looking in comics. I could not dream or live though Strom or relate. She was love instruct of many. And only got black panther because of token love and backstop. Even now I have yet to truly see a cosmic shaking black male mutant, that really omgea level in marvel who offensive powers, fighting ability, and leadership is considered a threat.

[@BrandNewHeavy]

I'm 46. My cousin and I have been having this conversation since the 90's. Great content. Keep it up.

[@nectar7507]

A Black character being the Black verison of another character is the real superhero trope.

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

I agree, in so ways it frustrating

[@LawMakerBlu]

I was looking for this comment

[@Niall001]

That was fun! Do the "Ginger characters being changed to black characters" trope/myth?

[@patricktyler4712]

Hahahaha. Not all but it do tends to be that way

[@Hillthugsta]

For the longest time I didnt think that was a thing. I thought people was just getting mad at nothing. Then a friend of mine showed me a ton of examples. Real eye opener 👀

[@mizushogun]

I feel like there is a little bit of merit to this, but overall it is in a complete exaggeration. Plus blatantly ignores all the times that they weren’t ginger, but weren’t replaced by a black person.

[@Hillthugsta]

@@mizushogun I thought as you do, but it keeps happening.

[@mizushogun]

@@Hillthugsta sure but my biggest issue with this argument is that it blatantly ignores all the times that they weren’t ginger, but weren’t replaced by a black person or a person of color for that matter.

[@crispcat]

Jesse Aaronson (Bedlam and bedlam brothers) has an EMP from the new mutants. His brother has electrical powers that can disrupt biological things.

[@mutazah]

Thanks. I was about to mention Bedlam.

[@reddhandedproduction]

This makes me wonder why there aren’t more Black superhero films and tv shows.

[@YTUBENEWB]

Need companies willing to invest $$$ in them.

[@the120cxx]

A damn good question

[@savaget2058]

I'm surprised you forgot Cloak, from Cloak & Dagger Edit: You also should have thrown in Lock Rock from MHA since you mentioned keeping it Plus Ultra 👍🏼

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

Didn't know he was doing anime/manga.....that opens the door.....

[@whipedge]

I wish there were more characters that aren't X hero but black that got more exposure

[@RegentofArrako]

Oooo do a video on Black Psionics (telepathy, tk, etc.) There aren’t many at all! It’s crazy

[@c.h.5510]

They would be a villian 😂.. Asap!

[@MRWJP4]

Great point. 😅

[@patricktyler4712]

Nope, all I can think of is Jackson King who has telepathy and TK aka battalion, later The Weather man from Stormwatch

[@RegentofArrako]

@@MRWJP4 it’s intentional in my opinion. There is most def a reason why this is

[@RegentofArrako]

@@patricktyler4712 yep!!

[@Geronimo904]

❤❤❤ 8:25 "Ayyyee!! Black Falcon!!! A'ight Nah!!👴🏾" 😂... Bloodwynd,Ant , and Battalion descriptions took me out😂

[@mrdgenerate]

"I'm green falcon!!!"

[@bobbycoltrane7552]

I knew Static would be mentioned but he also has magnetic power and static/electromagnetic powers. much like a super conductor rail car in Japan

[@melaningypsy3187]

No we had no choice but to love the electric based heroes because that’s all they presented to us in most depiction of the long term black hero!!

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

I agree somewhat, we had heros but we didn't demand them to be put in spot light.

[@dwilson284]

Never thought of Storm as “electricity-based”... EDIT: She uses "atmokinesis" (thanks for the word, @jus-7421) which is a mind-power like Livewire (mentioned as a mental, non-electrical hero). Yes lightning is the obvious power, but a conjured hurricane by Storm has the power of dozens of nuclear bombs. Storm is so NOT an electrical hero. Sorry Earnie. Love ya buddy!

[@idontwant2bpoor]

that was her main thing in the cartoon

[@WannabeWryter]

Her powers are energy based, Specifically the various energies of the atmosphere are hers to mold. It's why she can wreck mutants like Vulcan

[@afro_princess1671]

She is not. She bends energy.

[@jus-7421]

Her primary power is atmoskinesis. This is not just limited to Earth but includes extraterrestrial sources, anything with an atmosphere. That means she can manipulate the environment of stars as well. Coming from a bloodline of powerful magic users gives her the potential to wield magic.

[@bajansamurai]

It is entirely fine not to think of Storm as electricity-based because you always understood her power is manipulation of weather and atmospheric conditions, but no one should be so shocked others fixate on her lightning. Her most prominent attacks were often bolts of lightning or accompanied by them before people started leaning into the diverse range of atmospheric feats her abilities come with. Lightning heavy rain with high winds is most associated with storm conditions, and to this day her angered or powering up state is signified by sparks from her eyes. It's not that deep; in saying that no one is limiting her to lightning casting.

[@LarryDWilmore79]

A guy did ask why all Black characters have lightning powers and i asked why do all whites have psychic powers? I believe it was on your channel or Comics Explained but yeah you are absolutely right they don’t know every Black character and the ones they know are the ones with Lightning powers. I love the fact that they have Lightning powers and that psychics are weak against it

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

So you couldn't provide a answer, and sought this. Most blk in DC do have electricity powers. Most b tiers on DC do have a little more variety but not much. Marvel has more variety but the characters barely get shown and rarely heard from again.

[@ExeErdna]

Most humans are gonna get folded by a taser let alone a full blown bolt of lightning. Ironically Electric based heroes are sandbagging hard since they should be crippling if not outright killing people.

[@LarryDWilmore79]

@@Googleisstupid-sk3hmHonestly I can count the Black characters in dc on a half of a hand 🤚🏾. As far as me not able to provide an answer…I did. This vid came up much later and it reminded me of that very question…but it almost seem like you’re upset that Blk characters even exists.

[@MrChupacabra555]

On some other KZbin Cntent creator (can't recall who), they said that the entire reason Black Vulcan was created for 'Super Friends" was that they wanted to use Black Lightning, but this was one of those rare incidences where the artist who created him actually owned the rights to the character, and he would have to be paid to use him, so they just make a knock off instead.

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

Also black Vulcan didn't even get name........unlike Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Dianna Troy,wally west, barry allen, hal Jordan....,

[@ExeErdna]

That scumbag ideal is truly old as hell. They refuse to give the creator their due unless they kiss ass and even then they can get froze out

[@SS4DEUCE]

When they could have just paid the artist

[@jonbrewer297]

@@Googleisstupid-sk3hm Super-Friends just used code names. Which is probably for the best; it ran all the way through the creation of Jason Todd, which would confuse people. Can they say Dick Grayson's name on a kids' show?

[@jaymesEo6]

Storm was supposed to be a werecat shape shifter too. A character called Black Cat but they merged her with another two characters. That's why Storm has large cat eyes in her in ths Giant Sized era.

[@jonbrewer297]

I always assumed Black Cat was just a Catwoman knockoff. Cat motif, love interest for the protagonist, that's pretty Catwoman-ish to me. And of course Black Cat and Storm have different creators, (Black Cat was created by Marv Wolfman, Storm, of course, was created by Chris Claremont.)

[@fcm3d]

I always thought Electricity was just easier to draw.

[@mizushogun]

Some more characters without electricity powers he didn’t mention: Cloak. Bedlam. Curtis Car. Black Goliath. Tom Foster. Abe Brown. The Prowler (616). Rage. 3-D Man (Garret Jr). Midnight’s Fire. Casper Cole. The Revenant. Bronze Tiger. Signal. Marilyn Moonlight. Andromeda. Hawke. Vigilante. Duncan. Doctor Mid-Nite (Elizabeth Chapel). Orpheus. Guardian (Jake Jordan). Guardian II. Hot Spot. FireStorm (Jason Rusch). KEEP IN MIND, that this is what I could pull from the mainstream continuity of Marvel & DC. There is still more.

[@masonmcfadden4886]

Your right

[@qbennett7232]

I wasn’t aware that was a stereotype and I’ve been a superhero fan my whole life

[@snapshotsreviews4967]

I think a bigger issue is that we never the prominent black male heroes raising black sons who are also gifted. Seeing them learning from their fathers would be awesome. They always show black fathers and their daughters (who often take on the angry black woman sterotype) but hardly ever see them Raising sons.

[@mizushogun]

Blue Marvel and his kids.

[@snapshotsreviews4967]

@@mizushogun does he get adequate 1:1 time with his son? Or is it just mix of him and his kids?

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

100% worst black male heros are not shown to be in top tier, alone others. They are usually under. The only one I can think of is Mr Tefferic. He is considered DC comics 2nd smartness behind or on par with lex Luther. He is tech company billionaire, to me he what Tony stark wishes to be. But never written to his full potential unlike Tony stark. Also you see plenty of powerful blk female characters in comics, especially in marvel, with no equally powerful males. Just look at what current storm is doing.

[@raiskul]

It's not quite right to count the number of black superheroes without lightning powers and comparing that to the number of black heroes with lightning powers. A more accurate comparison would be to compare the quantity of lightning base heroes compared to quantity of psionic heroes, animal based heroes, technology based heroes etc. Basically how does the percentage of lightning based powersets compare to the overall percentage of other powersets. I do agree though there are plenty of variation in black super powersets and I don't really see a problem in it cause they are flat out cool. As a kid I wanted electric powers simply because it is one of the coolest and most realistic powersets period, especially when you think about the fact that electric eels exist.

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

Written to full potential lighting characteristics can be op base off physics alone. Now add in "powers" it a game changer. But you know that nor doing that.....unless it's a female never a male

[@MidoriDad]

This video is fire! Introduced me to a lot characters I need to catch up on

[@FoyReed]

Now lets talk about black characters with white and/or blonde hair with blue eyes 👀 😂

[@connorsmith4319]

I remember seeing some of them having white hair, but don't remember seeing many with blonde or blue eyes.

[@afro_princess1671]

Why? There r black people with blonde hair and blue eyes.🙄

[@titanjoc]

​@@afro_princess1671 There are Blacks with natural blonde hair and blue eyes.

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

I would also like to add blonde and red hair......

[@clauro6153]

@@connorsmith4319 The eyes i don't know but the blond hair was a trend in the 90/early 2000. Was something like rebel teen looks.

[@mikhailmik4152]

Night thrasher truely hurt by this video Blerd. Now he deserves a whole episode for him this month.

[@Marveryn]

night thrasher is black iron man but a teen and extreme. See he use a skateboard.

[@samuelhodgson4238]

Duke Thomas??? Day Time Batman who can control light and darkness

[@YTUBENEWB]

Why do people keep referring to Duke Thomas as "(insert) Batman?" I don't hear Nightwing referred to as "capeless Batman." Does anybody call Azrael "assassin Batman?" Or Ghost Maker "Batman with swords?"

[@bazzfromthebackground3696]

@@YTUBENEWB spittin

[@shadyblackgaming3561]

Hey man, I loved this video. I've had this argument with friends and family multiple times. This video was needed.

[@BraveryBeyond]

This video really opened my eyes on the issue of _really_ needing to talk about how many black superheroes have exo-suits!

[@CitanulsPumpkin]

Not all black superheroes have lightning powers... but the ones that don't have lightning powers are actually shape shifting aliens who choose to look like black folks when they come to earth and need to fit in.

[@ryanbrown938]

Icon??

[@draggoon9121]

TF heha😅

[@Wild_Legend]

What??

[@TheJusDon]

@@ryanbrown938yup 😂

[@ExeErdna]

You can kinda add Martian Manhunter to that too, especially with some modern stories.

[@DCPatrol]

I still get giddy when I see Battalion. I bought all of that Waller Vs Wildstorm book because he was in it. He was my first favorite character when I started seriously getting into comics. Thanks for mentioning him!

[@Ad2110k]

Thank you for making this video! I learned so much!

[@levesterthesamurai7930]

Great video, blerd! It was nice just to see all the characters you named. There were even some I never heard of.

[@lukaskywalker7791]

Xmen fan. Synch, sunspot and Maggot, dont have electric powers. Is Hammer from the six pack a mutant?

[@michaelolivero1626]

When you take away characters like Storm or Monica Rambeau, whose power sets may include lightning or electricity but are actually so much more than that, the gap becomes much greater

[@isekaitrash]

great video, ima gonna use this video as a reference now

[@bajansamurai]

I was literally reading that issue of Irredeemable when it came out and asked myself, "Wait, that's a stereotype?" but I figured it was basically as this video sums up: most people not highly exposed to comics are only aware of the majority of Black characters having electricity/lightning in their power set. Because of their popularity from cartoons like Super Friends through X-Men up to Static Shock, where Black Vulcan, Storm and Static set the stage, if people haven't seen much beyond that it can persist, but like many things there is wilful ignorance aplenty when they watch the same cartoons and don't register Bishop alongside Storm, Green Lantern and Vixen alongside Black Lightning, etc. and not conclude, "Ohhhhh, we haven't seen more than 1% of the Black superheroes in media!"

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

I disagree. Top tier heros are not usually black males. They are b and c tier. These characters are rarely needed and just to move plot along, be there, or take up page space. Which most of the heros he show were. Worst they are tokens characters forced, reworked, or rehash due to non creativity that make you cringe. Also alot of the characters are old rarely used. They had new DC comic animated movie come out. In the last seen they recruit heros from DC multiverese. There is black hero wearing green name amazing man. But no one truly knew him or paid respect to him due to that. Sometimes I feel its on the culture to know of its hero portrayed, those created, and those to create.

[@bajansamurai]

@@Googleisstupid-sk3hm Some of your points are correct, but the problem with summing up anything as an absolute is that it ignores the reason why this all is. Underrepresented groups did not have the resources, financial backing and industry recognition early enough to get into the the zeitgeist before the market got fairly saturated. Outside of a relatively small percentage of non-white, non-male or non-straight characters by the time there was a push for more diverse characters nearly every power under the sun was pretty much wielded in some way by a white, straight, male already; and there were already derivative white, straight, male characters around them wasting space, rarely needed and just there to move the plot along, appeal to a younger group, rehash an origin that played out with their predecessor, and sometimes, not always, make tweaks to either be edgy, contemporary or just make us cringe. All of that is a matter of the signs of the time, but contrary to your denouncement of them as just B and C tier, derivative characters can become just as relevant as their original templates, or even more so if written well enough, promoted, and designed in a way that appeals to a newer set of eyes; and often there is an element of luck because the market is way too saturated to guarantee anyone is going to be a breakout in any community. Let's take an example, Barry Allen is derivative of Jay Garrick, but because most are too young to have come up reading Jay, Barry had room to shine, and that was helped by the less saturated market and the absence of Jay for a while. Then Barry got objectively bigger than Jay ever was because he crossed into mainstream media and out of just the comics. Then along came Wally West (an unneeded character that was taking up page space, but represented wish fulfillment for kids alongside their hero); eventually shuffled off to the Teen Titans, but then was allowed to grow up as the assortment of teen heroes drew interest. Allowed to grow and replace the predecessor, he is now argued by a newer generation as even greater than Barry. Now that he has that prominence, existing alongside Barry doesn't diminish him (unless the powers-that-be feel Barry needs to be more prominent and start to marginalize Wally). The difference though, is that doing a similar thing by letting John Stewart have the solo Lantern spotlight during Hal's absence didn't quite happen. Whereas Wally was the true, sole titular Flash for over a decade, John was among other Lanterns, and not too far from Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner having the spotlight. Still, he got prominence from mainstream animation promotion and became A-list. Something that doesn't hold up the same way when Barry was brought back because, as stated, his "spot" was divided up by the Kyle and Guy fans as well as those who couldn't let Hal go. So with Hal around it is hard to see John as still an A-lister even though Kyle and Guy don't eclipse him: as opposed to with Barry around there is still a massive clamoring for Wally to be featured. That's not simply on the community of John's demographic, that's a symptom of him not being allowed to remain in sole focus AND a symptom of the outrage that simmered when it appeared Hal would have been kept second fiddle to John after his return and redemption. Basically, those with the power want to maintain their representation, and those selling the titles that are the big properties (your Batman through Flash to Green Lantern properties) want to keep being able to sell, so won't upset the apple cart as much. Which brings us to non-derivative characters. They naturally had a harder time catching on because if one follows the money, for the large portion of history in the US population, the demographic with the vastly larger percentage of disposable income were (or presented as) white, male and straight, with interest in having white, male, straight heroes to identify with. One cannot ensure a comic character persists in the mainstream if there aren't dollars behind them to guarantee a long run. And a character rarely breaks out if the writing and art aren't up to snuff or uniquely appealing. Put the interests of the 71% White population up against those of the 14% Black, and probably the 90% wealth of the former behind it and how does one think a lot of Black characters would break through? Usually by having forward thinking established White writers put their weight behind them until someone of the Black community makes their way into the medium and is allowed to cook. There we get the likes of Storm shining under Chris Claremont and now under Al Ewing, and propped by mainstream animation and live action depictions, a spot on lunch boxes, etc. Similar situations with Black Panther, and both of theres are in the A-list of Marvel characters. Amazing Man (the character in green you're probably referring to over at DC) has not had that level of promotion, long suffering presence, acclaimed writer connections, etc. and was not lucky enough to have made the break when the medium was less saturated. So while there is a nugget of truth to what you said about Black characters, it's the same nugget that applies to White or any other character, with the added challenge of where the power, money and promotion lies. The landscape isn't the same anymore, so a lot of others are flush with the cash to throw behind more diverse characters, but we can't forget the big name characters had a headstart AND the benefit of continuity of backing by the White majority. It is not as simple as just saying: "Let's go out there and put all our backing behind Night Thrasher" not without something that will cause a ground swell like Luke Cage being featured in live action, added to Spidey cartoons, etc.; and not without an established person in the spotlight like Spawn rising under the auspices of Todd MacFarlane when he made headlines as part of the Image wave; or Malcom Dragon allowed to shine in the absence of his established father; and none of them are truly A-list yet, but they have a better chance of being cemented as such with more exposure.

[@rickki1997]

I noticed Black super heroes were either elemental based or animal based. And then watching this video I realized Black versions of white heroes should be added to the list. Let's see a video about that.

[@evrywerigoable]

lol! Even Huey in the boondocks took on Oprah's security with eltrostun gloves he made at home for the frugal revolutionary's budget

[@ODDiSEE_]

I'm so glad you made this video

[@jamalvargas6146]

This Was Movies Not Comics But Meteor Man from 1993 he doesn't have Electricity powers he should have a new Comic Book series or TV show

[@raftrs]

Thank you SO MUCH for this video. I get that a lot of folks are using the "difficulty" of naming non-electricity based heroes/villains for views (and more power to em), but watching so many people who bash non-blerds not be able to name a handful of them has been irking me to NO END!!! LOL... Hopefully, this informs and sparks interest in more black comic book characters!!!

[@keithtorgersen9664]

I know that Meteor Man was supposed to be a comedy, but that was one of my all time favorites as a kid.

[@theoriginalblacknerd4524]

Thank you I have been having this discussion for years.

[@cornflaks11]

I love this video. This is my frustration all these dope black characters are not utilized

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

I would call all dope, but yes they are cool.

[@WannabeWryter]

I'm not sure why? (IMA GIANT COMIC NERD, but like the classic OG's Justice league 7, magic charcters, SUPERFAM and Batfamily, ETC. But seeing all these Black Character and Superheroes made this Black Boy very happy.

[@jasonbritnell42]

Idk about every black superhero but Static Shock was dope AF from the original cartoon to Batman Beyond

[@masonmcfadden4886]

True and miles Morales

[@Thrillr]

❤ brook thanks for this quick analysis breakdown

[@randomhank]

9:17 who is just Samuel L Jackson Also, just putting this out there. Lupita Nyongo was born in Mexico City. We claim Malice

[@bfrost7]

given the choice of elemental power, as a hispanic i'd also take electricity. it's a two-fer power, you also get to control magnetism, the force is electro-magnetism, one includes the other.

[@enzothunder2996]

Real shit

[@spencernaugle]

The best part of this video is listing all the black characters I've never heard of and now I'm interested in learning about.

[@I.Simmonds]

Got you Blerd you forgot the Bedlam brothers from the X-men. Not electricity but Electromagnetic. Bandit the brother of Nighthrasher.

[@Supremmo]

I don’t really care about that because not all electrical based characters use their powers the same way. They also don’t have the same personality. I make my own characters and some of them have electrical power but I differentiate them by personality and approach.

[@gideonwoods8834]

Can you do a video on tokenized black characters? I'd love to hear your opinion.

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

100% but that might knock out 50% and more of thus video 😂

[@rodbthewind]

Great video here. Definitely saving this to give to people who say this trope

[@muzikmann12]

I don't comment a lot on here, but wanted to let you know that I really enjoy your content. Great job doing what you do. Also, "Debunking The Electrical Negro" just became my favorite caption of all time!

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

I didn't really see this a debunked. Most know those boring electric type. Most could even name 20 blk heros from each comic books, much less tell you the names if you were shown. This was top b and c tier heros who nobody knows or cares about, who mat berecorded, reworked of current heros.

[@abatah2862]

Nobody knows who most these people are the main known characters do have electricity powers

[@Spawnwick_Boseman446]

15:02 tell em!

[@LooseAsADEUCE]

I never knew there were so many Black versions of Superman 😳. And thank you for introducing me to Jakeem Thunder! He looks interesting and now I'm going down a rabbit hole learning about him lol. 15:20 This! Electric powers are my second favorite powerset so whenever people complain about "all the electrical negroes" I'm always like, "...so?". It would only be a problem like you said if it was pretty much everybody, and even me as a kinda casual comics reader knows that's not the case.

[@domijaxk22]

The ElectroNegro is a wyld stereotype 😂😂😂 Great vid

[@diamantemrobinson]

I just see this trope as divine black beings. Electricity is often seen as the highest power of a sky father God

[@darlalathan6143]

That's where superheroes with electrical powers come from, alright.

[@karatekoala4270]

First of all, thank you for dispelling this. Gives me way more ammo than I had before for this argument. Also shout out for the intentional/unintentional shine you just have to nearly 100 Black superheroes. Well done sir.

[@NoBrainActivity7068]

Thank you for this video. I appreciate you debunking the trope in a way that didn’t make me feel stupid. ALSO: the representation is astounding! The fact that you provided a list with images of Black superheroes I never heard of was dope!

[@MythwrightWorkshop]

you can't see... 🎶it's electric 🎵 it's electric 🎶 you gotta feel it... 🎶it's electric 🎵 it's electric 🎶

[@deanstarks4736]

Ok,this young man is on another level

[@historyking9984]

I mean yeah there’s more black characters who don’t have electricity powers but proportionally to the amount of total black characters it happens more often than with white characters or characters of any other race

[@mizushogun]

That’s a bit of a reach & somewhat moving the goalpost. There are definitely more white people with just electricity powers, then black people.

[@mizushogun]

There are more white characters with electricity, powers than black characters. You can easily type in electrokinesis Marvel database, that alone has tons of them.

[@christianrapper]

That last part isn’t true at all

[@ktosco793]

⁠@@mizushogunthere are more white characters than black period. I’m sure any powerset would have more white heroes than black

[@iamblayzenferno]

Thank you for the information

[@STS-qi1qy]

Love the breakdown. I understand how it got started as a trope meme but some folks have taken it way too seriously when it was meant as a silly meme to begin with.

[@JohnWilliams-wl9px]

Want to know where its belief seems stems from. The superhero Black Lighting has a rare thing in comics in that his creator gets royalties if he appears in other media. Which is why Black Vulcan exist in Superfriemds. Then in other superhero cartoons that had DC character they were worried Hannah Barbara owned Black Vulcan and made their own stand in for Black Lighting. Kind of shows how terrible comic companies are to their talents.

[@jazzmyn5804]

Definitely agree that the perception that this is a trope, especially if considered a problematic one, is overblown. Sure, SOME of even the most prominent Black characters in the most popular comics have eletricity-based powers but it's definetly not the majority. Not really related, but it made me think of it, I wonder if the perception that Black main characters in animation don't spend a lot of their screentime being Black humans but instead animals or other inhuman figures is valid or overblown as well

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

Excellent point, Vixen in DC comics I portrayed as sumomimg animals power. In Conan cartoon the black man could control,communicate with animals, falcons from.mavel used to talk to command birds(pigeons 😂). Most black characters are not shown superpowers. Heck when Jon steward green latern came out they went nuts. He's the only show with Justice league, besides cyborg who's was your typical blk make football player that got messed up, and made part machine. That's it, he's literally a man/robot part......

[@MrBigall]

This is a very educational video. Pretty good.

[@jackieanderson9408]

Thanks for clarifying this. 😊

[@SubzeroBlack68]

This video just reminded me of the topic how Native American characters tend to have Spiritual/Shaman powers paired with Hunter tracking abilities. But to be honest I have no problem with it, those kinds of powers are always dope. My favorite is Nightwolf.

[@christopherbennett5858]

Honestly, they’re cool. Although, the only one who isn’t to my knowledge is Forge and his whole deal is that he’s secretly mystic and doesn’t want to delve into that.

[@metalmonkey0026]

Unimportant nitpick but dcs thunderer and marvels manifold are aboriginal Australians not black men.

[@christopherbennett5858]

Also Gateway and Bishop. Although the Bishop one is messy.

[@metalmonkey0026]

@christopherbennett5858 really? Bishop is half aboriginal? Didn't know that but then again I don't really keep up to date with marvel or dc comics much these days

[@christopherbennett5858]

@@metalmonkey0026 It’s one of those things that got confused so much over the years that I think a compromise was made. E.g Bishop referring to Gateway as Grandfather. That could be biological or it could be in the sense of the wider aboriginal traditional communal sense.

[@metalmonkey0026]

@christopherbennett5858 one of the many problems with long running series going through different creative teams over decades.

[@kaimobley5324]

I was expecting Soul Power from Static Shock cartoon to Pop Up for laughs 🤣

[@tyoungjjr]

Awesome & informative video!!!

[@midnitehour1]

No one said they ALL are, that would’ve obtuse and just wrong. But there is prevalence of lightning/electric themed characters that are Black.

[@mizushogun]

Sure, but the argument can easily go the other way with white characters. There are more white characters with electricity powers than black characters.

[@midnitehour1]

@@mizushogun well duh…there are a lot more white mutants/meta human characters in general.

[@mizushogun]

@@midnitehour1 i’m just pointing out that it doesn’t make that much prevalent

[@midnitehour1]

@@mizushogun but it is prevalent because there are far fewer black characters and many of them, the most notable, do have the electric powers. Bringing up white characters doesn’t change that lol. Last I’ll say on this cause your being deliberately obtuse now. Thanks.

[@christianrapper]

@@midnitehour1he literally just gave you a list that proved you wrong and you’re still going with this.

[@brandonnewby178]

Ok, title. Ya definitely got me.

[@damianstarks3338]

Amazing art of black superheroes at the beginning of your video. Thanks for this explanation by the way.

[@r4ddraven265]

That light bill gon be high as hell

[@mcfarlane1105]

There's a new guy named Isom. He's pretty dope too.

[@Mr.Starpop]

Who?

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

Lol..right The lame from rippaverse

[@AnthonyMcCuin]

Thank you for putting me on to new characters 🔥🔥🔥

[@bossbradley]

Fantastic video!!!!

[@TheWholeWorld1]

Great Job Bro!

[@tnazealot2143]

That’s DC Comics mostly: Black Lightning, Black Vulcan, Juice of the Ultimen, Firestorm etc.

[@confidentmystic]

I thought it had to do with fighting over the rights of Black Lightening

[@405boy4]

Say, you should speak on characters that have the of photokinesis. That's a super Powe set that gets overlooked.

[@bigphilly08]

Now you have to a video about the trope that most black characters involve guns in some way. Like either they use guns or have guns in their background.

[@Googleisstupid-sk3hm]

100%

[@VikingMale]

My favourite black superheroes growing up in the 70’s was in the cartoon Super 7, They had a black hero with plastic man powers and a black heroine who could shrink.