The Top 10 Best Black Superheroes from Movies
These Black Superheroes Prove Audiences Want More Heroes of Color!
Let’s face it, we all know that Chadwick Boseman‘s Black Panther is going to be the number one character on this list of black superheroes (spoiler alert, but, I mean, come on). Believe it or not, though, there have been quite a few black superheroes that have shown up on the big screen before him. These characters range from the good (Blade) to the bad (Catwoman) to the ugly (Steel), and there are enough out there to warrant a list narrowing them down to the top 10 we’ve seen in movies (so far). Keep in mind this list is only going to be looking at superheroes, so don’t expect to see Will Smith’s Deadshot on there, and those that appeared in movies, so those Marvel Netflix series and CW shows are off the table. However, I will be including original superheroes from movies. There was plenty to choose from, but this list definitely manages to pull together the top 10 Black Superheroes we’ve seen so far on the silver screen.
10. Hancock- Hancock
Before people were pissed at the collateral damage Superman caused in Man of Steel, there was Hancock. A hard-drinking, potentially homeless superhero who begrudgingly “saved the day” by wrecking the city. Of course, Will Smith is no stranger to playing black superheroes (though Deadshot is technically a villain), his performance in this film was a far cry from what we’ve seen from him in the past. Hancock was not a good person at the start of the movie, but his transformation from superpowered drunk to hero of the people is one that we love to see in our heroes. After all, even though they have god-like powers our favorite heroes are just as flawed as we are.
9. Darryl Walker AKA Blankman- Blankman
You won’t find him rubbing shoulders with the likes of Superman or Captain America, but when I was a kid Blankman was one of the first black superheroes I got to see on tv. Despite the fact that he’s not really that super, he is a hero with a lot of heart. Plus, the whole point of the character was that he used his brains and creativity to save the day. Blankman was a Batman parody that built all of his gadgets from junk he found lying around (back before Spider-man made dumpster diving cool, and as ridiculous as most of them were they were surprisingly effective crime-fighting tools. No one believed in Blankman, but that didn’t stop him from saving the day, which is why he’s a solid entry on this list of the Best Black Superheroes.
8. Heimdall- The MCU
Once again I’ve managed to squeeze Idris Elba onto another top ten list, but no one can argue that Heimdall isn’t a total badass. Sure he mostly stood around in the first Thor movie, but in the second and third ones, he showed everyone why he was the one who stood at the gates of Asgard. Needless to say, he’s one of the black superheroes I’d definitely want watching my back (get it, because he’s all-seeing) in battle. Besides considering all the backlash there was over a black man playing an Asgardian (those alt-right fellows sure are sensitive), I think he nailed it and I can’t imagine anyone else in the role these days.
7. Victor Stone AKA Cyborg- The DCEU
Yeah, yeah, I know a lot of people out there aren’t happy with anything the DCEU does these days. I enjoyed Justice League though and while Cyborg didn’t quite get the screen time he might have deserved, he proved to be a character with the most to gain from joining forces with the others. I’m especially excited to see what he will do with his own movie (slated to come out in just a few short years). In the comics, Cyborg was one of the most well known black superheroes over at DC and was an essential member of a number of teams in that universe, so it makes sense that he was a cornerstone of the initial Justice League roster. All in all, he’s a welcome addition to the big screen and one I hope to see a lot more Ray Fisher in the role in the future.
6. Al Simmons AKA Spawn- Spawn
Michael Jai White is an actor who I feel needs to be in a lot more mainstream movies. For those of you who don’t know who he is, let’s just say that he’s the real deal when it comes to martial arts movie badasses. That’s probably why he was cast in the film adaptation of the edgiest superhero the 90’s could muster. Sure, the effects might not stand up and there were some pretty laughable parts in the film, but Spawn was a big deal when it came to black superheroes. He was a comic character that helped to launch Image comics and changed the comic book industry in a big way. Plus, he was one of the first real black superheroes to appear on the big screen.