Chapter five · Legends

BLACK HEROES & LEGENDS

Celebrating the Black characters who changed comics and fiction, and the creators who brought them to life.

HALL OF LEGENDS

BLACK PANTHER

T'Challa, king of Wakanda

1966

First appearance: Fantastic Four #52

Created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby

The first Black superhero in mainstream American comics: a genius king leading the most advanced nation on Earth.

FALCON

Sam Wilson

1969

First appearance: Captain America #117

Created by Stan Lee & Gene Colan

The first African American superhero in mainstream comics, and later the one to carry Captain America's shield.

GREEN LANTERN

John Stewart

1971

First appearance: Green Lantern #87

Created by Dennis O'Neil & Neal Adams

An architect turned intergalactic guardian, and for a generation of fans the definitive Green Lantern.

LUKE CAGE

Power Man

1972

First appearance: Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1

Created by Archie Goodwin & John Romita Sr.

Unbreakable skin and a street-level sense of justice; one of the first Black heroes to headline his own series.

STORM

Ororo Munroe

1975

First appearance: Giant-Size X-Men #1

Created by Len Wein & Dave Cockrum

A weather goddess who rose to lead the X-Men, and one of the most iconic heroines in comics.

BLACK LIGHTNING

Jefferson Pierce

1977

First appearance: Black Lightning #1

Created by Tony Isabella & Trevor Von Eeden

A teacher and Olympian who protects his neighborhood; DC's first Black hero with his own title.

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Monica Rambeau

1982

First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16

Created by Roger Stern & John Romita Jr.

A New Orleans harbor lieutenant who can become any form of light, and who once led the Avengers.

STATIC

Virgil Hawkins

1993

First appearance: Static #1

Created by Dwayne McDuffie, Robert L. Washington III & John Paul Leon

A brilliant, wisecracking teen with electromagnetic powers who became a Milestone Media icon.

SPIDER-MAN

Miles Morales

2011

First appearance: Ultimate Fallout #4

Created by Brian Michael Bendis & Sara Pichelli

An Afro-Latino teen from Brooklyn who proved anyone can wear the mask.

BEYOND THE PANELS

Legends from novels and speculative fiction.

LAUREN OLAMINA

Parable of the Sower

1993

By Octavia E. Butler

A teenage visionary who builds a new faith and a community while the world around her collapses.

BINTI

Binti

2015

By Nnedi Okorafor

A Himba mathematics prodigy who leaves home for an intergalactic university and becomes a bridge between warring peoples.

THE CREATORS WHO OPENED DOORS

JACKIE ORMES

Cartoonist

Widely recognized as the first African American woman cartoonist, launching Torchy Brown in the Pittsburgh Courier in 1937.

DWAYNE McDUFFIE

Writer and Milestone co-founder

Co-founded Milestone Media in 1993 and co-created Static, bringing a whole universe of diverse heroes to comics and TV.

CHRISTOPHER PRIEST

Writer and editor

One of the first Black editors at Marvel, whose late-'90s Black Panther run reshaped the character for a new generation.

WHO'S YOUR LEGEND?

Nominate a Black character for the Hall of Legends.

All characters named on this page belong to their respective publishers and creators. This page is a fan tribute; Indigophyre is not affiliated with any publisher.