All Black Woman

Black girl power in comic books, movies and theatre isn’t really that popular but surprisingly there have been a lot of comic book black female superheroines. Kick ass fictional character that are strong, sexy, super and black. This list is just a few of them, there are on average to 50 black female superheroines, which is hard to believe since non of them come immediately to mind in the hundreds of superheroes created.

Storm

Goddess. Weather Witch. Mutant. Ororo Munroe has been known by many names and identities. Born to an American Mother and African father who died in her youth, Ororo was left to her own devices and survived as a thief. When her mutant abilities manifested, she was feared as a witch by some and praised as a goddess to others. Eventually joining Charles Xavier’s X-Men, she became Storm, one of the X-Men’s most powerful members.

Misty Knight

Patrolwoman Misty Knight, who graduated from NYC’s police academy with top honors, discovered a bomb but could not dispose of it in time and lost her arm in the process. She received a cybernetic arm as replacement. In spite of her new strength and ability, she was forced to end her active duty with the police force and resigned. Misty became part of a private investigation firm. After many adventures, Misty Knight, with partner Colleen Wing, took over as the Heroes for Hire, employing a few other vigilante heroes and working as bail bondswomen for super villains.

Crimson Avenger

Jill Carlyle, the black female version of the Crimson Avengers (there are three superheroes that go by this name) used firearms to take revenge on those who kill innocents. She has an ever-bleeding bullet hole in the center of her chest. The guns don’t need ammunition, therefore never run out of ammunition and have no triggers – they are fired with mind power. Until her time as the avenger is up, she remains immortal, at which time she immediately dies from her wound.

Captain Marvel

Monica Rambeau was a lieutenant in the New Orleans police force. A friend of the family, Professor Andre LeClare, had been forced to create a device which would harness other-dimensional energies. In the process of helping to destroy that device, Rambeau was bombarded with those energies and found that she could, as a result, transmute her body to energy and back again at will. She eventually became a full fledged member of the Avengers and inherited the name Captain Marvel from the press. She is one of the most underrated characters in the Marvel Universe, yet one of its most powerful.

Silhouette

Real name Silhouette Chord, first appeared in NEW WARRIORS in 1990. She has the power to become a shadow and teleport. Silhouette is also very proficient in martial arts and has superhuman strength, speed, agility and heightened sense. Silhouette and her brother Midnight’s Fire were operating as independent vigilantes in the streets of New York City, when they met Dwayne (before he had become Night Thrasher), and the three began an organized effort to take down various New York City street gangs. This partnership ended when Silhouette was shot and paralyzed from the legs down in a sting gone bad.

Threnody

Threnody is a mutant that first appeared in X-Men comics in 1993. She was rescued from a life of homelessness and taught to hone her power of draining energy from people and animals that were on the brink of death. She can also sense when someone is severely sick or dying. This power also allows her to save herself from death, though this power does have its drawbacks: She often and unwittingly creates zombies that are attracted to her presence… She also had to have metal plates put permanently onto her face to control her powers.

WildStreak

She appears in the Fantastic Four comics in 1993. Her real name is Tamika Bowden and she wasn’t born with any superpowers. She was a gymnast who suffered a severe injury, lost the use of her legs, and then had an exoskeleton built for her that made her strong, faster and even more agile that she had ever been. She began being a vigilante to seek revenge against the mob boss responsible for her accident – because her father, a genius and MIT graduate, refused to work for his organization. WildStreak never conformed to any superhero ethics and was hunted by Iron Man, Super Man, and the Fantastic Four.

Fatality

Yrra Cynril the eldest child of the planet Xanshi’s ruling family, the girl who would one day call herself Fatality was sent off-world to be educated by the Warlords of Okaara, dedicates herself to becoming the deadliest warrior in all the universe after her home planet is destroyed. She wears a violet power ring, powered by the emotion of love and built on the planet Zamaron. The ring allows the wearer to fly, generate a protective aura and create violet light constructs. Other unique abilities of the Star Sapphires’ rings include the ability to reveal the wearer’s greatest love. They’re also able to detect when a loving heart is embattled and in need of aid. By connecting the heart of the ring bearer to a true love in danger, the power of the ring can also act as a tether.

Doctor Mid-Nite

The role of Doctor Mid-Nite has also been assumed by three different people in the Marvel Universe – all of whom are medical doctors and have near blindness in daylight but can see very well in the dark. Doctor Mid-Nite can also throw ‘dark bombs’ to blind her opponents. The only female Doctor Mid-Nite’s real name is Beth Chapel.

Jet

Birthname: Celia Windward… Jet is Jamaican and has the ability to fly, create blasts of heat and force, and generate electromagnetic pulse, move and manipulate metal with magnetic fields, fire blasts of electricity, and see in other frequencies of the spectrum besides visible light such as ultraviolet and infrared. She first appeared in DC Millenium #2 in 1988.

Bumblebee

She is a former member of the Teen Titans and a current member of the Doom Patrol. First appearing in Teen Titans #45 (December 1976), Karen adopted the Bumblebee identity three issues later, becoming DC’s first Black female superhero. Karen was working as a library assistant and studying physics, computers and politics. She developed a cybernetic suit for herself, capable of flying, receiving radio transmissions, shooting electric energy and even offering protection against low caliber bullets.

Did you grow up reading comics that included any of these superheroines? Which one would you be if you had to take on a heroines secret identity and powers?

Resources:

http://www.bamkapow.com/15-of-the-greatest-black-superheroes-of-all-time-1484-p.html

http://www.comicvine.com/myvine/beccababy87/black-female-superheroes-volume-3/87-39190/