Black Lightning and Amazing-Man Are DC’s Two Biggest Wasted Opportunities

The DC Universe is home to several of the most famous Black superheroes in comics, including Green Lantern John Stewart, Cyborg of the Teen Titans, and Milestone Media's Static. While all of those heroes have found some measure of success in film or television, some of DC's other prominent Black heroes have still been underutilized in modern DC comics. While Black Lightning might be a clear forerunner to Static, an accomplished member of the Justice League and have his own TV series, the first Black hero with his own comic is still something of an also-ran on the comics page. Moreover, the same could be said for Amazing-Man, a heroic mantle with a rich legacy that has ties to the Golden Age Justice Society.

As mainstream superhero comics continue to highlight characters from traditionally marginalized groups, there's never been a better time for Black Lightning and Amazing-Man to step into the spotlight on the comics page.

Black Lightning, Jefferson Pierce, debuted in the first issue of his eponymous comic book series in 1977. Created by Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden, Pierce was a schoolteacher in an inner-city who cleaned up the streets as a superhero with electricity-based superpowers. These powers were originally derived from gadgetry until a retcon changed them to being part of Jefferson's innate metahuman abilities. Standing in Jefferson's way was The 100 street gang, which was led by the corpulent black albino gangster, Tobias Whale.

Though the book initially had some of the same blaxploitation elements of Marvel's Luke Cage - such as the affluent Jefferson affecting jive mannerisms when acting as Black Lightning - it dealt with more street level and real world issues than other DC titles during the Bronze Age. This sadly didn't keep the book from being canceled alongside many of DC's other titles in the infamous "DC Implosion." Since then, the character has never had an ongoing book that lasted for even a year. For the most part, he's either on the Justice League, or fighting alongside Batman and the Outsiders. Even though he's been able to headline his own prime-time live-action TV series, Black Lightning has historically been reduced to an afterthought in the actual DC Universe.

The original version of Amazing-Man appeared in the pages of All-Star Squadron in 1983, but he was chronologically placed in the Golden Age of the 1940s. Created by Golden Age enthusiast Roy Thomas and artist Jerry Ordway, Amazing-Man was Will Everett, an Olympic level African-American athlete. He made his country proud during the Berlin Olympics, but he was stuck in a moribund position as a janitor at a laboratory, due to the racism of his home country. In that lab, however, he was eventually exposed to a chemical explosion which gave him the ability to mimic the molecular and physical properties of whatever substance he touched.

He eventually joined several other Justice Soceity heroes in the All-Star Squadron, facing villains such as the jingoistic Real American and eventually developing magnetic powers that replaced his original abilities. Within some of DC's timelines, he remained a prominent hero throughout the era of the Civil Rights Movement, and his heroic legacy was carried on by his grandosn, William Everett III. His cousin Markus Clay would become the next Amazing-Man, continuing his grandfather's activism by trying to help rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Despite these characters' pivotal nature in the history of the DC Universe, the only time that they've ever been given any emphasis is in small roles revolving around the greater Justice Society of America.

With DC Rebirth restoring much of the DC Universe's legacy and Dark Nights: Death Metal opening up a limitless number of possibilities for the DC Multiverse, now is the perfect time to five Black Lightning and Amazing-Man the comic book spotlights that they've always deserved.

Thanks to his status as a historical figure who was involved with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X in DC's version of Civil Rights Movement, Will Everett and the Amazing-Man legacy could present a more topical, socially aware answer to other DC dynasties like Starman and The Flash.

Where many of DC's other Black characters -- and many of its other heroes in general -- are part of larger superhero families, Black Lightning occupies a rarified space where he's not a tertiary or spinoff character to someone like Superman or the Green Lantern. As a truly independent character, his presence on teams like the Justice League genuinely bring something new to the table instead of casting him as a substitute for Superman or one of a half-dozen active Green Lanterns.

Black Lightning could easily and organically settle into a permanent spot in DC's A-list, but he needs to have his own solo adventures instead of getting lost in the crowd of team books. Having top tier talent on the book and developing the character's mythology beyond Tobias Whale and the 100 would be instrumental in making Black Lightning his own well-rounded franchise character. Even though Black Lightning's TV show is heading into its fourth and final season, his name has only adorned a single miniseries and a few comic book specials during its run, which speaks to how much ground has yet to be covered with the hero in comics.

While the Arrowverse will live on beyond Black Lightning and the Justice Society set to have major roles in the future of the DCEU and Stargirl spotlighting the Justice Society, it's possible that Black Lightning and Amazing-Man could still have a bright future outside of comics. However, the latent potential within both of those characters still won't be fully reached without a swath of solo comic book adventures that could give creators the chance to flesh them out in the same way as formerly B-list characters like Green Lantern, Aquaman and others have gotten over the years. While the DC Universe is becoming a more diverse place, there's never been a better time to put a spotlight on Black Lightning and Amazing-Man, and they are both long overdue for their time in the sun.

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