Super Black by Adilifu Nama

Author:Adilifu Nama
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Published: 2011-09-18T16:00:00+00:00

Similarly, I view superheroes such as Nick Fury, Nubia, Isaiah Bradley (black Captain America), Steel, Brother Voodoo, and, to a lesser extent, the Crew as comic book samples lifted from original source material. These racially remixed superheroes offer audiences familiar points of reference that, as black superheroes, suggest a range of ideas, cultural points of interests, compelling themes, and multiple meanings that were not previously present. Frequently, the black versions are more chic, politically provocative, and ideologically dynamic than the established white superheroes they were modeled after. Arguably, the ultimate racial reimagining of a white-to-black superhero occurred with the greatest comic book icon in American pop culture and the cornerstone of all superhero characters: Superman.

The Superman character that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster launched in 1938 with Action Comics is now a multimillion-dollar franchise found across a variety of media platforms such as video games, films, toys, television shows, cartoons, and, of course, comic books. In addition, there have been a number of related spin-off characters such as Superwoman, Superboy, Supergirl, Krypto the Superdog, and let’s not forget Beppo the Super-Monkey. However, it was not until “The Death of Superman” (1992) that space was created for a black Man of Steel. With Superman apparently deceased, several would-be replacements jockeyed for Superman’s mission to protect the good people of Metropolis.

John Henry Irons, a black weapons engineer, is one of the four stand-ins that came forward to replace Kal-El. Irons designs and builds an armored suit that enables him to fly and gives him super strength. At first glance, there is a striking similarity between John Henry Irons and military industrialist Tony Stark and his superhero alter ego Iron Man. Although both men encase themselves in flying armored suits and Irons’s last name evokes the Iron Man moniker, Superman’s replacement is not a crude copy of Iron Man, most notably because John Henry Irons is invested with undeniable signifiers of black culture and history that make him an Afrofutristic version of the black American folk hero John Henry.

Since the American Civil War, long before any black superhero ever donned a mask, John Henry has been a heroic icon among blacks as “the steel-driving man.” In the black folk narrative, John Henry wanted to preserve his job as a railroad laborer. Because a steam-powered machine that drove spikes into railway tracks was touted as better, John Henry entered into a competition against it.9 On the surface, the narrative is a classic example of man versus machine. Yet the story underscores the problematic relationship black folk have had with the American economic order as exploited, underpaid, and overworked labor.10 Despite the overwhelming odds against him, John Henry beats the machine by manually driving spikes with his sledgehammer but dies from exhaustion shortly after his victory. When John Henry Irons replaces Superman he is symbolically reborn. Irons appropriates the title “Man of Steel” as his superhero moniker (which is later shortened to “Steel”) and uses a long sledgehammer as a weapon. Clearly Steel, the black

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