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These days almost everyone knows the Black Panther. He is a comic book icon that was the star of one of the most successful movies of all time. However, back in 1966 when he was first introduced, he was also the first Black superhero in mainstream comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for Marvel comics (first appearing in Fantastic Four #52), it was the first time comic book fans throughout the country saw a Black man portrayed as a powerful superhero and the king of his nation.
Even before introducing the Black Panther, the same team of Lee and Kirby created a comic book about World War II soldiers, titled Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. This comic featured an ethnically mixed group of warriors, including clearly Jewish, Italian, and Black soldiers all fighting together for a common cause. They worked together without prejudice to accomplish heroic victories for the Allied Forces during the war. In fact, in 1964, they did a story that addressed racism head-on. Due to an injury of one of the soldiers, they recruited a temporary replacement. This soldier was bigoted and showed racial prejudice toward the other soldiers in the unit. During the story, he was told in no uncertain terms by the leader of the group that bigotry was unacceptable and that if he disparaged "anyone because of his race or color" he would make him wish he had never been born. These were strong words that made it clear where Sgt. Fury (as well as Lee and Kirby) stood on the issues of racism.
It’s important to remember that these viewpoints were not uttered in modern-day America. These were words spoken when a large part of the population still believed in segregation and “no mixing” of the races. This was a time when there were extreme societal changes taking place with civil rights, and comic books were not previously a vehicle that people expected to “take a side.” While adults of the time may have considered these comic books inconsequential, the messages they contained resonated with their readers and, in many cases, helped shape their view of the world. As such, I believe they helped diminish racial prejudice to the millions of children who read and loved these characters. After all, it’s one thing to have adults tell you racism is bad. It’s even more impactful when it comes from the heroes you admire. That's not to say that there weren't inappropriate imagery and dialogue from time to time, mostly holdover attitudes from the Cold War of the 1950s, however, for the most part, the comics consistently showed the importance of inclusion and acceptance.
While Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were the creators of the bulk of the comic books coming out of Marvel during the early 1960s when most of these heroes were created, Lee teamed up with Steve Ditko for the creation of Marvel's most popular character, Spider-Man. This was a comic book that revolutionized the concept of superheroes. Up until this time, characters tended to be strong and flawless. Spider-Man was clearly not flawless. He was extremely human, with insecurities and frailties that plagued him. He was a teenager trying to fit in; however, he was also someone with a strong sense of right and wrong, forged by a tragic event in his life.
Every comic book fan knows that Spider-Man allowed a criminal to escape from him, and that this criminal later went on to kill his uncle. This helped shape comic book’s most famous phrase, “With great power, there must also come great responsibility.” This saying could also apply to the creators of Marvel Comics back then. For example, while people of color were often ignored in comic books, Steve Ditko, Spider-Man’s artist and co-creator, made sure Black people comprised a number of the characters in the city. In one issue when the police arrived to arrest the criminals, one of them was a Black man who fought alongside his fellow officers. While this may not seem like a big deal today, this allowed children of color to be able to see themselves in the comic books. The inclusion of different races and ethnicities allowed all of the readers a chance to more easily identify with the stories being told.
The commitment to racial equality by these comic book creators most likely introduced these points of view to millions of their readers. Since these comics and characters established an incredible fan base over the years, that expanded the influence of these viewpoints. In fact, comic book readers embraced their characters and often never let go. Comic books at that time expanded the predominantly grade school readership, to start including high school and college students. As the years progressed, these readers kept up with these characters and now comic books are routinely read by people of all ages. They’ve expanded to higher quality paper and longer stories.
While the world is now discovering characters through the movies that Marvel comics created a generation ago, part of their long-lasting appeal is clearly their personalities as well as their powers. They also had a point of view. They had a worldview of equality, of positive belief in people, and an awareness that we are only as good as our word. For the generation that grew up reading Marvel comics in their youth, this worldview helped shape who they are and contributed to respect and acceptance of people from all walks of life.
