Latest / Vigilante Vibes Podcast / Ep. 211. Most Influential Black Marvel Characters

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Ep. 211. Most Influential Black Marvel Characters · Vigilante Vibes Podcast

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  Hello Marvel fans, comic geeks and all the nerds in between.
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  My name is Megan with vigilante vibes and I am here with another
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  episode today and it is actually not a character breakdown, but I
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  want to talk about influential black characters of the Marvel
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  Universe. It is Black History Month and
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  what better way to celebrate than the most influential black
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  characters of Marvel. Keep in mind these are my
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  personal preferences so if you have another character that
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  isn't on the list, let me know in the comments.
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  These are in no specific order, just some are my favorites.
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  So we're going to start out strong with Sync.
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  As a founding member of Generation X, it became pretty
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  clear quickly that Syncs potential was basically off the
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  charts. His mutant ability originally
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  let him sync up with other nearby mutants, copying their
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  powers as long as they were close.
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  The catch was obvious, if there wasn't someone around with super
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  strength or some other ability, he could not use them.
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  Since being revived though, that limit doesn't really apply the
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  same way anymore. Sync can now remember people
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  he's recently synced with, letting him hold on to certain
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  powers for longer periods of time.
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  On top of that, he isn't limited to mutants anymore, he can sync
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  with anyone who has superpowers, which is which massively expands
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  what he's capable of. And he's a very, very cool
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  character. Miles Morales.
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  Miles Morales got his powers the same way Peter Parker did, by
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  being bitten by a genetically enhanced spider.
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  Like Peter, he didn't really step up as a hero right away.
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  That changed after he witnessed Peter's final battle against the
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  Green Goblin, which pushed Miles to carry on his legacy as the
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  new Spider Man. Even though he's still young,
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  Miles is incredibly strong, able to lift around 10 tons.
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  Just like Peter, his strength is expected to grow the older he
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  gets. On top of that, he has super
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  fast reflexes and enhanced durability, making him one of
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  the strongest Spider Man out there and easily one of the most
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  powerful young heroes around. The next One Sweet Christmas, we
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  have to include Luke Cage on this list.
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  Notwithstanding the fantastic Netflix series, Luke Cage was
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  established as a common man's guardian.
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  He stayed in Harlem to be a source of strength for his
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  community. Sure he was bulletproof and had
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  the muscle power of like 1000 oxen, but he was a hero to the
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  people of the street. A family man with an
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  inspirational back story made him tangible and admirable.
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  In June of 1972, Luke Cage Hero for Hire number one hit the
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  bookshelves and comic fans at that time had to had to adjust.
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  You have to think in the 70s to have a black comic book
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  character be one of the heroes of his own comic book run with
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  something very unusual for society.
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  So it was very important that he made an impact and he did.
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  And he is still the power man Marvel needs.
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  RiRi Williams I will not accept any slander against RiRi
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  Williams. RiRi is a young genius who
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  managed to reverse engineer Tony Stark's Iron Man armor, her
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  first, very first version. It didn't go well, it literally
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  blew apart during its first Test run, but it's a learning
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  journey. But each new suit got better and
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  better, eventually letting her step into the superhero role as
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  Iron Heart. While her armor is clearly
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  inspired by Tony's designs, it doesn't actually use Stark tech
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  aside from the onboard AI. Even so, it gives her durability
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  and strength on par with Iron Man and War Machine.
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  More recently, she's gotten her hands on the Mandarin's Ten
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  Rings, though those are strictly a last resort option.
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  And plus, her series on Disney Plus was fantastic and I watch
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  it a lot. This next one is a super, super
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  underrated character and I don't understand why he doesn't get
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  more of a spotlight. Blue Marvel.
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  Stop me if you've heard this one before.
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  A powerful black man, a standout in the military who goes on to
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  become a legendary figure of Marvel Comics.
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  It's happened plenty, but in this case, meet Adam Brashear,
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  better known as Blue Marvel. He earned 2 Silver Stars as a
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  Marine during the Korean War, then later became a lead
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  researcher studying antimatter. One massive explosion later,
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  Adam was transformed into a living, stable antimatter
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  reactor. When it comes to powers, Blue
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  Marvel pretty much checks every single box.
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  He has extreme superhuman strength and skill, energy and
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  antimatter manipulation, near and vulnerability, cosmic
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  awareness, and incredibly powerful telekinesis.
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  To really put his status into perspective, creator Kevin
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  Grieveaux once pitched him in the with the question, what if
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  Superman were black in the early 60s?
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  And now we've got the answer because we have Blue Marvel,
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  which we don't see enough of. Of course, there's no Black
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  History Marvel list without Sam Wilson.
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  Sam Wilson, AKA Captain America, is such an honorable man that
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  Steve Rogers deemed him worthy to take the helm and the shield.
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  So when you guys are sitting at home complaining he's not the
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  real Captain America, well, your Lord and savior Steve thinks so.
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  So. And at one point he was even
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  able to used Mulnier. He was worthy of Mulnier.
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  Come on guys. He has a heart of gold and has
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  the respect of his entire team. Now he has the reins to an
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  entirely new team of Avengers. He is that guy.
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  It has been shown since Iron Man.
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  He is perfect proof that what makes Captain America isn't what
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  comes from a bottle, but is a good man.
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  And Sam Wilson is just that, a good man.
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  This one I take a little personally.
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  If you know me, you know the X-Men and the mutants are
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  everything to me. So this next one, Bishop.
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  Let's get one thing clear about Bishop.
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  He deserved better on all fronts.
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  Lucas Bishop, better known as Bishop, is basically a walking
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  energy battery. He can soak up weapons fire and
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  raw force like a sponge in the ocean.
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  Ever since the Uncanny X-Men #282 back in 1991, Professor X
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  has relied on him for his raw strength and durability.
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  Meanwhile, in the movies, he got maybe 20 minutes as a supporting
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  character in X-Men Days of Future Past, which is criminal.
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  Bishop's a former cop and an absolute menace to villains.
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  And yeah, he can time travel, too, for whatever it's worth.
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  Personally, I think it's time to put much more of a spotlight on
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  him, and not just during February.
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  This next one, another one that I think is underrated, Dr.
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  Voodoo, Born in Haiti, Jericho Drum, better known as Doctor
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  Voodoo, eventually rises to become the Sorcerer Supreme.
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  Yeah, he's that powerful. His roots are deeply tied to the
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  occult, and while that side of magic isn't always celebrated,
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  it's what made him a master of the mystical and dark arts.
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  When things get rough in a fight, Drum can channel the
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  spirit of his late brother, Brother de Voodoo, which quite
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  literally double S his power. His magic expertise makes him a
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  necessary presence in the lives of Doctor Strange, Black
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  Panther, and so many other people on The Avengers roster.
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  He's gone toe to toe with Mephisto and fought alongside
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  the savage Avengers, wielding powers that are both divine and
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  semi physical. Definitely someone you do not
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  want to take lightly. And when the newest Storm run
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  came out and it started with Doctor Voodoo, I knew it was
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  going to be a banger. And it was a banger and I want
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  to see more of him everywhere. Comics.
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  I want to see him in MCUI, want to see it all.
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  This one is one that we all know and love and it is such a
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  classic. Blade The Day Walker the vampire
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  Hunter, the godfather of the MCU's besides Robert Downey
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  Junior Blade is 1/2 human half vampire vampire hunter known as
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  the Day Walker. Born after his mother was bitten
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  by a vampire during childbirth. He's immune to vampire
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  weaknesses like sunlight, garlic while keeping all of their
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  enhanced strength, speed, and healing.
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  Trained as a master fighter and weapons expert, Blade dedicates
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  his life to wiping out vampires and other supernatural threats,
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  often operating on the darker St. level side of Marvel
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  alongside characters like Doctor Strange or Ghost Rider.
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  This one I think is a given because she is amazing and you
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  just can't get better than her. Aurora Monroe, AKA Storm Storm
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  is easily one of the most influential and powerful black
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  superheroes in comics, period. She made a thunderous debut in
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  Giant X-Men #1 back in 1975 and has been a cornerstone of the
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  X-Men ever since. She's brilliant, the daughter of
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  a Kenyan Princess, and now has 0 patience for terrible people.
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  Storm isn't like most superheroes.
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  She's an ecopath, meaning she's physically and emotionally
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  connected to the planet itself. What the Earth does, she can do.
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  What she feels, the Earth, the world feels too, all within the
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  limits of nature. She might not drop solar flares
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  in Antarctica, but she absolutely can make a villain
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  regret ever crossing her. To put it plainly, she is unlike
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  any other superheroes of any color.
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  And bringing us to the end of my list, This one is no surprise.
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  Black Panther. Ever since the King of Wakanda
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  entered Marvel Comics in Fantastic Four number 52 of
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  1966, he has always led the conversation of what a source of
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  power black men were created to be.
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  Stan Lee and Jack Kirby designed a figure of nobility and
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  impregnability, and he led a mighty nation.
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  He was Wakanda's champion and a beacon of might within The
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  Avengers. Kevin Feige could not have paid
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  enough to do better than Chadwick Boseman.
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  He was regal, he was vigorous, he was T'challa, he was the
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  Black Panther. Moreover, he knew why Black
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  Panther was created in the 1st place.
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  It was the late 60s and Marvel had a platform to say all men
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  were equal, so they made a black man a king.
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  Regardless of strength, skill, power or force, Black Panther
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  will always be the one seed in Marvel Comics for the mighty
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  black superheroes. So that is my list of the most
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  influential black characters of Marvel.
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  I find all of these characters to be incredible.
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  I think they are ones that need more of a spotlight on them, not
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  just in February. So yeah, if I missed out on
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  anyone that you think should be added to this list, let me know
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  in the comments. Let me know your favorite black
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  character and and have a great Black History Month.
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  With that being said, be sure to like and subscribe and have a
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  marvelous day.