Collecting Black Comix

Check out this GQ article - "Collecting Black Comix: African-American Superheroes and the Luke Cage Problem" . It's a great read.

Uhura

I have never ever EVER seen an episode of Star Trek, but I still love Uhura. The original Uhura was played by Nichelle Nichols and in the upcoming Star Trek Movie, a younger Uhura will be played by Zoe Saldana. The audience got to see Uhura go from a Lieutenant all the way to a captain through the course of the show. Nichols wanted to leave after her first season, but was persuaded by Martin Luther King Jr himself to stay on. Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to fly in space, sited Uhura as an influence on her choice of profession.




Trivia - Mae Jemison actually appeared on the show in a cameo.

Valerie Brown

From the pictures above, you can tell that Valerie Brown probably wasn't exactly a SUPERHERO.... but she was a pretty awesome cartoon and comic strip character from Josie and the Pussycats. She performed backup in the band, played many instruments, and wrote most of the songs. She was also the one to get the girls out of most of their jams as she was a genius (a la Velma from Scooby Doo). Rosario Dawson played Valerie in the Josie and the Pussycats live action movie in 2001.

Neurotap

Neurotap, Michelle Balters, could be described as the reluctant mutant. She discovered her powers in a most unfortunate way - by putting her mother into a coma. The manifestation of her abilities causes her family extreme distress as well as overwhelming financial burdens. To help pay off her mother's medical bills, Michelle Balters began working at Strong Industries - finding mutants for the villanous Martin Henry Strong to experiment upon - against her better judgement.

Balters' abilities activate when she makes and holds eye contact with an opponent - causing them severe nervous system damage via electric impulses.

WildStreak

Wildstreak 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.

Venus Dee Milo

Venus Dee Milo is a Marvel character that first appeared in X-Force in 2001. She has no arms, like the Greek Statue she is named for, Venus de Milo. She discovered her powers during an argument with her parents as a young adult, causing an explosion that destroyed her grandmother's home. She fled depressed and joined the X-Force. Venus is made of pure energy, without the containment suit, made for her by Professor X, she wouldn't have a physical form. She can transport herself from place to place and use her energy as a weapon and to heal herself and others.

SheBang

SheBang, aka Shenice Vale, is a character on the now defunct Kids' WB show Static Shock. She was engineered by her parents to have superhuman strength and agility. Static Shock was a DC Comic before being animated and has the distinction of not existing in the DC UNIVERSE - meaning that in the context of the Static Shock comic and show, characters like Superman are considered purely fictional - which I think is a pretty cool touch as it adds a sense of realism.

Friction - Charlotte 'Charly/Yolanda' Beck

Friction appears in Marvel Comics' DP7. She has the ability to manipulate the surface of objects in her immediate line of vision for up to 250 feet and their natural relationship and attraction to one another - causing things to stick together or become completely frictionless. She uses this power to climb walls and ceilings and quickly glide across flat surfaces. She can also make peoples' body parts adhere... which is just cruel (and pretty awesome in a fight situation). Charlotte was a dancer in college when she discovered her abilities and was admitted into a clinic for the paranormal where she met others with unique talents; the patients soon discovered that the clinic was up to no good and escaped briefly until Charly was captured, returned, and brainwashed. Her story goes on to include racial tensions and riots, the destruction of Pittsburgh in the incident called The Pitt, and CIA employee turned hit-target.