Margay & Janet Sorenson

This one is a reader submission, from Jason Hargrove! I don't think I've ever mentioned this before, but if anyone who reads this blog knows about an awesome Black superheroine, Black female comic book character, or female cartoon character of color that I haven't featured, send it in: becca.oneal@gmail.com. I've got like 100 characters backed up, but there are never enough.

The tragic supervillain! Equinox, Terrance Sorenson, certainly fits the bill. He was dealt an unfortunate hand and didn't know how to play it to win. His power of pyrokenesis drove him mad and ruined his life. His mother, Margay Sorenson, a Bard College scientist worked with Spiderman and Reed Richards to get his abilities under control. With her funding in trouble, Equinox turned to crime to help his mother's money troubles.

I'm sensing a comic book/sci-fi theme: the unwilling villain and the mother who tries to save him or her. Think Proteus and Moira Mactaggart, Liz Sherman (Hellboy), et al.

Janet Sorenson, Equinox's daughter, discovered her power to produce energy blasts at age 6 - and her father, remembering his horrible experiences (which were eventually placated by his mother's research), tried everything he could to get her to control her powers, which she couldn't. She was basically setting Harlem on fire, one outburst at a time. Equinox even tried resorting to violence.

The Sorenson women had unfortanate dealings with the men in their lives in general. Margay was abused by Equinox's father, David Sorenson (an explosion in his thermodynamics lab resulted in Equinox getting his powers), and Terry, in turn, was violent with his daughter. I don't want to jump to the conclusion that Black families in comics often deal with abuse, drugs, disfunction, and violence issues, - because that's a theme in comics (AND, unfortunately, LIFE for people of all races) in general - but I've seen it more often than I like.

Leila Taylor

In the Marvel comic Captain American and Falcon, Leila Taylor first appears. Soon after she begins a reluctant relationship with Falcon. Taylor, a civil rights activist and journalist, saw Falcon as a conformist, which strained their courtship. After working together to prevent a plot to sneak toxic chemicals onto American soil, Leila and Falcon are able to overlook their superficial differences and eventually get engaged.

Vibrania

Firstly, Did anyone else hear that Disney is buying Marvel for $4 billion??? What a way to start the day! I don't know how to feel about this. I just hope Disney doesn't try to anesthetize my comics!

On to Vibrania. The more involved a character history, the more invested in that character I become - which explains my interest in Vibrania (who first appears in 1990 alongside Marvel's Speedball in Marvel Super-Heroes vol. 3 #4). Vibrania's entire history is invented: she comes from the fictional African nation Kwarrai and was paralyzed, but also ultimately granted her powers (and name) by the alloy Vibranium, a metal which only exists in the Marvel Universe (the same Vibranium of which Captain America's shield is comprised).

Vibrania's powers include the abilities to project Vibranium blasts (???) , affect the Earth's plates and create targeted tectonic shifts to distract her opponents, and surround herself with a Vibranium force field.

Vibrania's first exposure the the fictional element occurred after an encounter in her father's lab left her paralyzed and wheel-chair bound, unable to move from the waist down. After an Earthquake destroyed her home land and killed many of her loved ones, the latent effects of her exposure were made evident.

Krystalin

Krystalin (Krys Porter/Ruth Kristen) first appears in X-Men (2099) #1. She has the ability to gather and consolidate mineral content from the atmosphere into hardened crystals that she can, in turn, use as weapons or to encase and freeze an enemy.

Debrii

Debrii first appeared in Marvel's New Warriors. She has the ability to move objects around her through telekinetic magnetism. She can move things one at a time or create a cyclone-like mass of debris around herself to defend from attacks.

Callisto

Callisto is also played by actress Dania Ramirez, so she's tied with Halle for how many superheroines she's portrayed; the two appeared in X-Men: The Last Stand together. I should also mention that I have a personal affinity for all things X-Men related. I was OBSESSED with the cartoon as a kid of the 90s and I still watch it on Toon Disney, even though they're BOGUS for only showing it at midnight and 1:30am - probably because they know all the people who love the show are adults now lol. But I've seriously digressed. On to Callisto: She has superhuman senses, heightened strength, speed and agility, accelerated healing abilities, and can sense mutants' powers and their magnitude - an ability she uses to locate other mutants. At some point, she got tentacled arms. She wasn't written as a Black character, but I'll take them where I can get them lol. In the cartoon, she was the leader of an underground group of deformed mutants called the Morlocks - she wanted to capture Cyclops to reproduce with her and rule by her side.

Here's a clip of Storm and Callisto fighting:

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.

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.