Commentary

Time for a Black Superman?

If every generation gets the Superman it deserves, then we should let a man of color wear the cape as the new Man of Steel.

Remember that Kal-el from Krypton is an extraterrestrial, an alien. He is not actually Superman, that’s only the name for the superhero he becomes. Nor is he entirely Clark Kent, that’s only the name given him by his adoptive parents. To borrow from that now odd artifact from the 50s, The Adventures of Superman, he comes of age as a “strange visitor from another planet.”

Kal-el finds himself living on a world with nearly eight billion people, but he does not belong. He’s a man on the outside. No matter what he does — keep airplanes from crashing or defeat psychotic villains — he’s never going to be a human, like everybody he knows from his parents to his friends to his wife. He will never quite 100% fit in with this Earth society, at least as Clark, where he passes himself off as one of the locals.

Surely a talented Black actor can find some inspiration in that alienation. All it would take is a studio and a comics company willing to roll the dice with a franchise that is nearing its 85th year.

And, now, it looks like that may finally be happening.

Breaking News

Speeding out of Hollywood faster than a speeding bullet is the news that uber-producer and director J.J. Abrams has been tapped by Warner Brothers for a new feature Superman that will be written by Ta-Nehisi Coates who, based on the quote making the rounds understands that this is a Very Big Deal in American Culture.

“To be invited into the DC Extended Universe by Warner Bros., DC Films and Bad Robot is an honor. I look forward to meaningfully adding to the legacy of America’s most iconic mythic hero.”

Coates, who is an acclaimed essayist and novelist is probably best know in this creative space for his work on the Captain America and Black Panther Marvel franchises. He made this recent comment about his DC gig to Shadow and Act, a website dedicated to the African diaspora in the arts. Abrams weighs in as well.

“There is a new, powerful and moving Superman story yet to be told. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with the brilliant Mr. Coates to help bring that story to the big screen, and we’re beyond thankful to the team at Warner Bros. for the opportunity.”

I first wrote about this last year on the 4th of July in a Medium essay, “It’s Time for a Black Superman.” Back then, this felt like tilting at windmills, given that the news was that Henry Cavill had been signed to keep the character alive.

How can this be reconciled you might wonder?

• First, let’s remember that in the world of superheroes there are many universes out there in the multiverse. In at least one of them (already true in DC Comics) there is a Black Superman. Warner/DC has seriously bought into the multiverse angle on storytelling and, accounting for both film and TV, there are already multiple Flashes and multiple Batmans in the marketplace today.
• Second, the current Superman, Henry Cavill, can easily continue his cape wearing responsibilities in the current DC continuity started in Man of Steel, continued with Batman v. Superman, and last seen in Justice League. After all, Cavill isn’t the only Man of Steel on screens as it is. Even as this is being written, Superman and Lois has just debuted on the CW with Tyler Hoechlin playing the Caped Crusader.

Whatever Warner is cooking up with Abrams and Coates can be a stand-alone that starts another iteration.

What’s one more Man of Steel between friends?

The Evolution of the Character

Over eight decades, Superman has evolved from a man who can just barely leap tall buildings in a single bound to a hero who’s more god than man. If his abilities can change so much and still leave a core character that is still popular, then a Black Superman really isn’t too much to contemplate.

There is No Superman Classic Anymore

I worked on Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman in the first season, and I’ve seen first-hand that keeping the classics fresh is how comic companies think. At Lois and Clark, the big risk was turning the character into a rom-com lead, where Clark was the character and Superman the secret identity. At the same time that was going on over on the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank, back in New York City the comic creators were killing Superman in his battle with Doomsday. They embraced death as the ultimate disruptive act in a character arc.

Audiences never seem to get tired of this Superman character (created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster). The Son of Krypton is now safely in the world’s DNA, even if the character continues to mutate with the times.

Since 1947, many brave actors have tried on the tights and cape, and each film or TV appearance provides as much insight into the world as it existed when the production happened as the character itself. Here they are, and the year they first portrayed Superman.

• Kirk Alyn (Superman Serials) — 1947
• George Reeves (Adventures of Superman) — 1951
• Christopher Reeve (Superman: The Movie, Superman II, III, IV) — 1978, 1980, 1983, 1987
• John Haymes Newton (Superboy) — 1988
• Gerard Christopher (Superboy) — 1989
• Dean Cain (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman) — 1993
• Tom Welling (Smallville) — 2001
• Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) — 2006
• Henry Cavill (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Justice League) — 2013, 2016, 2017
• Tyler Hoechlin (Supergirl, Superman and Lois) — 2016, 2021

That’s ten different portrayals of Superman since 1947, running through both TV and film. Each one appears to be part of an evolutionary step to make the character a little more real, a little more grounded than the last.

Every generation gets the Superman it deserves.

1950s organization man George Reeves? 1970s disco-era sweet and innocent Christopher Reeve? 1990s romantic lead Dean Cain? 2000s all-Clark Tom Welling? 2010s slightly gay Brandon Routh?

It’s been Henry Cavill’s late 2010s somber and slightly pissed-off characterization that has been the most dramatic shift. This Superman feels like a dark and tortured soul who’s not all that happy with his life.

Black Superman Already Exists (But Only in the Comics)

In Reign of the Supermen from the mid 90s, after Clark Kent/Superman died, John Henry Adams as Steel took over the job.

Meanwhile, Superman of Earth-2 is another black man, Val Zod.

Then there’s Calvin Ellis, and he’s not from our Earth either, he’s from Earth-23 (23!) which is part of the multiverse, only he’s really intended to be Barack Obama and, well, never mind. It doesn’t matter.

Who Should Wear the Cape Now?

Rumor has had it that J.J. Abrams favors John Boyega of Star Wars: Episode VII fame, an actor he’s already worked with. It’s certainly possible, but fans have ideas of their own.

For the record, Idris Elba is not going to get the role either, despite looking stellar in the suit and cape in this insanely great image done by Drew Pulig for Hypebeast. The 48–year-old is too old for a Hollywood that may be ready to tackle racism, but ageism, that’s a bridge too far. Leaping tall buildings is a young man’s game.

A couple of years ago, the potential replacement that got fans talking was Michael B. Jordan. Jordan’s star-turns in Creed and Black Panther put him strongly on the list if there was going to be a Black Superman. The conjecture inspired a meme where artists portrayed Michael B. Jordan as the Man of Steel.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, back in 2019, Jordan talked about it with Oprah Winfrey.

“It’s flattering … very humbling,” he said, adding that he worried taking on the role would mean “being picked apart and compared to so many different versions of Superman.” However, when pressed by Winfrey, the self-described “comic book guy” said he would be open to playing the Calvin Ellis version. “I think the comic book purists can accept that more than me being Clark Kent from Kansas. That’s a different thing.”

On the other hand, perhaps Jordan is simply being too modest. What if a new Black Superman is not some sidebar Superman elevated from the comic books, like someone from an alternate Earth in the DC multiverse who steps in to wear a cape that needs a new owner? Like the hand-off Marvel just did with the Captain America character played by Chris Evans.

Accept No Imitations

Warner Bros. and DC Comics should consider that something deeper is needed here.

When an African-American actor is eventually cast to play Superman, as now seems likely to happen, he should get the original role — Kal-el, aka Clark Kent, aka Superman.

Why not? Certain characters do outgrow their singular expression and Superman can, too. Back in the 1980s, when Michael Keaton took over as Batman, there were howls of protest that only Adam West could play the part. When Chris Pine got the Captain Kirk role, there were even bigger howls that only William Shatner could have the role. Would it be so crazy to think that some day a Black actor might take on Kirk?

For all the changing constructs over time, the character is still the character. The Superman/Clark Kent construct turns out to be sturdy, like Hamlet or Robin Hood. Clearly, a Black actor could easily play James Bond. Why must Superman be sacrosanct?

Some angry fans push back on race equivalency, and they’re wrong. They complain that it’s as offensive as casting the Black Panther as a white man. That’s wrong and frankly racist. The Black Panther is an African man, the leader of an African nation. He is, by definition, a Black man. That simply doesn’t have to be true with Kal-el/Clark Kent/Superman.

We shouldn’t have to settle for a Calvin Ellis, John Henry Adams or a Val Zod on the big screen to get a person of color into this key role.

It’s just plain time to have a Clark Kent who happens to be Black. Imagine a Black Clark Kent who begins to increasingly “identify” as African-American, and track how that bleeds over into the Superman/Kal-el persona. Where does that Superman stand on Black Lives Matter? Wouldn’t it be interesting to see how the character grapples with that as much as Lex Luthor’s latest shenanigans?

Think also about the character arc. Clark Kent grew up Kansas, a state with only a small Black population. Does he grow up with white parents who adopt him? Black parents? How does he fit in at school? Frankly, he’s an alien being passing as a human? Who’s to say what color he might be?

This chance to freshen up the Superman character can be revolutionary.

A Black Superman is a compelling personal hook, to see how this fascinating story could be spun out to reflect the times we live in.

They should get it done. It’s not just a good change for social reasons, but it may be the only legitimate way to shake up the franchise and kick it back into orbit where it belongs.

While smashing the Superman stereotype won’t finish bringing truth and justice to the American Way, it’s still a good idea.

Things change. Heroes evolve. Shake it up.

It’s time for a Black Superman.