Superhero Week: Who is the most famous black superhero?

Are there enough black superheroes in Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse or any other catalogue? Sometimes it’s easier to name green or red (Hulk, Vision, Martian Manhunter, etc) heroes than it is to name a black one.

That said, the comic industry has been updating itself and it is less unusual to have a black superhero these days. There are, after all, two black Green Lanterns (Earth humans, too). To extend the debate we could point out that too often the black superhero is just a “black copy” of a white hero. Would you agree?

The purpose of this post is two-fold; firstly to remind ourselves there are some great black superhero (and villain) characters and secondly to try and work out who is the most famous.

This list is not definitive but it is large. Did someone get missed out? Make their case in the comment box below!

Want a better look at those portraits?