Captain America: Brave New Worldis the latest MCU film and the first in a while to have a strong black lead in a film. This is not Sam Wilson’s first rodeo as a hero as began the MCU as Falcon and then transitioned into Captain America.
Does Sam prove himself worthy of the title inCaptain America: Brave New Worldand does he make the top black superheroes of all time? The MCU and Marvel overall is well represented on the list but there won’t be any hints yet. Let’s go through the best ones, what movies they premiered in, and rank them based on power and their overall presence in cinema.
James Rhodes is one of the longest-running black characters in the MCU. The actors changedbetweenIron ManandIron Man 2, Terrence Howard to Don Cheadle, but it was a good move because Cheadle livened things up.Iron Man 2is when Rhodes turned into War Machine to help Tony Stark and his alter ego. While he has been relegated to a side character most of the time, his connection to Stark is heartwarming and he also suffers the most inCaptain America: Civil War, giving Rhodes a nice arc.
Samuel L. Jackson is no stranger to portraying superheroes.While Nick Furywould be great to nominate for the MCU, he’s not really a superhero as much as he is a great leader/spy. Instead, Frozone fromThe Incrediblesworks so much more as an animated representation of the medium. He’s not as big in the first movie as he is in the second but even then he doesn’t get the time he deserves. Still, every icy second with Frozone is gold.
Suicide Squad was not a movie most enjoyedbut the James Gunnreboot viaThe Suicide Squadwas a hit. It exchanged Deadshot as the lead antihero for Bloodsport, arguably two of the closest superheroes/anti-heroes in the DC universe. Despite that Idris Elba brought a lot to the table as a makeshift leader for some of the goofier anti-heroes on the block.
One of the best scenes was the kill contest between Deadshot and Peacemaker only to find out they killed a squad of innocents by accident. Bloodsport is at a bit of a disadvantage since he was only in one movie but it was a memorable one at that.
TheX-Menadaptationwas one of the bigger superhero movies of the 2000s, bringing forth such luminaries to cinema as Wolverine, Jean Gray, Professor Xavier, and of course Storm. Storm is one of the strongest mutants in the comics and it showed in the movie too. Halle Berry got to reprise her role in most extendedX-Menfilms and even though she wasn’t as important as Wolverine, she commanded a certain presence on stage. Who wouldn’t want to control the weather lethal or otherwise?
Deadpool also led some lovable misfits in the second movie who got unfortunately decimated by a freak accident. One of the only heroes to survive was Domino who claimed her power was luck. Deadpool and Domino argued throughout the entire movie about luck being or not being a power. Luck may not be a power but Domino sure did scrape by some intense disasters in the movie coming out clean as a whistle. Sadly, she didn’t get to be in the third movie with Wolverine but maybe the MCU has bigger plans for Domino and her actress, Zazie Beetz, yet.
3Miles Morales (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse)
The Chillest Spider-Man
The only good thing about thenon-MCUSpider-Man moviesare the ones led by Miles Morales.Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Versewas a huge hit and proved that Peter Parker didn’t always have to be the star. Miles was a nerd who couldn’t get his life together in other ways, but his misadventures were still entertaining as he was trained by some of the best Spider-Men and Spider-Women around.
Shameik Moore, his voice actor, may not be a teen, but he emulated through Miles well. Miles showed growth throughout the first and second movies. He had dedication to the job and to his family which is inspirational and something everyone can learn to strive toward in life. Anyone can put on THE mask.
The impactBlack Pantherhad on pop culturewas immeasurable. “Wakanda Forever!” is still shouted to this day. The titular hero first premiered inCaptain America: Civil Waras T’Challa took over the post from his father who was killed in action. He was a standout in that movie but was even better in his solo film. Whether he was T’Challa or Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman stood tall and noble in the role. There are no words for how tragic it was when Boseman passed away with Disney following the death of T’Challa in the MCU. Was that the right call? Should they have recast T’Challa instead? There are no right or wrong answers but here is a solid truth: Boseman ruled as Black Panther.
Wesley Snipes inBladehad an equally high impact on cinema but in the 90s asBlack Pantherhad in the 2010s. It was the first truly good superhero movie and it was rated R. Why there weren’t more R-rated superhero movies is a mystery. Snipes oozed with personality onscreen between his cheesy one-liners and slick action moves as heslayed vampires with ease. Whether Disney finally gets theirBladereboot up and running doesn’t matter. Snipes is Blade now and forever. He practically said it himself inDeadpool & Wolverine.
