Super Black places the
appearance of black superheroes alongside broad and sweeping cultural
trends in American politics and pop culture, which reveals how black
superheroes are not disposable pop products, but rather a fascinating
racial phenomenon through which futuristic expressions and fantastic
visions of black racial identity and symbolic political meaning are
presented. Adilifu Nama sees the value—and finds new avenues for
exploring racial identity—in black superheroes who are often dismissed
as sidekicks, imitators of established white heroes, or are accused of
having no role outside of blaxploitation film contexts.
Nama
examines seminal black comic book superheroes such as Black Panther,
Black Lightning, Storm, Luke Cage, Blade, the Falcon, Nubia, and others,
some of whom also appear on the small and large screens, as well as how
the imaginary black superhero has come to life in the image of
President Barack Obama. Super Black
explores how black superheroes are a powerful source of racial meaning,
narrative, and imagination in American society that express a myriad of
racial assumptions, political perspectives, and fantastic
(re)imaginings of black identity. The book also demonstrates how these
figures overtly represent or implicitly signify social discourse and
accepted wisdom concerning notions of racial reciprocity, equality,
forgiveness, and ultimately, racial justice.
