Now on to the heroes (and other Comic Book Characters):
Fatality
Fatality is no hero; she's actually a supervillain from the DC Comics Universe and sworn enemy of Green Lantern. Green Lantern accidentally destroyed her planet and Fatality was the sole survivor. She came to Earth to exact her revenge but didn't know the identity of Green Lantern, so she tried to kill every Green Lantern she came across. In one of her battles she was presumed dead after her severed arm was found, but no trace of her body was discovered. She resurfaced later with a prosthetic arm attempting to even the score and lost her other arm. She is very skilled in combat and has a mastery of most weapons. She uses a power rod most of the time and a yellow Qwardian ring, which happens to be among the Green Lantern's weaknesses.Casey McKenna
Casey McKenna is a DC Comics character from Frank Miller's RONIN. "Working as chief of security at the Aquarius Complex, Casey keeps close watch over the Aquarius Corporation's crown jewel set in the heart of a tarnished New York City." (snatched that quote from Torchbearers).Rocket - Raquel Ervin
Rocket appears in Milestone Comics' ICON. She begins as a thief and meets the hero of whom she would eventually become a sidekick while robbing his house. She has the power to control kinetic energy because of a harness built by ICON. She is very liberal and aspires to be a writer "like Tony Morrison". She has a baby and according to Wikipedia, becomes the first teen mother to appear in a comic book.Ant - Hannah Washington
I've been through the stories, powers, and histories of over 100 Black Female Superheroes and Ant is definitely among my favorites. She's one of the only Black Female comic book characters I've found that is the star of her own book series. Her story is that of a troubled and traumatized 8-year old girl whose father is sentenced to the death penalty for armed robbery, causing young Hannah to write in her diary obsessively as a means of escape. In her writings, she creates an adult alter-ego for herself that she names Ant. She becomes so outwardly consumed by these fantasies that she blacks out and ends up in a mental institution. Hannah wakes up as an adult in the institution with memories of her life as Ant - not sure if they're real or figments of her imagination. She has superhuman speed and strength as well as antennae that enhance her senses and an exoskeleton that acts as an impenetrable shield as long as her blood sugar level is maintained; if her blood sugar drops, her defences are weakened.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.Monica & Maya (Heroes)
Surprisingly, I've never gotten into Heroes. I watched the pilot episode and missed the next few and never tried to catch up - Regardless, I'll try to sum these characters up as best I can. Monica, played by Dana Davis (top 3 photos), is from New Orleans, works at a fast food restaurant, is the cousin of a character named Micah, and has adoptive muscle memory - which basically means that after she sees something once, in person or otherwise, her mind records it and she acquires that skill, either temporarily or permanently. This power applies to martial arts, hand-to-hand combat, playing the piano, cooking, etc.Here's a clip of Monica beating the BREAKS off of a would-be robber:
Maya, played by Dania Ramirez, is from the Dominican Republic and has (or had?) the ability to emit poison and cry black tears (if you can't tell, I'm kind of lost in these character descriptions because they're pretty complex, so I don't know if the black tears ARE the poison or...). She tries to make her way with her twin to America to meet a doctor who can help her with her abilities and ends up killing some people on the way - but she's not evil.
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:
Catwoman
Halle's back! As is the late (and beautiful!) Eartha Kitt, may she rest in peace. Everyone knows the story of Catwoman, so I'm not going to get into it.Niobe
I loved when Jada Pinkett-Smith showed up in the Matrix trilogy, especially since Will was originally among the first choices to play Neo. She appeared in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. She is a captain and pilot of the Zion ship Logos and was once romantically linked to Morpheus, from whom she parted once he visited The Oracle and began to spout his beliefs about his destiny and finding THE ONE, which Niobe never believed in. She is also very skilled in martial arts and has been successful in evading agents, including Smith.Misty Magic
Misty Magic was a hero on the 1981 show Hero High and it's preceding Archie cartoon series. She had the power to cast clumsy magic spells that often went comically awry.I wasn't born in 1981, but for those that were, here's the into to the Kids Super Power Hour with Shazam - which Hero High was apparently a part of:
SheBang
SheBang, aka Shenice Vale, is a character on the now defunct Kids' WB show Static Shock. She was engineered by her parents to have superhuman strength and agility. Static Shock was a DC Comic before being animated and has the distiction of not existing in the DC UNIVERSE - meaning that in the context of the Static Shock comic and show, characters like Superman are considered purely fictional - which I think is a pretty cool touch as it adds a sense of realism.Honorable Mentions:
These two aren't superheroes, but they are notable Black Female comic book characters, so check them out.
Lois Lane!
Yes, there was a Black Lois Lane, who knew??? Actually, I hate to disappoint you, but the real Lois Lane goes on an undercover reporting assignment about slum conditions in a neighborhood called Little Africa disguised as a Black Woman. Yea... she's in Black Face. I have nothing more to say.I take that back... there is a redeeming message in the issue. It goes like this: Lois wants to report on the issues affecting this community, but the neighborhood doesn't trust her so she goes in disguise, at which point she is granted their trust and acceptance. Along the way, she meets a Black guy named Dave who gets shot and needs a transfusion but the hospital runs out of his blood type, which just happens to be Lois's blood type. The issue ends with Superman saying, "If he still hates you... with your blood in his veins... there may never be peace in this world!" **because Black people are typically the oppressive racists side-eye lol (i'm only half kidding)** They end up getting along in the end.
Esther
Esther appears in Sin City and is a depressed and suicidal actress who tries to kill herself by jumping off a cliff. She lives... but is later kidnapped. Sucks... but you have to remember, this is Sin City we're talking about - everyone's life sucks.That's it for Volume 6. More Black Superheroines on the way - the best is yet to come. I'll leave you with the 3rd tribute video:
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