Nubian Heroes

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“It’s a bird…It’s a plane…Its superman!” Remember that line? Remember the unmistakable rush of adrenaline you got when you saw superman donned in his suit and his flowing red cape billowing about him; even within the confines of paper, he looked downright invincible. Ever since their creation, millions of lives have been shaped through comics. Didn’t they make us all want to save that cat in the tree like superman? Defeat all those elementary school bullies like batman? Stop crime like our friendly neighborhood Spiderman? These characters etched in paper became something more than just entertainment to us; they became our idols, role models, best friends… our heroes.

Over the years our African culture has been interpreted in paintings, poems, plays, movies, sculptures and prose. But one aspect that hasn’t really been focused on is the graphic novels (commonly known as comics). The Nubian superheroes- African superheroes have been portrayed as far back at the sixties.

In 1966, the first black superhero in mainstream American comics made its debut: Black Panther. Even in the creation of this character Stan Lee didn’t over look the main part of our Nubian heritage: our power. Black Panther was virile, strong, and agile; he moved with the grace of a jungle cat, he was resistant to magic and acquired his powers of a special herb. Nubia was portrayed through this character as the moon would reflect off the sun’s light. The Black Panther (AKA T’challa) reflected the mysticism of our magic, our connection with the earth and all her deities, our powerful African bodies: He spoke of the power of our ancestors. For ages ago, long before the year 1966, our people all over Africa were not so far-fetched from this hero… Relying only on the earth as our source; we developed and honed our human abilities to a level that can hardly be acquired today. Forced to thrive under the harsh tropical sun we became hard skinned, callous footed, our hair became thick and full. We sported dreadlocks, braids, afros. Our immunity became so strong that we could withstand deadly snake bites and poisonous herbs. We hunted for our food and farmed our own acres; our bodies barely felt the stings of scorpions or the hardness of stones beneath our feet, our backs withstood the harsh glare of the sun neither and our eyes remained unblinking when our salty sweat invaded it. Our forefathers’ physiques were the basis of that of Captain America, our intelligence ascribed to Bane’s (Batman); we had herbalists, mystical powers and revered our elders.  Zulu men covered distances close to 50 miles a day… barefoot. In short: We were powerful.

Last Updated on Friday, 06 January 2012 01:53
Written by Olayinka Babalola