Title pretty much sums it up. Watched a video recently where someone was asked to name a black superhero that didn’t have lightning based powers and while I could name a few it made me realize just how prevalent the trope is.
But why?
Edit: Y’all I’m not asking for examples of black heroes that don’t have lightning powers. I’m asking why it’s a trope to begin with 😮💨


The fact that you’re getting so many replies about other characters should be a sign the premise of the question is faulty. You’re asking people to stop giving you examples that contradict your confirmation bias.
It’s not confirmation bias but rather slight functional illiteracy from commenters. The original question is basically asking what’s the connection between black superheroes and having electrical powers; or in other words why is it a trope.
Nowhere in the title or the short note did OP ask people to name black superheroes without electrical powers. He only says that he saw a video that asked people to do that.
Even if you ignore the note, the title itself isn’t asking for examples of exceptions but rather for an explanation. It’s kind of like if someone asked why so many members of Congress are old and white, and the responses were just listing non-white and/or younger representatives.
Except I stated that I know other black characters exist that don’t have lightning powers. I know not all black superheroes have lightning powers but there’s enough of them that I’ve noticed it’s a trope.