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 😮💨
It probably also helps that the dense clouds appear black, and dense clouds mean a more severe storm. I wonder if the ink contrast is more of a perk than the primary reason, compared to darkness being a convenient power metaphor for storms.
It’s really not worth that much thought.
Strong disagree. Prevalent literary tropes are always worth dissecting, because they reveal a lot about the cultures that construct them, and provide us with insights into how to be better people.
In this case, the quantity of black lightning heroes may indicate that non-white skin color is / was perceived as such a defining feature of the character, beyond any potential personality facets, that any other power simply wasn’t considered.
If nearly every white comic hero were The Hulk, it would also be shit, and worth raising questions about.
It’s not prevalent and the hulk is green.
Oh yeah. And it rarely leads to “better people” lol