Comics: Why Aquaman and Black Panther Are the Two Most Unsung Superheroes

Comics: Why Aquaman And Black Panther Are The Two Most Unsung Superheroes

Author : Robert D. Cobb

By now, comic book fans are getting ready for Marvel’s Infinity War and DC’s Justice League featuring the likes of Captain America, Iron Man, Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman, both movies will also star perhaps the two most unsung superheroes in Aquaman and Black Panther.

We all know about Clark Kent’s boyish aw-schucks small-town charm, the dashing and debonair Bruce Wayne and his scarred childhood that helped mold him into The World’s Greatest Detective, Tony Stark’s trademark brilliance and snark, Steve Rogers self-righteous sense of truth, justice and patriotism, but what do we really know about Arthur Curry and T’Challa?

With both Marvel and DC Comics being so hot mainstream nowadays, they have spread everywhere like wildfire, from toys, to clothes, costumes to comic cons, cosplays and fandoms. Even the gaming industry is getting into the act in using these characters, offering us some great online casino dc slots games as well as PC, PlayStation platforms.

Remember Hulk in 2004 for PC? Yes, it was quite a game. How about one of the most popular games nowadays - Batman Arkham - started in 2009 and until today it has spread to all possible platforms, including the hot and emerging VR (virtual reality) trend as recently as 2016.

1 / 3 As we stand in the middle of what can be dubbed as “The New Golden Age” of comics and super heroes, thanks to the smashing success of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the promising early returns of DC’s Extended Universe (DCEU) with movies such as Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, Batman vs. Superman : Dawn Of Justice, Wonder Woman, Iron Man, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy have paved the way for other successful small-screen spin-offs such as Agent Carter, DC Legends of Tomorrow, Super Girl and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

We know those stories and characters by heart now, but what about the more obscure heroes such as The Defenders, Inhumans, Ant-Man and the aforementioned Aquaman and Black Panther?

Unless you’re a fan of HBO’s famed series Entourage, you’d probably think that its main character, Vinnie Chase was Aquaman and not the aforementioned Curry. That’s how obscure and relatively unknown the so- called King of the Seven Seas is in today’s modern-day comic superhero world.

Unless you were a avid comic book collector or watched the famed Super Friends cartoon of the 70’s and 80’s—you know wassup!—but you'd probably stand a better chance of knowing Aquaman as being fictionally directed by James Cameron instead of being played by Jason Momoa in the upcoming Justice League movie.

2 / 3 Black Panther is truly a rare animal in the world of comics, especially when he was first inked and drawn by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the last 1960’s as the world’s first black mainstream superhero. In a time of racial and social injustice, the king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda helped break the “ink barrier” in pioneering the creation of future black superheroes such as Falcon (1969), Green Lantern John Stewart (1971), Luke Cage (1972) and Black Lightning (1977).

But what do we really known about him other than facing off against Russian-brainwashed assassins like The Winter Solider? It’s commendable that Chadwick Boseman is brought his long-lost character to the silver screen in Civil War and in the up-coming Infinity War

Hopefully, both the MCU and DCEU do both great and storied characters justice in giving them their proper and long overdue closeup going forward.

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