Colonel Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is easily one of the most recognizable faces in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He led the Avengers and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with an open hand of direction and a clenched fist of strength. If a parent or guardian of a young Black man or woman needed an example of a comic role model, Nick Fury would no doubt be a seminal choice.
He's bold, wise, and a leader of humanity. These are the stunning members of the Marvel Comics Universe who we have been privileged to watch every month, including Black History Month in February. Indeed, a few others in Marvel come to mind. The mighty names of the comic pantheon from Marvel--Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, John Romita, Jack Kirby--knew diversity and inclusion was the key to an entire and colorful universe.
Here are the Top 10 strongest Black superheroes in the Marvel Comics Universe
10. Falcon
Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, is such an honorable man that Steve Rogers deemed him worthy to take the helm and the shield. And that guy wielded Mjolnir! He has a heart of gold and has the respect of his entire team. Now, he may have the reigns to an entirely new team of Avengers. He is that guy, and it has been shown since Iron Man.
9. War Machine
He is Iron Man's bestie and the military's prize pupil. Tony Stark needed a sidekick, but with Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes inside, it demanded a military flair. That outfit can shoot more bullets than a Bloods and Crips family reunion. Rhodey as War Machine is a pillar of strength for the Avengers. Much like Nick Fury, a strong Black man in uniform is always an impressive figure for any generation. Consider Colin Powell, David Goggins, Frank E. Petersen, or Michael E. Langley. That's a wall of force.
8. Bishop
He. Deserved. More. Lucas Bishop, aka Bishop, is a walking energy source. He can absorb artillery and force like a sponge in the ocean. In the comics, since The Uncanny X-Men #282 (1991), he has been counted upon for strength and durability by Charles Xavier. In the movies, he got about 20 minutes of a supporting role in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Bishop is a former cop, a fierce opponent of the sinister, and can travel through time, for whatever that's worth.
7. Doctor Voodoo
The Haitian-born Jericho Drumm, aka Doctor Voodoo, eventually becomes the Sorcerer Supreme. He is that powerful. While few want to celebrate the occult, that is Drumm's backstory and he is a master of the mystical and dark arts. If he ever feels inept in a duel, he channels his dead sibling, Brother Voodoo, which makes him--literally--twice as powerful.
His expertise in magic makes him a necessary evil in the lives' of Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and most of the Avengers. He leads fights against Mephisto and with the Savage Avengers. Drumm's powers are divine and quasi-physical. That's a guy to respect.
6. Miles Morales
Since 2011 and Ultimate Fallout #4, Miles Morales has been affiliated with the Avengers (Young and O.G.), Spider-Army, Champions, and The Ultimates. He has a sense of vigor and vision for most Black superheroes- or any for that matter- and it may be due to his age or sense of the world. What's more momentous about Morales is that he became "the next Spider-Man" because of President Obama.
If there is nothing that causes more pride in a comic character, few things will. With the establishment of "The Spider-Verse" as one of the mammoth film series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Miles Morales is clearly not the backup for Spider-Man, this kid from Brooklyn is the counterpart.
5. Blade
The daywalker. The vampire hunter. The godfather of MCUs. Wesley Snipes' Blade was a fascinating movie to watch. All that vampire strength without any of the weaknesses. He confronts evil every day and can wallop it on most days by himself. All that garlic, wooden stake, sunlight mess? That's for the wimps called the "undead."
One other thing about Wesley Snipes' portrayal of Blade--all that martial arts cinematography and stuntwork was 100% real. Snipes is a 5th dan in Shotokan Karate and a second dan in Hapkido. Dude is a legit stud, and so is Blade. Marvel needed him more than Blade--or Wesley Snipes--needed Marvel. The fact that he's still regarded so highly proves it.
4. Luke Cage
Sweet Christmas, is this man bad or what? Notwithstanding Cheo Hodari Coker's right-on Netflix series, Luke Cage was established as a "common man's guardian." He stayed in Harlem to be a source of strength for his community. Sure, he was bulletproof and had the muscle power of 1,000 oxen, but he was a hero to people on the street--and Marvel was a better place for it.
A family man with an inspirational backstory made him tangible and admirable. In June 1972, Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1, hit the bookshelves, and comic fans had to adjust. That was the idea: to make readers uncomfortable with a man who could walk out of a barber shop in a Blaxploitation movie and into their lives. He did, and he is still the power man Marvel needs.
3. Storm
Ororo Munroe, aka Storm, is easily one of the most influential and powerful Black superheroes in all comics. She first blew in like a violent wind in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975) and has been a stalwart of the mutants ever since. She is keenly intelligent, the daughter of a Kenyan princess, and has little patience for bad people.
She is unlike other superheroes of any color--an ecopath who is physiologically connected to the planet. What it does, she does. What she feels, she can make it feel within the bounds of nature. She can't rain down solar flares in Antarctica, but she can sure make a villain wish they were in hell.
2. Blue Marvel
Stop us if you've heard this before--a mighty Black man who was a brazen member of the military who is now an idolized member of Marvel Comics. Meet Adam Brashear, aka Blue Marvel. He earned two Silver Stars with the Marines in Korea and later became a lead to help study Anti-Matter. From there, we get a massive explosion, creating Adam Brashear as a living, stable antimatter reactor.
Name a strength, and odds are that Mr. Brashear has it--superhuman skill, energy and anti-matter manipulation, high invulnerability, superhuman powers, cosmic awareness, and a massive skill of telekinesis. To show how Blue Marvel is truly one of Marvel's mightiest Black superheroes, Kevin Grevioux is said to have been asked, "What if Superman were Black in the early '60s?" Now we know.
1. Black Panther
Ever since the King of Wakanda entered Marvel Comics in Fantastic Four #52 (1966), he has always led the conversation of what a source of power Black men were created to be. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby designed a figure of nobility and impregnability, and he led a mighty nation. He was Wakanda's champion and a beacon of might within the Avengers.
Kevin Feige could not have paid enough to do better than Chadwick Boseman. He was regal. He was vigorous. He was T'Challa! Moreover, he knew why Black Panther was created in the first place. It was the late '60s, and Marvel had a platform to say all men were equal, so they made a Black man a king. Regardless of strength, skill, power, or force, Black Panther will always be the one seed in Marvel Comics for mighty Black superheroes.