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Always Bet on Bahlactus » Blog Archive » What If? Superman was Black?:
Well ... basically, you'd have Emissary.
Albeit not quite, because Emissary takes place in the here and now, and in a world that's never had superheroes. (Though ... in DC continuity, such shards as remain after various Crises, isn't it canon that most of the DC universe never had superheroes until WWII, or thereabouts? Then suddenly there was Superman, then Batman -- without actual powers, of course -- and Wonderwoman and others.) So, yes, there would be differences in that respect.
As far as the sociobiological aspects go ... ick. Allowing for some exaggeration for storytelling, most of the social problems that Emissary is running into are entirely realistic. They'd only have been savagely compounded in the world of 60 years ago, when Jim Crow was still the rule, when apartheid was in its prime...
I suspect that for a long time Superman was reflective of middle-class values in America. Would these values have impacted him differently if he was Black? What would a seemingly all powerful, sole-surviving alien, and Black develop into? Would he even become known as Superman? As the most powerful Black man on Earth, how would he interpret societal norms (and what would his reaction be towards them?). Would he remain on Earth? These questions come to mind when pondering What If? Superman was Black?
Well ... basically, you'd have Emissary. Albeit not quite, because Emissary takes place in the here and now, and in a world that's never had superheroes. (Though ... in DC continuity, such shards as remain after various Crises, isn't it canon that most of the DC universe never had superheroes until WWII, or thereabouts? Then suddenly there was Superman, then Batman -- without actual powers, of course -- and Wonderwoman and others.) So, yes, there would be differences in that respect.
As far as the sociobiological aspects go ... ick. Allowing for some exaggeration for storytelling, most of the social problems that Emissary is running into are entirely realistic. They'd only have been savagely compounded in the world of 60 years ago, when Jim Crow was still the rule, when apartheid was in its prime...
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