A Detour On Diversity: Did DC And Marvel Give Up On Black Superhero-Led Comics?

(MENAFN- PF Advice)

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Politics and especially race politics have always been a part of comic book culture. The Black superhero-led comic book was a revolutionary thing decades ago. While many on social media, like those who believe in a“woke agenda,” believe there is an ongoing erasure of white characters in traditional comics, the exact opposite is happening. DC and Marvel Comics are seemingly giving up, or at the very least, dramatically scaling back on publishing ongoing series featuring Black superheroes in the lead role.

Discussing race politics in comics is uneasy but necessary. It is important to do now more than ever; there seems to be an ongoing erasure of diversity in mainstream comics, especially when it comes to the representation of Black superheroes.

I am not saying that Black superheroes have completely disappeared from DC and Marvel. What I am saying is that DC and Marvel have trivialized the importance of showcasing Black characters leading ongoing series. Mini-series, limited series, one-shots, and special issues are not the same as an ongoing series.

An ongoing comic book series is published as long as there is demand or as long as DC and Marvel believe in the series. DC and Marvel each publish about 50 comics monthly. As of now, DC Comics has not published an ongoing comic with a Black lead since February 2023. Marvel currently has three characters, Storm, Black Panther, and Miles Morales, appearing as the leads in ongoing series.

Why is this all happening? What is the solution? Or is the market getting what it wants or what publishers imagine it wants?

DC and Marvel – A Detour on Diversity?

Let's provide a little context for the situation first. Yes, there have been recent John Stewart Green Lantern, Cyborg, Mr. Terrific, and Milestone Media comic books at DC Comics. However, those series were all limited, mini-series, or one-shots. DC has not had an ongoing comic book series with a Black superhero in the lead since the end of I Am Batman in February 2023.

At Marvel Comics, Black Panther has Black Panther: Intergalactic and Ultimate Black Panther, which was recently canceled. Miles Morales appears in Miles Morales: Spider-Man and The Spectacular Spider-Men as lead and co-lead, respectively. Storm appears in Storm: Earth's Mightiest Mutant. Two of the three characters previously mentioned appear in multiple titles.

That is it.

So, why is it a problem?

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Backup Supporting Status

While Black superheroes have not disappeared from DC and Marvel, they do seem to have been relegated to backup or supporting status characters. DC Comics has no mainline continuity comic with a Black superhero lead; Marvel has three such characters leading five comics.

Too many Black superheroes exist for this issue, which no one seems to be talking about, to be occurring. If it isn't important for Black superheroes to lead their own ongoing series, then what is important? Over 86% of comic book characters are white and male or white in general.

That is not a happy accident; that is the result of race politics. Also, it is easy to handwave away this issue if almost nine out of every ten superheroes look like you.

So, why is this happening?

Diversity for Its Own Sake

There was a recent boom of diverse characters getting their own series for the sake of diversity, not telling fresh new stories. That is not what fans wanted, but it seems that is what DC and Marvel may have thought fans wanted years ago.

Duke Thomas, The Signal, was a Black Robin-esque sidekick for Batman. Kamala Khan is the first female Muslim superhero at Marvel with her own series. Jace Fox was the Black Batman of New York City in I Am Batman. Calvin Ellis, a Black Superman analogue inspired by Barack Obama, was the leader of the team Justice League Incarnate.

In 2020, Marvel was going to launch a pro-Woke New Warriors comic featuring LGBTQ and non-binary characters known as“Snowflake” and“Safespace.” After an online social media backlash, Marvel cancelled the plans.

“Woke” used to be an African American term urging people to be aware of institutionalized racism. The term has been hijacked to represent the erasure of white culture and American traditionalism, even though 86% of comic characters are still white. DC and Marvel went too far left on diversity without understanding why it is important, and now seem to be overcorrecting.

Many Black Superheroes Are Legacy or Analogue Characters

A lot of Black characters are legacy or analogue characters, which could be too reminiscent of their white counterpart inspirations. Could that be the issue?

Icon, Blue Marvel, Val-Zod, Steel, Sunshine Superman, and Calvin Ellis are all Black analogues of Superman. James Rhodes as War Machine, Hardware from Milestone Media, and Riri Williams are analogues of Tony Stark and Iron Man.

Miles Morales is Black and Hispanic version of Spider-Man.

John Stewart and Sojourner Mullein are the first Black male and Black female Green Lanterns.

DC and Marvel may believe that many Black superheroes don't differentiate themselves enough from their inspirations. Fair enough.

However, Harley Quinn, a Joker analogue, has a long-running comic. There is also now a second female Joker analogue character, Punchline.

Supergirl currently has an ongoing series. Jon Kent, Clark and Lois's son, Krypto, and Conner Kent have had a series. General Zod recently had his own series, Kneel Before Zod. DC brought back Jor-El, Superman's dead father, for a while. In 2025, Lois Lane was operating as Superwoman and had Kryptonian powers temporarily.

Superboy Prime, an annoying, ultra-meta variant of Superman, is now the official Superman for DC's mainline continuity for the foreseeable future.

Being a legacy or analogue character can't be the reason DC and Marvel are allegedly scaling back Black diversity in their ongoing series. So what is it?

A Return to Traditionalism?

The simplest answer may be the most plausible. In an era where comic book stores are struggling and closing, and sales are down, DC and Marvel may be relying more on traditional comic book heroes.

In 2025, 26 of the top 50 comics books of 2025 were Batman or Batman-related comics.

There seems to be a fan-centric love of traditional superheroes, like Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, and Wolverine, that fans are aggressively rallying for. If DC Comics can sell 300,000 copies of Absolute Batman monthly, then should it focus on developing Mr. Terrific or Cyborg in their own ongoing titles?

No Easy Answers

I don't think there is one clear-cut answer that explains the issue at hand. No one can deny that DC and Marvel have shifted focus from developing long-term ongoing series featuring black characters as leads. The longer this focus is gone, the harder it will be to correct the problem down the road.

Diversity in comics should not happen for its own sake, but for the sake of more expansive, original, and rich storytelling. It is hard to accept that such Black-led comic books are unimportant or unnecessary when the top-selling comics list features 26 mentions of Batman.

Black superheroes are a part of comic book history, and numerous creators fought for such characters to leave their mark and be recognizable brands. We, as fans, should not let them disappear or be relegated to perpetual supporting character status.

Buy your favorite comics, featuring your favorite characters, so that publishers understand which characters fans love. Otherwise, publishers might just fall back on the basic perception that Black-led ongoings are financially risky, like they did decades ago.

Stay woke, in the traditional sense, and make your voice known with your dollars.

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