This is a work, a new podcast from Slate. I'm your host, Jason Johnson. From Black Panthers

to the Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black characters are rewriting the superhero narrative

for a new generation.

The only thing bumping me out is the fact I have to live in a world without Captain America.

They can save the world and fight the bad guys, but do they have the power to transform

the way Black people are viewed on the screen, or even in real life?

Black comic book heroes. Next, on a word, with me, Jason Johnson. Stay with us.

Welcome to a word, a podcast about race, and politics, and everything else. I'm your

host, Jason Johnson. It was just three years ago where Marvel's Black Panthers took Hollywood

and the rest of the world by storm.

It broke box office records and finally convinced wide audiences and cultural gatekeepers in Hollywood

that Black superheroes could be just as popular and profitable as Superman and Batman. With

the re-release of the Justice League movie on HBO Max and the launch of the highly anticipated

Disney Plus series, Falcon and Winter Soldier, Black superheroes are once again at the forefront

of our pop culture. This isn't news to John Jennings. He's a professor of media and cultural

studies at the University of California Riverside, as well as an award-winning comic book artist.

Welcome to a word.

How are you doing? Thank you for having me, Jason.

You and I are both comic book fans, but for folks who are casual fans of comic books

at best. Why does it matter if black characters are actually front and center in the comic book

genre now that it's sort of so pervasive in American culture?

I personally think that everyone who is in a society or participating in a society deserves

...