If you spontaneously develop supernatural abilities, what would you do? This question is one of the top 3 ice breakers for all within the nerdom. I have heard so many interesting responses ranging from obligatory hero responsibilities to personal gain to devastation and destruction, but I’ve always been interested in the responses from my community (I’m Black ya’ll). I love reading about Black people with supernatural powers and how it impacts race, class, and gender. So now that I have binged Supacell this past weekend, my interest in this conversation has been piqued yet again.
If you haven’t watched by now, Supacell, a recently released mini series on Netflix, follows the lives of 5 Black people in London who mysteriously develop supernatural abilities. These abilities, ranging from time traveling to super speed and strength, make them targets from a dark organization and create chaos in their personal lives as they struggle to control their powers and fight to keep their loved ones safe.
A GREAT Start in Supacell
Overall, I really enjoyed this show. It has a very solid story arc and creates a phenomenal foundation for season 2 (a hopeful season 2 because we know how Netflix has been lately 😭). I found some of the characters’ actions frustrating like the miscommunication between Michael and his fiance or the complete rejection of Michael’s begging because they didn’t believe he could teleport or see the future. I was borderline screaming at the television because that logic didn’t quite make sense. You ran from London to Edinburgh in less than a second. Please tell me how any other supernatural ability is suddenly inconceivable? But I guess it made sense in the grand scheme of things because these missteps did create a solid origin story for each character. Adults are complicated and, unfortunately, not enough of them read comic books and ruminate on the possibility of this situation even happening to them (please note: all BLERDS must have a plan of action in the case of sudden powers. I don’t make the rules, but I will enforce this one.)
While I am in the beginning stages of analyzing texts through a disability lens, the use of the sickle cell trait as a catalyst to these powers was very interesting. Those with superpowers are directly connected to sickle cell disease, which helps the audience understand why the ensemble cast is all Black. While all people can possibly carry the sickle cell trait, it is predominantly found in people of African descent. While I was pregnant with my first child, my OB- GYN had me tested for the trait. In America, more than 90% of the people affected by sickle cell are non- Hispanic Black or African American (cdc.gov). The level of intention shown in the scene where Michael and his mother talk about the intersection of race, economics and sickle cell disease as they discuss the new sickle cell treatment center helped cement my investment in future seasons of the show. I have faith that the writers will maintain the balance of highlighting a devastating disease and showing the beauty and power of the people predominantly impacted by it.
Predictions
If a season two is greenlit, I’m expecting to see the writers build on the very rocky foundation of the newly formed team. We already get a glimpse of them at their peak so watching them train and deal with life together already has me bouncing in seat, impatiently waiting for more. I’m interested to see if anyone else tries to break out of the underground organization.
So, what would I do in this situation? It’s something I’ve thought about for a while now. I’d isolate, train, and learn for an undisclosed amount of time in an undisclosed location. And one day, one randomly chosen day, I’d travel the world and become a fixer of problems, starting in America. My people and all oppressed and marginalized people will find peace. Some may call me a hero but I would never personally use that title. I’d be Batman without his morality issue.
And now I ask you, dear reader, what would you do if you spontaneously developed superpowers (X-men/ omega level type powers)? I patiently and eagerly await your reply.
Book Reccommendations
SN: With this being an online “library” and all, I can’t let you leave without some books and comics to help you with your future musings on the subject.
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi ( TOR Books)– This book may be the most aligned with how I’d react. Look, I didn’t say I am perfect. I just know I’d need time away and have to process/ train before I turn the world inside out. Also, its set in NYC so an extra 15 points of excellence to Onyebuchi! (Don’t take the points seriously. Much like Whose Line is it Anyway, I assign these numbers at random)
Summary– Ella has a Thing. She sees a classmate grow up to become a caring nurse. A neighbor’s son murdered in a drive-by shooting. Things that haven’t happened yet. Kev, born while Los Angeles burned around them, wants to protect his sister from a power that could destroy her. But when Kev is incarcerated, Ella must decide what it means to watch her brother suffer while holding the ability to wreck cities in her hands.
Rooted in the hope that can live in anger, Riot Baby is as much an intimate family story as a global dystopian narrative. It burns fearlessly toward revolution and has quietly devastating things to say about love, fury, and the black American experience.
Ella and Kev are both shockingly human and immeasurably powerful. Their childhoods are defined and destroyed by racism. Their futures might alter the world.
Black Solstice by Travon Free, Martin Desmond Roe, and Aremo Massa ( Dark Horse Comics)– This comic builds on the conversations Black Twitter had on December 21, 2020 declaring which superpowers people were going to get during the winter solstice. In this story, you learn about what happened at the last solstice and what Black people were doing to prepare for the next one. The plot is so interesting until the very end where we, the readers, are place on that horrid cliffhanger, unresolved, unsatisfied, and edged to mediocrity. But if you can tolerate that, its still worth the read to get in the frame of mind for musing…or maybe im a masochist.
Summary– Last winter solstice the whole world turned upside down when every single Black person gained a superpower that lasted exactly one day before disappearing entirely.
It’s three days until the next solstice, and everyone on earth is anxiously holding their breath to see if it happens again. Everyone except the Wallace kids—they’re betting their lives their powers will return and they plan to use them to change everything. . .for everyone.
Dark Blood by Latoya Morgan, Walt Barna, and Moisés Hildalgo (BOOM! Studios) – Morgan, Barna, and Hildago create a heavy and dangerous atmosphere in Dark Blood. Much like Supacell, you see the main character Avery, a World War II veteran, get latent powers and watch how it creates mayhem in his life as a Black man in Alabama, and impacts his PTSD. I really enjoyed this one as I have a soft spot for historical fiction and adding powers to the mix definitely creates a unique and somber story.
Summary– Avery Aldridge was a decorated soldier during World War II; now he’s just an ordinary young Black man busy providing for his family. But he’s haunted by the wounds of war, and after a run-in awakens latent abilities, he’ll discover he’s anything but ordinary. But between flashbacks, ever-emerging and frightening powers, and a seemingly kind doctor with unclear motives, will Avery be able to make sense of his newfound abilities and what’s been done to him? Can he keep his family safe in a society that never wanted him to have any power? A bold, evocative genre-bending saga by NAACP Image Award-Winning screenwriter LaToya Morgan (AMC’s The Walking Dead, Into The Badlands), artists Walt Barna (The Osiris Path) and Moisés Hidalgo (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), and colorist A.H.G. (Broken Bear) about the power of love, family, and resilience. Collects Dark Blood #1-6.
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