Favorites - 15 Favorite Black Characters in Sci-Fi

The science fiction genre has given us a crapton of characters to follow and root for. When it comes Black folk, it gets a little tough. You may see one or even two of us running around or being a side piece somewhere. Even when you see one of us playing a character, they’re sometimes playing an alien. Just guess why you won’t see someone like Guinan, Worf, and Tuvok from Star Trek or Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy. I could make a case for Teal’C from Stargate: SG-1 since he is technically human, but I’ll leave him off this one. It gives me a chance to look for other characters outside of these big sci-fi franchises.

So, here are my favorite black characters in the genre. One limitation I gave myself was that I wouldn’t include any superheroes on this list, so no Storm or John Stewart. I actually made a list similar to this years ago, and I wanted to look in other places where there are some cool characters. I might break that rule for a couple, but I’ll only go so far. As usual, it’s a bit of a random list, but I’ll put my favorites up top. You only can guess who’ll be first.

Random Thoughts On... The Watchmen

Next up for the month is a return to the comic world. The 1980’s was a time where comics began to change. You do see some changes in the 70’s, but the industry really goes through them in the 80’s. We got event books, a total revamp of a universe, and two stories that changed the way creators tell stories in the comic medium. Whether these stories were good or bad for the industry is a debate unto itself. One of them was The Dark Knight Returns, a story that really brought the edginess back to Batman. The other story and the subject for today is Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. It’s a story that I think is good… if a little overrated.

While I wait for legions of Alan Moore acolytes to chastise me, I thought I’d just talk about the story in general. For those aren’t familiar with this story, here are the simple points. Watchmen was a 12-issue maxiseries that was released from 1986 to 1987. It was written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons with John Higgins as the colorist.  It takes place in an alternate version of 1985 where Richard Nixon is still President of the United States. While there are government superheroes, other vigilantes are outlawed because of a law called the Keene Act. Moore takes these characters and explores them through a variety of ways.

I think I first learned about Watchmen during my time in college. That was when I really started to dive into comics. Plus, the movie was being talked about at that time. I already knew about the story before I even read the trade. I’ve really only have read the whole story a couple of times with my most recent read being a few days ago. I actually didn’t own a copy until a few months ago. As you can probably tell, it’s wasn’t high on my “must-read” list. After reading it this last time, I think I was a little wrong to have it that low.

Favorites - 20 Best Casting Decisions in Comic Book Movies

Now that I’ve gotten through with the disappointments, I can now look at the good casting decisions. Thankfully, there have been more good ones than bad. You’ll have some actors that’ll do a fine job. They’re not bad, just average. Then you get the folk who absolutely rule in the part. They’re lauded for the role and you wonder if anyone could fill the actor' shoes. Unfortunately, there are a lot of them, so choosing ten great casting decisions in comic book movies would be a little hard. In saying that, here are my 20 best casting decisions in comic book movies. Did you really think I could stop at ten?

20. Jackie Earl Haley as Rorschach (Watchmen) – While I’m not the biggest fan of the story nor movie, I thought Haley was well casted as the Question look-alike. Haley definitely brought the crazed vigilante to life in that movie. He brought out the roughness and grit with that voice of his. He was definitely one of the highlights there.

19. Kelsey Grammar as Beast (X-Men: The Last Stand) – Who do you think could really play Dr. Hank McCoy? I can’t really think of too many actors who could pull off that role. Who ever asked him to be in the movie deserves some reward. Kelsey Grammar was a bright spot in a really lackluster movie. He felt like Beast to me with the look and the dialogue. I just wish we got more of him in the movie and in general.

18. Ron Pearlman as Hellboy (The Hellboy movies) – Ron Pearlman was a nice pick for Hellboy. The guy just has a knack for playing masked characters. It’s his portrayal of Hellboy that basically pulled me into that world. I don’t follow the character much but if he is anything like Pearlman portrayed, then I may be checking some of those comics out one day.

17. Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (Marvel Cinematic) – (imitating SLJ) YEAH, I SAID IT! WHAT’S WRONG WITH A BLACK NICK FURY ANYWAY? NOTHING, THAT’S WHAT, SUCKA! In all seriousness, I liked him in the role. He may not have been the quintessential version of the character, but he was good all the same. Besides, it’s Samuel L. Jackson. Who else would you get to play a cool secret agent who leads SHIELD? Don’t say David Hasselhoff!

16. Gary Oldman as Commissioner James Gordon (Nolan’s Batman trilogy) – Gary Oldman, a guy who could play just about anyone, was perfect for the role of James Gordon in Nolan’s Batman movies. Unlike past Gordons, this one actually did stuff. He and Batman really felt like a team and Oldman played that really well.

15. Elias Koteas as Casey Jones (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) – For those who don’t remember, TMNT was based on the comics. Heck, the first movie’s story was adapted from the comics. I thought and still think the casting of Koteas as Casey was pretty perfect for that movie. He was one of the best parts to the original and I really can’t see anyone else playing that part. He was cool, snarky, and a little crazy. There aren’t many vigilantes who’ll use sports equipment to teach some “JV low-lifes” a lesson. He was even a bright spot in that pit of darkness called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3.

Random Thoughts #11

Well, it's Friday morning, clothes are a-washin', and I have a lot of stuff to do this weekend. It's time for some random thoughts.