Rewind: WB100 Black History Month Part 2 (1974-1983)

 
Previously, I started republishing my #WB100 Black History Month series of tweets from last year. Part 1 is right here. 

Here's Part 2, which chronicles Warner Bros' collective creative Black history from 1974 to 1984.

Blazing Saddles, 1974
"Oh, baby, you're SO talented. And they are SO dumb."
On February 7, 1974, Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles, arguably the greatest comedy film of all time, was released.

This film, which is a story about a corrupt government trying to install a Black sheriff (played by Cleavon Little) in a town hoping that his mere presence would make him loathed by the townsfolk who'll be repulsed that he's Black so they'd give up their land and freedom to the corrupt government and their racist minions but ended up becoming the hero the town needed the most, is considered a classic and beloved by all audiences, even by folks who don't know the film's openly mocking them, and it seems oddly relevant even today. 

Hong Kong Phooey (Hanna-Barbera, 1974)

While not the first Hanna-Barbera series to have Black leads (that would go to 1970's Harlem Globetrotters [at the time of this rewriting, it's currently owned by Paramount Global] and Josie & the Pussycats, Hong Kong Phooey (which turned 50 in 2024) is their first to have a Black solo voice, Scatman Crothers, as the title character.


Bumblebee (Karen Beecher), DC Comics (National Periodicals), 1976
"I made my flight suit, and I kicked the Titans' behinds. Twice."
Introduced in 1976 by DC Comics, Bumblebee cemented her place in the publisher's history as the first Black American superheroine and has become a popular character across many projects in recent years.


Roots (Wolper Productions, 1977)/Roots: The Next Generation (David L. Wolper Productions, 1979)/Roots: The Gift (Davie L. Wolper Productions, 1988)
"We believe not in death, but in life, and there is no object more valuable than a man's life."
1977's Roots, based on Alex Haley's best-selling biographical book about his family's history from Africa to modern America, was a groundbreaking miniseries with an all-star cast that shattered records, won tons of awards, and showed a side of American history folks were reluctant to talk about in 1977 and still want to ignore and ban from schools across the United States. 

Slavery was real, and it was terrible, kids.


Jefferson Pierce (Black Lightning) DC Comics, 1977

Black Lightning, 2017
"Justice - like lightning - should ever appear to some men hope and other men, fear."
Introduced in 1977, DC Comics' Black Lightning was the publisher's first Black non-legacy character to lead his own book and one of the very few non-legacy characters to headline a TV series, not to mention build his own legacy in the process. And as he'll tell you, no, he's not Static's father.


Super Globetrotters (Hanna-Barbera, 1979)


Rickety Rocket (Ruby-Spears, 1979)

A pair of animated shows in 1979 had a cast of Black characters with Black talent voicing them. Super Globetrotters turned the Harlem Globetrotters into a new version of The Impossibles while Rickety Rocket was a futuristic Speed Buggy with, ugh, gross visual aesthetics. 


Fame (Turner [MGM], 1980)

A four-year exploration of a prestigious New York performing arts high school from the perspectives of a promising class that includes Coco Hernandez (Irene Cara), a promising singer who is also studying Drama and Dance, and Leroy Johnson (Gene Anthony Ray), a talented dancer who is still rough around the edges in other aspects in life. A raw, unflinching film about teenage life in the late-1970s/early-1980s, and it's still brilliant today.


Vic Stone (Cyborg), DC Comics, 1980
"My body may have its limitations, but if I put my mind to it, there's no limit to what I can do. After all, I'm only human."
In 1980, DC Comics introduced Cyborg, an iconic Titan who has grown to become one of their pillars across all mediums from Superfriends to Teen Titans Go! to Smallville to Justice League to Doom Patrol over the past three decades.

Booyah.


Mari Jiwe McCabe (Vixen), DC Comics 1978 (Canceled Comic Cavalcade)/1981 (Official)
"From the fox to the elephant, from the spider to the man - I am the life of Africa - and I believe in life."
Created in 1978 but officially introduced in 1981, DC Comics' Vixen was the publisher's first African heroine eventually becoming a member of the Justice League, the Suicide Squad, the Birds of Prey, and in 2025, the Power Company. A true powerhouse character with so much media potential. 


Mister T (Ruby-Spears, 1983)

Mr. T was one of the 1980s' biggest & most beloved stars, so it was a no-brainer to bring the larger-than-life icon to Saturday mornings, and that's what Ruby-Spears did in 1983 in a weekly series where he chaperoned a team of gymnasts around the world. Fools were pitied for two seasons. 

Plus, it gave me a strange confidence boost in "The Crossword Mystery" with a throwaway line:
"Everybody knows that Jeff Harris never fails." 

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